See What This Mother Did to Stop 2-Year-Old Daughter Pulling out Her Hair

A desperate mother who was in a bid to stop her two-year-old daughter from compulsively pulling out her own hair made a heartbreaking decision to shave off her beautiful blonde curls.

Kerry Shearer who believed her daughter Isla has trichotillomania; an impulse control disorder where the sufferer feels compelled to yank out their own hair felt shaving her head was the only solution.

Sadly, the drastic measure has done little to curb Isla’s extreme behaviour. Now the tot, who is yet to receive an official diagnosis from doctors, simply tugs on her mum’s hair, or pulls it out of hairbrushes instead.

According to MirrorsUK, Kerry said it was a difficult decision to shave her 2-year-0ld daughter’s hair but with her assistant distribution manager husband, Gavin, they were able to take it off.

“It was a really difficult decision to shave Isla’s hair. She had beautiful, blonde curls. Once her hair was no longer there, she started taking mine, or pulling it out of hairbrushes.

I’ve tried everything to stop her, but nothing seems to work. I know trichotillomania is often linked to anxiety, but Isla is the happiest child going, so I don’t know what’s causing it.”

Kerry recalled how, when Isla was an infant, she would wrap her hair around her finger as she sucked her thumb. At first, the family weren’t concerned, thinking that the habit was “cute.”

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For a while, Isla seemed fine, until she started to pull out her mother’s hair instead then, once her own began to grow back, she continues yanking out her own locks again and again.

Now her worried mum has tried everything, from coating Isla’s hair in Vaseline, so it is too greasy to pull at, to encouraging her to play with a blanket or dummy instead, but so far, nothing has worked.

And, while health visitors agree it is highly possible that little Isla has trichotillomania, doctors who have not made a formal diagnosis still hope this could be a phase she will grow out of.

“Even if Isla does grow out of it, I know it’s linked to stress, so it could come back as she grows up. I want there to be a diagnosis on record, so that help is easily available in later life, if she needs it,” Kerry said.

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Kerry, who has received support from other mums experiencing similar problems, after reaching out on Facebook, is now sharing her story to raise awareness of the condition.

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According to her it would be great to see more people becoming aware of trichotillomania, as it happens to millions of people around the world, she says that just because someone looks different doesn’t make them bad.

“Isla’s siblings know all about it and are supportive, so there’s been that extra education for them, too. But I do worry about bullying once Isla gets to school age.

It’d be great for other parents to teach their kids about this condition, so they can understand that, just because someone looks different, it doesn’t mean they’re less of a good person.”

Photo credit: Facebook