"I was 13 when my hairdresser first found a small, smooth bald patch on my head. Within weeks, more appeared. I went to a doctor, only to be told: "Try to calm down and your hair will probably come back." It didn't. 

I was a teenage girl, going bald and feeling both utterly helpless and somehow like I was to blame. I started the long journey of desperately trying to hide my hair loss and, when I realised this was impossible, stopped leaving the house, even to go to school. After months of hiding, I eventually decided to go back to the hairdresser and shave off what was left of my hair. She put a wig on my head and I didn't go out in public without one again until 2020. 

For so long, I thought covering up was my only option. I was terrified of being seen as "different". But when I finally stopped hiding, I realised the fear of people's reactions to my appearance was far worse than any encounter I could ever have. I rarely wear wigs now and, if I do, it's because I want to. 

If someone told 13-year-old me that one day she'd have her photo here celebrating being completely bare-headed, completely herself - I don't think she'd believed it. But here I am."

Laura's portrait was part of photographer Isaac Qureshi's 'True Crowns', a photography exhibition in May 2025.

You can find out more about the exhibition here, and follow Isaac's work on Instagram here.