Alopecia advocate Holly Faller shares her 30-year journey to acceptance after wearing a wig since she was five

The 35-year-old from Adelaide, South Australia, was diagnosed with alopecia when she was one.

From the age of five, Faller wore a wig to conceal the condition that causes hair loss, with only her family and closest friends ever seeing her bald.

But last year, Faller took a huge leap and went out in public for the first time without her wig, which she calls her “security blanket”.

She made the decision to go “naked” to help other women and girls living with alopecia feel less alone.

Today, Faller has built a strong community on Instagram and through her blog called Oh My Holly, creating a safe and supportive space for others navigating their own alopecia journeys.

She also partners with wig brands to help women find the right fit and is proud of the community she has created.

But despite helping so many others embrace their hair loss, Faller admits she has been on her own 30-year journey towards acceptance.

Faller said her parents tried various creams, medications and home-remedies in the hopes of encouraging hair growth.

By the age of five, her parents made the difficult decision to cut off the few tuffs of hair she had left, and she was fitted with her first wig.

While she can’t remember that time, she does remember wearing a wig to school every day.

“I think it was a bit of a security blanket,” Faller told 7NEWS.com.au.

“It gave me that comfort to go through what I was going through in a little bit more of a private way.”

She said while the wig wasn’t easy to manage as a child, it meant she didn’t have to stand out in the playground.

Faller admitted she only got through those years because she had extremely supportive classmates.