ABOUT HER HAIR MY HEAD & GEORGINA'S HAIR LOSS STORY


Hello and welcome to Her Hair My Head, which was set up by Georgina Probert. We are an online shop and information hub for women who are suffering from all forms of hair loss. We aim to pull together informed advice that empowers and supports women to live with hair loss – and to help them navigate the world of alternative hair to find the perfect wig or topper.

  • We offer FREE online and in-person consultations to help our customers find their dream hair!
  • We created our own range of high-quality yet affordable REMY human hair toppers and wigs.
  • We also sell toppers and wigs from popular brands – including Jon Renau Raquel Welch, Ellen Wille, Rene of Paris, Sentoo, TrendCo, Supplex and UniWigs. Products coming onto our website soon!
  • We also help our customers to buy and sell preloved hair through our online marketplace of gently used toppers and wigs.

The history of Her Hair My Head

Her Hair My Head began life as an Instagram page (@her_hair_my_head) set up by Georgina in the summer of 2019. Georgina suffers from androgenetic alopecia and wanted to share her own experiences of hair loss with other women to help them feel less alone. She started by documenting her hair loss journey and talking about the toppers she had tried. She then began reviewing toppers from various different brands.

When Covid hit, the price of human hair rocketed and Georgina decided to create her own range of more affordable human hair toppers and wigs. Using her extensive knowledge of the different types of human hair, topper base constructions – and just generally what she liked and disliked as a topper wearer – she worked hard to find a supplier that could offer luxury high-grade REMY human hair that is silky soft yet durable and that doesn't costs thousands of pounds. And the Super Flat topper and Luxury wigs ranges were born!

Now, Georgina uses her Instagram page to showcases her products and raise awareness of female hair loss and to help and support as many women as she can – both in the UK and around the world.

What sets Her Hair My Head apart?

When Georgina first discovered that toppers existed, she wanted to go to a wig shop or salon to try on lots of different pieces. But, at that time, there was nowhere in the UK that had more than a few toppers in stock. Buying a topper is extremely difficult to do online and you really need to try on pieces before you buy to get the right base size, coverage, amount of hair and a good colour match. Her Hair My Head has a wide range of toppers and wigs that you can come and try on. We work with our customers to help them find the right piece, rather than just try to sell them any old thing. There's no pressure to buy whatsoever. Georgina has hair loss herself and has been wearing toppers (and sometimes wigs) since 2017, so she knows a lot about them! She can also empathise with what her customers are going through and offers a sympathetic ear about how rubbish having hair loss can be. 

 

Since the Her Hair My Head business launched in May 2021, we have been featured in the mainsteam media

Georgina's hair loss journey

Aside from an awful haircut, I had a normal amount of hair as a child. But I have always had very fine hair. When I was a teenager (about 14-15 years old), I went through a short but intense bout of trichotillomania (an uncontrollable urge to pull out your hair). This was triggered by me finding a really thick pure-white hair, pulling it out and liking how it felt in my fingers. I then started pulling out any thick dark hairs from the crown and top of my head.

I had relatively normal hair as a young child!

It got to a point after a few months where my hair was visibly thinning. I was constantly playing with or pulling out my hair – most of the time I wasn’t even aware I was doing it. I saw my GP who ended up hypnotising me to help stop the pulling. This helped a lot and I started to become more aware of when I was pulling. Even though I stopped pulling my hair out after a few months, it never fully recovered and was much thinner at the hairline and parting. For years, I beat myself up that I had caused my hair to be permanently thin by damaging my hair follicles. I had never really heard of alopecia. 

Lack of regrowth


As I got into my mid-twenties, I noticed that my hair was thinning and I started to do a bit more research about trichotillomania and regrowth. I discovered that for many women, their hair will grow back once they have stopped regularly pulling it out – especially if the pulling was only for a short period. Since being diagnosed with androgenetic alopecia I have realised that my hair loss was not my fault. The pulling started off the thinning early and it would have happened at some point anyway.

I also discovered that my Granny had hair loss and had been wearing a wig since she was in her 40s (she had androgenetic alopecia, which I didn’t realise until after I got my diagnosis). She used to wear wigs as an old lady, but it was only once I started speaking about it with my Mum that I realised how long she had been wearing wigs.

A diagnosis at last

I now know that I have androgenetic alopecia, also known as female pattern baldness, which is a genetic form of hair loss. You can find out more about this and other types of alopecia on the Alopecia UK website.

It is likely that my hair would have always thinned eventually, but I exacerbated the process by pulling it out. I got my AA diagnosis from my GP after I had my first daughter in 2016. It was suggested that I try medication to treat it – or at least maintain the hair I had left – but unfortunately, the correct dosage for women was only available in the contraceptive pill. I am not able to take the combined contraceptive pill, as it gives me visual migraines. So that avenue was closed to me. I did not want to use topical treatments like Minoxidil as I knew I wanted to have another child and I would have to stop this treatment while pregnant and breastfeeding.

Post-partum hair loss

My hair did seem a little bit thicker during my first pregnancy, but this is because the hair stays longer in the growing phase of its cycle, which means that less hair falls out than usual. It is normal for women to have a shed of hair about 3-6 months after your baby is born, as it goes back to its normal cycle. This happened to me, but I shed a substantial amount of hair and then it never grew back. I reached a point where I was using brown hair spray or hair fibres to cover most of the top of my scalp and my hair still looked thin. I went through the whole process again after having my second daughter.


This is me not long after having my second daughter at home (she came very quickly and we couldn't make it to the birthing centre) during Covid in 2020.

 

The turning point

A critical turning point for me was my best friend’s wedding in the summer of 2017, where I was asked to be a bridesmaid. I was thrilled to be asked, but the thought of everyone looking at my hair and taking photos was too much. That’s when I started to do some research online and discovered the world of toppers. I bought my first topper online after having done some research – and watching a lot of YouTube videos! – and it wasn't a bad first try. When I first put it on, I felt that it looked really fake and not like me at all. I wore it out to lunch with my friend and felt so self-conscious. But now I know that it just needed some customisation!

 This is the very first time I tried on my first topper. I look horrified!

At my best friend's wedding wearing my topper after having a fringe cut in and it styled in an up-do – and feeling fabulous!

 

A solution that works for me

I have been wearing toppers full-time since 2017. I don't wear them at home, but if I am out of the house then I have one on. In fact, when I get home I whip off my hair and my bra! For the first two years of wearing a topper, I was scared that people would notice it was not my hair and I actually found this very stressful. If people complimented my hair, I would feel very awkward and wouldn't know what to say.

I only ‘came out’ about my hair loss to my wider circle of friends and acquaintances in the summer of 2019 when I set up my hair loss account on Instagram (@her_hair_my_head,). Between having my two daughters, I suffered an early miscarriage and I realised that there are worse things in life than people knowing that I wear alternative hair. Being more open about my hair loss and wearing toppers and wigs has changed my life for the better. I cannot recommend it enough, but appreciate that it is a scary thing to do. It felt like a weight off my shoulders when I was simply honest with people about my hair – or lack of it. Plus I have found that most people are shocked that it isn't my own hair and are fascinated to learn more about toppers. 

Now, my mission is to help other women with hair loss to feel more confident. I offer help, advice and emotional support, as well as selling a wide range of alternative hair options.

 

Some of the different toppers I have worn over the past few years!