Laura Byrne reveals shock health diagnosis: 'It actually started off the back of The Bachelor'

Laura Byrne is 'going bald', and according to her, The Bachelor is to blame. 

The 38-year-old Bachelor alum was chatting to her Life Uncut podcast host Brittany Hockley about her recent diagnosis with a stress related scalp condition.  

After seeking professional help from a hair specialist, Laura revealed that she's been diagnosed with Telogen effluvium, which causes hair to thin or fall out.

'It actually started off the back of The Bachelor. I went through this, like, ridiculous amount of stress when that show finished, that I lost a copious amounts of hair,' she said. 

'That was the very first time I ever went and saw a hair specialist.' 

'Now, over the years, it's been getting progressively worse. And I would say at the moment it's the worst it's ever been. It's no longer going through fluctuations of improving. I'm just going bald.' 

She continued: 'So, I wear my hair back in a bun pretty much every day,' she said. 

'And if you ever see me not wearing my hair in a bun, it's because I have some very heavy-duty extensions clipped in, by someone who is much better at doing hair than I am.

'They have worked their magic to try and make it look as full as possible, but from the back it's not going great.'

Telogen effluvium is usually temporary and even without treatment, hair often grows back on its own once the stressor that caused it has been resolved. 

'For you, it’s not pattern balding. Like, there’s not big chunks. It’s almost just an overall thinning, right?' Brittany asked her. 

'Yeah. And I think that most women who have had kids have had some fluctuations,' Laura said. 

'But the reason why I wanted to talk about it is because there is so much shame, and there is so much embarrassment, when you are a female and you are going through losing your hair.

'It's something that I've questioned whether or not I wanted to talk about it on national radio.'

Laura appeared on The Bachelor Australia in 2017 and met her now-husband, and father to her two children, Matty 'J' Johnson — who is currently in South Africa filming I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!

In April 2019, they announced their engagement. 

Later that year on June, 20, the couple had daughter Marlie. Their second daughter, Lola, was born on February 4, 2021. 

According to Melbourne Skin and Dermatology, the condition happens when a significant stress causes a large number of hairs to stop growing and enter the resting phase of the hair growth cycle. 

Hair loss usually occurs two to three months after exposure to a trigger and 'stress management is also a crucial aspect of treatment.'

'We had multiple people in our family pass away last year,' Laura said. 

'Work's been stressful. I've had babies back-to-back,' she continued. 

'And what happens to your body, is that your body doesn't think that it needs to keep hair.

'It gets rid of the things it doesn't need, and it kind of goes into survival mode.' 

'But even when you are good again, and even when things are thriving, it's like your hair doesn't know how to turn itself back on,' Laura said. 

'So, it's still like, well, we don't need this. And you will just keep continuing to lose hair until you go bald. 

'If you don't do something about trying to stop that, or figuring out the reasons for why you're losing it in the first place.' 

The Melbourne Dermatology website advises outcomes of any treatment 'largely depend on the ability to resolve the triggering issue.'