Ruth McPherson: Going wig free made me happy and liberated

Alopecia sufferer Ruth McPherson, 28, has successfully completed her Wig Free Week, raising £10,146.99 for Autoimmune Alopecia Research UK. In her own words she describes below how the experience has increased her self-confidence and inspired her to help other sufferers.
Ruth McPhersonRuth McPherson
Ruth McPherson

I am delighted at how positive the week was. 

I had incredible support from colleagues, friends and family who encouraged me along the way. And despite my fear that strangers would stare at me in public, I actually found that people didn’t really pay me much attention! 

Throughout the week, I arranged lots of ‘wig-free’ activities to do, including a charity Bake Off at work, a trip to the opera, wig-free bowling, a pub quiz and a charity spin class. It was a very full-on week and I was exhausted by the end, but also felt very happy and liberated!

Ruth presents a cheque for £10,146.99 to Karen Green, Secretary of AAR-UKRuth presents a cheque for £10,146.99 to Karen Green, Secretary of AAR-UK
Ruth presents a cheque for £10,146.99 to Karen Green, Secretary of AAR-UK
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Since my Wig Free Week ended, I have gone back to wearing my wig some of the time, but I don’t wear it running or to the gym any more, and there have been a couple of occasions when I have gone without it all day!  It’s great that I now have the confidence to wear it when I want to, and don’t feel that I need to hide behind it any more.

Doing the Wig Free Week has made me accept the way I look without it, and I now can look at myself bald and feel attractive, which I never thought would be.

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Ruth McPherson: My life with alopecia

The money raised will go towards helping AAR-UK to fund and develop diversified research into alopecia - they plan to set up the UK’s first alopecia registry and biobank in Spring 2016.

Ruth presents a cheque for £10,146.99 to Karen Green, Secretary of AAR-UKRuth presents a cheque for £10,146.99 to Karen Green, Secretary of AAR-UK
Ruth presents a cheque for £10,146.99 to Karen Green, Secretary of AAR-UK

I would encourage anyone with alopecia to register their details on the charity’s website (aar-uk.org) if they would like to become involved with future research projects.

The other positive thing that has come out of my campaign is that it has increased awareness of a condition not often discussed in the media. 

I was lucky enough to get coverage in several publications including national titles like the Scotsman and Grazia magazine, and the articles were overwhelmingly positive.

I have also received many messages on my blog from other alopecia sufferers who have been through a similar emotional journey and wanted to share stories and advice.

The success of the blog has inspired me to set up a mentoring website, putting people who have recently been diagnosed with alopecia in touch with people like myself who have come to terms with it and can offer support. 

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In the future, I also hope to continue working with AAR-UK.  I have offered to do some voluntary social media marketing and PR for the charity, dedicating a couple of hours a week to raising awareness of their research and fundraising projects. 

I hope that I can bring enthusiasm and creative thinking to the charity, and help them to increase their profile and achieve their aim of finding a cure for alopecia.

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