My hair was my crowning glory, it was my best feature. Now that may sound big headed but it was, everybody used to tell me. I remember not long after I left school I bumped into a girl, who I didn’t particularly like. I will never forget what she said to me; she was giving my friends compliments on the clothes they had on and how beautiful they looked and  then she turned to me. It took her a few moments to say it but she said ‘and you have always had gorgeous hair, Vanessa’. Now this was said through gritted teeth but I could tell she meant it.

I have always had a keen interest in hair and make up; it's actually one of my passions. I  studied Art and Design and have always been creative. I have had so many different hair styles its hard to list them all, but I finally settled into a style by growing my thick wavy hair into a very long layered style and I loved it. I could wear it up, straighten it, braid it, wear a big quiff at the front or have lovely loose or tight curls.

The styles were endless ... that is until July 2014. I noticed one day when washing my hair and combing the very expensive conditioning treatment through it that there was some noticeable shedding. Enough to concern me in that moment, but forget about it until my next hair wash. The second wash was even worse and that is how I became aware of my Alopecia. As you can imagine, I panicked. I couldn’t sleep with the worry; and the fear that I could lose all of my beautiful hair was paralysing. It took only four months to lose all my scalp hair completely and a further two months before I lost all my eyebrows, lashes and body hair. I don’t mind saying this was the worst time of my life, I had crippling anxiety and the fear that somebody would notice my hair loss was over whelming.

Not only did I lose my looks I was also experiencing the most excruciating pain. My hair felt like it was being ripped out of my skull. Most nights I couldn’t even put my head on my pillow. Once all my hair was gone, the pain stopped, it was almost a relief that I was bald! In December 2014 I was officially diagnosed with Alopecia Universalis.

During my horrendous journey, I found that there was very little to no help or support in West Cumbria and I had to travel to Newcastle for my first wig (which was awful, by the way). Through trial and error I have been able to source amazing wigs and hair pieces that not only feel comfortable, but look fabulous. Most of my friends and family have no idea that I have lost all my hair as my wigs are so similar to my real hair and my makeup is so convincing.

Things are good now, things are now very good, in fact I have never had so many compliments on how good I look.

2017 Update

Glamorous Butterfly has now secured a further approved NHS supplier with the Salford Royal Trust in Manchester. Glamorous Butterfly is also featured on the approved list of wig suppliers for North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust. You can find further details about the voucher scheme here. We are also delighted to announce that we are registered with MyNewHair organisation which was founded by Trevor Sorbie as an official supplier, stylist and cutting service for NHS wigs purchased under the voucher scheme. 

Glamorous Butterfly is delighted to announce that we have international clients including Milano Hair, House of European Hair, Iwig by Erica Luxembourg, Deming Hair, Jon Renau and Dimples. Skype or telephone consultations for overseas clients can be arranged by simply calling or emailing Vanessa.

2018 Update

We are thrilled and proud to announce that Glamorous Butterfly can now offer our very own luxury European hair collection of wigs and toppers. 

You can be involved in the design process from beginning to end and we can create a bespoke piece, fitted to your exact measurements just for you.

With a choice of the finest double drawn virgin european hair through to remy, brazillian, processed european and asian hair. Superior quality materials and fabrics allow you to have the most natural, secure and comfortable piece. Coupled with a taylored colouring, cutting and styling service you never have to worry again about your alternative hair requirements 🦋