By STEPHEN MATTHEWS
PUBLISHED: 15 September 2016 | UPDATED: 19 September 2016
An alopecia sufferer afraid to be seen without wearing her wig is now confident enough to show off her bald head.
Nicola Phelan, 28, who has suffered from the hair loss condition since she was five, had hypnotherapy in an attempt to lose weight.
The mother-of-two, who weighed 13st7lbs, would not let her friends and family ever see her without her wig.
But after losing three stone as a result of therapy, she unexpectedly felt confident enough to take off her wig.
The carer, from Leeds, who now wears her bald head with pride, even traded in her job and partner.
Ms Phelan said: 'I have always been someone who has accepted I have alopecia, but I was not someone who would just take my wig off and show people.
'Before, even with family members I had never let them see me without my wig.
'I was very nervous about it - even if I was sat inside at home if I didn’t have my wig on I would have to have all the curtains closed.
'But now I’ll get up and I won’t wear my wig, I’m not bothered - it’s not an issue at all.'
Ms Phelan said her new boyfriend's daughter even calls her a 'slaphead' and she loves it.
Now, if someone comes to her door she will open it regardless of whether she is wearing her wig.
She said everyone in her street has seen her with no hair now and she is becoming confident enough to go to the shops without her wig.
