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Eyebrows tattoing is a face saver for alopecia sufferers
The shock of losing her grandmother left Kay Fisher without eyebrows for 14 years.
At just nine years old, grief triggered the onset of hair-loss disease alopecia and Kay had to go through the further trauma of seeing her hair and eyebrows disappear.
After years of classroom taunts and feeling different from her friends, Kay, now 23, has found comfort in eyebrow tattoo treatment which is being offered for free by a Sunderland clinic.
Speaking about the onset of her symptoms, Kay, of Red House, Sunderland, said: "It started as tiny patches and then within the space of three or four weeks I had lost nearly every part of my hair on my head.
"It was tough going through it at such a young age as I would have to wear a bandana for school and would get called names, such as a pirate, from the other kids at school."
During the years, Kay experienced bouts of re-growth but any stress, caused by incidents such as dancing contests or exams, would cause her hair to fall out once more.
In a bid to combat the disease she has tried and tested a variety of treatments from gels and creams to steroid injections in her scalp.
But despite wearing a wig to cover her bald patches, Kay found it more difficult to disguise her lack of eyebrows.
Now Roker-based Bellissimo NE is offering Wearsiders suffering from alopecia or the effects of chemotherapy treatment a course of eyebrow tattooing for free.
To be eligible for the treatment, which is subject to consultation, the patients need to be unemployed but seeking work.
Micro-pigmentation technician, Michelle Crake, who delivers the treatment said: "Eyebrows make such a difference to the framing of someone's face and you can see a big difference in Kay."
The treatment, worth about 300, works by infusing the top layer of skin with pigment. Fine hair strokes are then tattooed on to the skin to replicate the appearance of hair.
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Weather for Sunderland
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
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