Reality TV star Sam Faiers might look confident and perfectly preened but, for years, she’s been plagued by the compulsive hairpulling disorder trichotillomania. She tells Gabrielle Fagan what triggered it and the impact it’s had on her life 

SAM FAIERS exudes confidence and glamour when she’s on screen starring in The Only Way Is Essex, but in private, she’s battling a distressing problem. She suffers from trichotillomania (TTM or “tric” for short), a condition which causes people to compulsively pull out their hair. For some sufferers, it can lead to significant hair loss and bald patches. In Faiers’ case, it’s her eyelashes she targets.

There’s no apparent sign that anything is wrong when you meet the vivacious blonde, whose large green eyes are framed by thick, dark lashes.

“They’re false,” admits the 22-year-old. “I have to wear two sets to disguise the fact that I have barely any lashes. “Even when I’m away on holiday and not wearing make-up, I’ve used eyeliner to define my eyes because I’m so self-conscious that I don’t have lashes.”

The reality TV star has been speaking out to raise awareness of a helpline started by hair loss expert Lucinda Ellery (nopulling.org).

It’s estimated that about 840,000 women in the UK suffer from TTM, with 80 per cent pulling hair, 47 per cent pulling eyelashes, and 44 per cent pulling eyebrows. The real figure is probably much higher, as a lot of people keep their hair-pulling a secret, and fewer than ten per cent seek treatment.

“I’ve been tugging my eyelashes out since I was about seven years old,” says Faiers. “It started after my stepsister told me you could pick out a lash, make a wish and it would come true. It really became a habit a couple of years later when my dad went to prison for eight years. In my head, I thought that I could wish him home.”

Despite her mother’s attempts to get her daughter to stop – at one stage Faiers wore mittens in bed as she pulled her eyelashes out during her sleep – nothing worked.

TTM is a psychological condition and the majority of those who suffer use it as a coping mechanism for anxiety and other difficult emotions.

Around 50 per cent say that it’s worse when they’re stressed.

“My mum was really upset about it and took me to see doctors, but nothing helped. It was very frustrating for her, and was embarrassing for me in primary school when the other kids used to ask why I didn’t have eyelashes,” says Sam.

“The trouble was, I just liked the feel of doing it. I’d do it when I felt a bit down or stressed, when I was watching TV and zoning out, and very often I wasn’t even aware I was doing it. It’s a comfort thing.”

Faiers has been in TOWIE since the series began in October 2010 and is one of its best-known stars.

“As I’ve got older I’ve become more and more aware of having this problem. I’ve kept thinking, ‘What’s wrong with me, why can’t I stop?’ Like any girl I want to look good and anything that affects your appearance is horrible, particularly when you know you’re actually causing the damage yourself.

“Yet I have a lovely family who tell me I’m beautiful no matter what, I love my work in the boutique and it’s great being on TOWIE. It makes you feel so silly that you just can’t seem to control a bad habit,” she adds.

“I even tried hypnotherapy but that only made me stop for a while and, as my eyelashes grew, gradually the urge to pull them crept back.”

Lucinda Ellery describes TTM as something that’s used for “self-calming”, and points out that many sufferers are often unaware at the time that they’re pulling. It’s a subconscious action, which is why it can be so hard for people to tackle the problem through willpower alone.

“So many young women are affected by TTM, but no one talks about it. By showing how common it is, together with Sam’s courage in speaking out, we can reach so many women who are suffering in silence,” says Ellery who, following her own experience of alopecia, has helped hundreds of others affected by hair loss.

It’s only in the last few months that Faiers has, through targeted psychotherapy, been able to begin recovering. “The specialists I’ve gone to have gone right back through my life to find out the ups and downs I’ve experienced, and show me how this developed,” she says.

“I’m now aware that for me it’s a form self-harm, and also I can see that there is no reason for me to continue. I haven’t done anything wrong so I don’t deserve to hurt myself. It’s wonderful to see my eyelashes growing back slowly and know I’m making progress.”

She’s taken strength from speaking out, and hearing about thousands of other girls – it’s predominantly a problem suffered by women, often starting in the early teens – with the same problem.

“I don’t think enough people speak up about it, even though it can cause real misery. When it’s severe it can lead to some people pulling out all the hair on their head,” she says.

“Although I’m not completely cured of TTM, I feel I have a real understanding of the problem for the first time,” she adds. “My eyelashes are quite short, like little stubs, but by Christmas my aim is to have long lashes and to drink a toast to recovery.”

  • For more information and support about trichotillomania, visit lucindaellery-hairloss.co.uk