My hair loss journey began when I was just 17. What started as a small thinning patch quickly spiraled into years of unanswered questions, countless appointments, and a constant feeling that no one truly understood what I was going through. Hair loss, particularly my form of alopecia seemed to sit in a grey area. Healthcare professionals often dismissed it, and I was left bouncing from doctor to doctor, re-explaining my story over and over. At one point just being told to look into self help tools rather than being given any real medical solutions. It felt like no one was taking it seriously.

Eventually, I was diagnosed with lichen planopilaris and female pattern hair loss, but every option I was offered came with harsh drugs and frightening side effects that risked damaging other aspects of my health. I felt trapped, desperate for help yet terrified of the supposed solutions. My confidence was at rock bottom, I stopped wearing my hair down, avoided the sea I once loved fearing anyone seeing my wet hair, and carried a constant fear that this one thing defined me.

At my lowest point, I travelled to Cyprus with my partner where I visited a renowned studio for wigs. I’ll never forget the first piece I tried, for a brief second I felt like I had my hair back, it perfectly matched, and, by coincidence, its custom name was Ellie. It felt like fate, like maybe this was finally the answer. But when I sat in that chair I waited for the professional to finish with another client, something shifted. I looked at myself in the mirror and, despite everything, I didn’t feel like me. I felt like an alien in that chair. Overcome with emotion, I burst into tears, and in that moment I realised I wasn’t ready to give up on finding a natural solution.

That moment became my turning point. I sought out new guidance, under great care committed to improving my health from within, amongst other things I started exploring supplements and nutrition. Slowly, I began to see changes, my hair, my confidence, my entire outlook. Along the way, through endless conversations, I realised something else, so many people, at one point or another, experience hair loss. It’s far more common than most of us talk about, yet still so isolating when you’re in the middle of it.

What once felt like a lonely battle has now become the emotional drive behind Novu. I know firsthand how frustrating, hopeless, and defining hair loss can feel, and my mission is to ensure no one else has to go through it the way I did. Novu isn’t just a product, it’s a piece of the hope, care, and natural support my 17 year old self was searching for.

I first noticed signs of male pattern hair loss at just seventeen. What began as mild thinning slowly became something I couldn’t ignore. I often found myself comparing my hair to others, wondering why mine was changing before I had even reached my twenties.

Over the years, I tried countless products, routines, and treatments to improve my hair and scalp health. Eventually, I saw scalp specialists and was diagnosed with seborrheic and contact dermatitis. During the same consultation, after a detailed scalp examination and discussion about my history, I was also told I was experiencing male pattern baldness.

That moment was difficult to accept. Until then, I had convinced myself the shedding was caused purely by scalp inflammation, something I could fix. Learning that wasn’t the case forced me to face a new reality.

At times my scalp irritation was so severe it kept me awake at night. Stress made the shedding worse, my confidence dropped, and even small comments about my hairline stayed with me longer than they should have.

There’s one day that sticks out in my mind. I came home after a particularly tough shift at work. My scalp felt fiery and irritated. I scratched it while trying to decompress, and more hair than I wanted to see fell out - along with dry skin from the dermatitis. In that moment, I genuinely considered shaving my head and was convinced that I would do it that week. I remember using a social media filter that made you look bald. I was attempting to accept what I believed was my fate and the end of my brief hair journey. 

However, over time things improved. My scalp health stabilised, the shedding slowed, and my confidence began to rebuild. I had taken hair supplements for years, but I always felt they could be better, cleaner, more targeted, and more effective.

After years of frustration with products that overpromised and underdelivered, my partner and I decided to create something we could truly stand behind.

That’s how Novu Life Hair was born - built from years of personal experience, research, and a desire to create something better for people on their own hair journey.

If I could speak to my seventeen-year-old self, I’d tell him that things can get better and that confidence doesn’t have to be defined by a hairline. Novu Life exists to help others feel that same reassurance.