Are many hairdressers aware of Trichotillomania?
I have struggled with trich for over 2 years now, but the only visible indication is the strand of short hair on the top of my head. It isn’t too noticeable as long as it’s brushed down and isn’t in the way of any haircuts or layers I would do as it’s only a few inches long. I’ve had it for about a year now and at the start I was quite worried about going to the hairdressers as I was scared they might point it out, embarrass me or I would feel like I need to make up a random excuse to not feel judged. Although I have found the hairdressers have never mentioned it- either they haven’t noticed or have just decided it is not something they should ask.
Yesterday I went to a new hairdressers. I was still a bit nervous but I was sure it would all be fine like the other times. When I sat down and explained what j wanted to be done, the hairdresser started playing with my hair, and came across the patch of short hair in my head. It does blend in very well, just not when you kinda lift it up and see the length. She started laughing, and very loudly said something like “oh what’s happened here!?”. I was about to make up an excuse because I immediately felt a bit judged but she moved on from it when I gave an awkward laugh to pretend it wasn’t very serious. Later, I assumed maybe she had figured to leave it alone because she’s already addressed it and it’s a personal thing. But again, towards the end she saw it again and gently pulled it a bit and started laughing quite loud. She asked if maybe I had got it stuck in a brush or something and I quickly made an excuse along the lines of what she said.
I’m not necessarily angry at this lady, but I was just kinda surprised because I thought hairdressers would be more aware of Trichotillomania. It could also be a result of hair loss from alopecia which is definitely not something to laugh at. I know I never explained the real reason to her, but I just expected more people in the hair industry to know about trich.