Emmerdale actress Laura Norton has opened up on living with hair loss - sharing her 20-year journey with her fans.
The 38-year-old - who landed her "dream job" as Kerry Wyatt on the ITV soap in 2012 - revealed all in a new interview, explaining how it has impacted her self-esteem, as well as the highs and lows of her battle.
Laura said she has suffered with hair loss since 16, when she started using a pill to "control her horrendous periods".
Sharing her journey with New! magazine, the soap star shared doctors never told her that certain pills are testosterone-heavy and attack hair follicles, which can make hair thinner and fall out.
Laura explained after years of hair loss, she landed her role on Emmerdale, but her hair began falling out in clumps - leaving her at "crisis point".
The actress decided to get professional help and called her local trichologist while living in Newcastle.
She said it took six months for her hair to start growing back - describing her trichologist Natalie as her "guardian angel in hair form".
The main thing Laura says she took away from her hair expert is "nobody in this day and age needs to be walking around with thin or thinning hair thinking there's nothing they can do".
Describing the process she went through during her treatment, Laura said it started with a consultation in which your hair and scalp are examined.
She said next it was blood tests - and she was also tested for hormones, vitamin D, iron, B12 and biotin. Doctors also told her she had a ferritin deficiency.
"It was such a relief to find out what was going on," she said, adding: "So I had hair loss, iron deficiency and shedding."
Laura explained it took nine years for her hair to grow back so thick and shiny.
"It's hard to believe it's something that I used to cry over - and while I was so self-conscious I'd never let my hair down, I was showing it off at any opportunity," she said.
In 2021, Laura found out she was pregnant with her first child - a baby boy named Jesse.
But at the back of her mind, she was worried that she would lose her hair again, as her oestrogen was "basically sky-high".
She said: "I won't lie, a bit of fear crept in at this point. Natalie reassured me and advised me to use regular scalp mask and elasticizer on my hair for the duration of my pregnancy."
Laura said she was "lucky" that her hair grew thicker during the nine months she carried her baby boy.
The star revealed: "I've learned you can be going through hell and think it looks so noticeable while others are unaware and, more importantly, don't care.
"I've learned to accept I'm a beautiful person whether my hair is shedding or not."
She concluded: "Worry not, there's a reason and a way to fix it. You just need time and patience - and money. It's not cheap but it's worth it."
Laura insisted others who are in her position are "not alone".
"And to any mum experiencing postpartum hair loss, never feel anything less than superhuman - you brought life into the world, the hair grows back. It's a beautiful mark of an incredible thing you did!"
