Jacqueline Jossa started to lose her hair after having her first baby – and said she feared the hair loss would be a permanent fixture.
The actress, who first came to fame on EastEnders before winning I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! last year, made the confession on a podcast with Katie Piper.
Jacqueline is married to Dan Osbourne and has two children with him – five-year-old Ella and one-year-old Mia.
Read more: Jacqueline Jossa explains why she never posts photos of her stepson
She said the postpartum hair loss was even more shocking, as her hair had been extra thick and full while she was pregnant.
“My hair loss was completely round the front, all the baby hairs, and when it grew back it looked like it was all growing different ways,” she said.
“My hair has always been my thing, my comfort blanket, I’ve always had long hair.
“[When it happened] it really worried me, I was really insecure. I was young, 22, I thought it would never grow back – like this is me now.
“It plays a big part in your mental health because you don’t feel like yourself, you don’t look like yourself. It 100 per cent affected my confidence.”
Katie Piper is hosting the Extraordinary People podcast in association with the Pantene Pro-V Miracles Grow Strong range.
The pair aim to raise awareness of postpartum hair loss, after Pantene research showed 80 per cent of women in Europe report suffering this kind of hair damage, but are often too embarrassed to talk about it.
Read more: Jacqueline Jossa’s sweet tribute to Dan Osbourne after confirming they are back together
Jacqueline remembered the exact moment she realised she was losing her hair.
“I noticed it properly the first time I was trying to do my hair [after having Ella]. I love wearing my hair up and I couldn’t for a long time,” she said.
“The first chat I had [about hair loss] was with the EastEnders’ make-up artist and crew saying, ‘I lost loads of hair’. I didn’t really know anything about it and I was lifting my hair up saying, ‘Look!’ I was embarrassed because, being vain, it didn’t look like it did before.”
At the time, it was made worse as she was playing Lauren Branning in EastEnders.
“It was really terrible because Lauren used to always wear buns and I couldn’t do it because my hair was spiky,” she said.
To make matters worse, trolls started posting about it online, adding to Jacqueline’s self-consciousness.
Later, Jac posted on Instagram that she had the “best time” talking to Katie, so opening up clearly did her good.
Thanks for speaking out, Jacqueline – and we hope you are feeling confident and happy again now.
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