Design for Life: How do I come to terms with serious hair loss?

This week, Mary Cate Smith advises a reader who is suffering from low self-esteem, which has been exacerbated by the onset of alopecia

Hair loss is often shrugged off as a crisis of vanity, but it’s so much more than that. Picture: Getty

Dear Expert,

I’m a 25-year-old office worker who has never been very confident as a person or about my looks. Last year, I began suffering from alopecia, which has given me huge anxiety. I would like to get some advice about how to go forward practically and also how to deal with the topic when it comes up in company. I’m at the point where I can’t hide it much longer with bandanas, etc.

Dear ...