After Jasmine Mitchell, one of the stars from this season's Great British Bake Off, opened up about the shock of losing her hair at the age of 12 (and how she decided to forgo wearing wigs as she got older), fans have flooded her social media with supportive comments.
Many from the alopecia community have also called the 23-year-old medical student an "inspiration" and thanked her for sharing her story, saying how important representation on screen is.
After a couple of episodes, Jasmine decided to speak about her alopecia during the much lauded 'bread week' – where she was seen making some celebratory bread, with an intricate plaited design, as part of the showstopper challenge.
While braiding her bread, Jasmine discussed the 'irony' of doing so while living with alopecia.
"Ironic that I’m plaiting when I have no hair to plait myself," she said good-humouredly. "I had my own hair completely until I was 12, and the doctors didn’t really know why, no one really knows what causes alopecia.
"There was nothing that triggered it, I just started randomly losing my hair."
Everyone's clicking on...
Commenting on one of her Instagram posts afterwards, one fan who also has alopecia wrote, "Love seeing you telle so much! There not enough beautiful bald Alopecians on screen! Thanks for being an inspiration, not only in cooking but in the Alopecia community as well 💙".
In response, Jasmine replied: "It's my pleasure!"
Another added, "My mum is a new member of the alopecia club and she just lit up when you talked about it making you cool and unique!! We are behind you!"
Alopecia is the medical term for hair loss, it can impact not only the hair on your head but eyebrows, facial hair and body hair too. It can be temporary or permanent, with or without a discernible cause, notes the NHS.
Alopecia UK, an organisation supporting those experiencing hair loss, says there are ten commonly seen forms of hair loss. Alopecia areata, where hair is lost in patches, is believed to impact around 2% of the population, according to research publishing by the Oxford Academic. Total hair loss is known as alopecia universalis.
As for her personal journey, Jasmine said she stopped wearing wigs a couple of years ago and is beginning to enjoy embracing her baldness. "It wasn't until a couple of years ago when I stopped wearing my wigs," she reflects. "It was really hard at the start, going outside without wearing a wig and just looking different, but now I’m getting to the point where I’m genuinely starting to enjoy not having hair and being different."
Jasmine isn't the only Bake Off name to live with alopecia; former host Matt Lucas was diagnosed with alopecia at the age of six, two years after being knocked down by a car while on holiday, something he has openly stated he thinks is connected to his hair loss.
Speaking to The Guardian, the TV host and actor said his appearance has bolstered his career over the years and he now embraces it, "Baldness has made me distinctive, yet also allowed me to transform myself. Stick a wig on and I'm someone else. Swap the wig and I'm now another person. Perfect."
For more information about hair loss, visit Alopecia UK
Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK's multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She's grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published author, documentary consultant (helping to create BBC’s Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women’s Health, ELLE and numerous other publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.
