Entering her first year of study at the University of Wollongong on NSW's south coast, Eve Walker envisioned she would be focusing on studying, swimming, and socialising with new friends.
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But after battling multiple skin conditions causing her hair to fall out by the handful, the young Gumbaynggirr woman's mental health and confidence dropped.
"A big part of uni is socialising and getting to know new people ... it's been really difficult to show up to classes," Eve said.
"For a big part of my life, my hair was such a big part of my identity ... losing it was really hard."
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Eve, 19, who grew up in Sanctuary Point and moved to Wollongong to pursue a psychology degree this year, said she had always struggled with acne.
But it wasn't until three months ago that her scalp suddenly broke out in sore red bumps.
"It just sort of exploded, they were really sore ... then I started losing hair really quickly," Eve said.
"Now I've got a lot of bald patches around my head."
In a desperate search for answers, she finally received not one, but four diagnoses: dissecting cellulitis, alopecia, severe acne, and psoriasis
Finding out that alopecia was incurable and will require lifelong treatments was devastating, but receiving answers was a sigh of relief.
"For months, I went to multiple GPs, and different dermatologists, and no one really knew how to help me," she said.
"I ended up going to the hospital at one stage because it was so sore.
"I'm glad I stuck through with it, because they eventually found what was causing it and now I have treatment.
"(The dermatologist) said the hair follicle is still there, so it's possible for regrowth, but it will take a very long time."
In Australia, around 2 per cent of the population have alopecia, a condition that causes hair loss, and 2.5 per cent have psoriasis, an autoimmune condition that causes red, sore patches.
"It's been actually eye opening for me to experience this, even though it's difficult, I now know how it feels for a lot of other people," Eve said.
Eve's mother, Casey Walker, watched how her daughter transformed into "a shell of her usual self" due to the hair loss.
This urged Casey to start an online fundraiser, so that Eve could purchase wigs to help her go out in public with confidence, and to also help cover costs of expensive specialist appointments.
As the community pitched in, Eve said she has been able to order two wigs.
She hopes to one day buy a wig suited to withstand the ocean, so she can get back into the saltwater doing what she loves most.
Grace Crivellaro
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
