Alopecia sufferer who wore a comb-over to hide her condition and spent £50,000 on wigs says she's now going bald for good - after having a £140 TATTOO on her scalp

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A mother-of-two who has suffered with alopecia for two decades has revealed how she's finally embracing her baldness. 

Michelle Austin, 38, from Kettering, first noticed a patch of baldness when she was just 18 and desperately tried to hide it with a comb-over at first and then eventually a series of wigs.

However, after spending around £50,000 on fake hair, she's finally found the courage to show off her head - after splashing out just £140 on a tattoo.

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Michelle Austin, 38, from Kettering has suffered with alopecia since she was in her late teens. After trying to disguise her condition with wigs and strategic combing, the mother-of-two has now opted for a tattoo on her scalp

The £140 body art incorporates two flower buds,  one for each of her children and an 'A' to represent her love for husband Andrew

Expense: Austin tried a variety of different wigs, spending nearly £50,000 on them over nine years

Despite trying an array of different treatments, including Chinese herbal medicine, the former primary school teacher continues to suffer with the hair-loss condition

The intricate tattoo includes two flower-buds, symbolising her two children, an 'A' for her husband Andrew and decorative, swirly lines.

'It's meant to mark the journey I've been on,' said Michelle, of Kettering, Northampton, said. 'It makes me feel free.' 

Michelle became increasingly self-conscious about her hair loss – even having ginger rubbed on her scalp by a Chinese herbalist, believing it helped promote regrowth. 

But, after trying this for three months, she gave up, when nothing happened. Increasingly frustrated, she hit on the idea of making a feature of her hair loss, with a tattoo. 

'I wanted something that would make me feel sexy, feminine and pretty, as well as meaning something to me and reflecting my alopecia journey, and the tattoo does just that,' said Michelle, whose husband, Andrew, 39, is a salesman. 

Austin, pictured with her children, Callum, left, and, Lilly, right first noticed her alopecia as a teenager 

The former teacher has since spent a whopping £5,600 on wearing a variety of wigs. Austin says that she even resorted to wearing a comb-over to hide her bald patches but it eventually spread to much to hide it

Michelle - mum to Lilly, seven, and Callum, four – was just 18 when she first noticed her hair loss. 'I had just washed my hair and I noticed a bald patch the size of a five-pence piece,' she said. 

'I was devastated. I didn't know what it was or what I was going to do. I left it for a few days, but it started to get bigger and bigger.' Referred to a dermatologist at Kettering General Hospital by her GP, Michelle was diagnosed with alopecia. 

'They said I probably wouldn't lose much more, but as time went on, the patch on the side of my hair had got so big I was having to brush my hair over to the side, in a comb over.' 

One particularly mortifying moment for Michelle came six months after she discovered the bald patch. 'I'd been going out with Andrew for a few months and we decided to visit Blackpool, to go on the Big Dipper,' she said. 

'But when we looked at the photos they'd taken of us afterwards, I was so ashamed when I saw the comb over had blown the other way and my big old bald patch was on show. 'Andrew said he'd noticed it, too, but if I didn't want to talk about it, that was fine. I was so embarrassed, I could barely bring myself to think about what we'd seen.' 

What began as a bald spot the size of a five-pence piece quickly spread

Now Austin has two flower-buds, symbolising her two children and an 'A' for her husband Andrew etched onto her head

'Your hair is such a big part of what it means to be a woman. To feel sexy and feminine': Austin with her husband Andrew 

Eventually Austin (pictured left with daughter Lilly) decided to 'come out' about her baldness, posting a snap on social media of her bald head

That's when Michelle and her mum Linda Robinson, now 62, decided drastic action was needed. Re-visiting the dermatologist, Michelle was prescribed steroid cream, but it didn't work. 'We even visited a Chinese herbalist, who rubbed ginger on my now patching head and made me drink disgusting tea, but nothing seemed to help,' she said. 

Feeling helpless, Michelle's confidence plummeted. Drastically insecure about her appearance, she fretted about what her hair would look like in the future.

'We tried so many different things, but nothing seemed to make any difference. And all the while, the bald patch was getting bigger and bigger.' But Michelle was determined to get on with her life. 

When, aged 26, she married Andrew, she wore a non-surgical hair replacement system, like a weave, where extensions are sewn into the person's hair. Michelle continued to wear the wig-like tresses, which cost £5,600 annually, for nine years. 

Then, in October last year, fed up with the enormous cost of her hair piece, which she says left her with even more bald patches, because of the weight on her hair, she was determined to find another solution. 'I was wearing it all the time, even sleeping in it,' she said. 

'My hair was still falling out with it and I realised I needed to change.' Finding an alopecia support group online, Michelle spoke frankly with fellow sufferers and decided to face her condition head-on. 

'I'd really come to terms with the fact that I was completely bald by this point and was desperate to talk to others, who have been through something similar. 

'Suffering with alopecia can be a really lonely place. Your hair is such a big part of what it means to be a woman. To feel sexy and feminine. 'I was desperate to find a way to love myself and my life again.' 

And Michelle bravely decided to share her condition with the world. 

'After meeting people on the group, I 'came out' publicly about my alopecia by posting a bald photo on Facebook,' she said. 

Now, the mother-of-two says she's thinking of ditching wigs for good and having another tattoo on the other side of her head

 'Only my close friends and family knew before them, and when I had the tattoo done I also chose to show people by posting photos on Facebook again, too.' 

Someone in the group suggested Michelle use a type of wig, made from real hair, which she says transformed how she felt.

'I could wear all colours and styles, it felt amazing,' she beamed. And by May this year Michelle decided to get her bald head tattooed too. 'After the two hours of getting it done I looked in the mirror and felt fantastic,' she beamed. 

'It means something to me.' Michelle's confidence has also grown substantially since having the inking. 

'I've started going out in the garden without my wig on now, which I would have never of done before, and soon I will venture out in public too.' 

She is even considering having another tattoo on the other side of her head in the future. 

'I'm telling my children that Mummy's tattoo makes her feel glamorous and womanly, and it's nothing to be ashamed of,' she said. 

'The next tattoo would be a butterfly, to symbolise the change in my appearance and my journey.'