Gail Mabalane hopes to inspire women as she opens up about her hair loss and regrowth journey

Actress Gail Mabalane hopes to inspire women and help them open up about their experiences with hair loss.

In the first episode of a series on her newly launched YouTube channel, she detailed the events that led to her going bald in 2019. It all started after she decided to switch up her look from her signature pixie cut to a bun. 

“We {Me and my stylist] decided to gel the hair down and put it up into a bun. I could tell this was not going to be practical for me because it didn't hold my hair the way I wanted it to be.”

They agreed to get a stronger product that promised to deliver better results and she was able to keep the hairstyle for weeks.

She didn't immediately realise that something was wrong until she went to the salon for a routine hair wash.

“I remember the lady who washed my hair taking the bun off. It felt like it broke off my hair. That's how hard it had got. For me, I was like I do whatever I want with my hair so losing a bit of hair was not a big deal,” she said.

She asked her hairstylist to cut her hair but he convinced her to treat it and regrow it instead. After weeks of self-medicating and attempting to treat it, she saw a specialist and was diagnosed with central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia (CCCA) which causes hair loss. 

In 2019, the 'Blood and Water' star shocked her followers when she posted a picture of her bald. Women flooded her comments, saying they were encouraged by her sharing her experience with hair loss. 

She garnered similar responses from her YouTube series.

Sindi Radebe wrote: “So many people suffer from it, but don't know what it is. So this is helping a lot. But you need to consult for proper diagnoses. Thank you for sharing your story.”

“Thank you for sharing this with us. I started suffering from hair loss after my second pregnancy in 2014. I've just been sticking to short hair haircuts and wigs. I haven't consulted though, it's probably time for me to do so,” Lwandle Qakaza wrote.