She was only nine years old when she lost every hair on her body.

When she was only nine-years-old, Willow Cossill lost every single strand of hair on her body. In just two weeks.

She had a rare – and incredibly aggressive – form of alopecia.

Willow, who is now 15-years-old, spoke to Today Tonight about losing her hair, saying,  “I thought I was going to be bald forever, and I wouldn’t have any friends.”

But when Willow underwent a hair loss treatment, her hair grew back. Now, she has long locks, and it’s hard to believe that this teenager was ever bald.

“It broke my heart everyday,” Willow said. “It was really hard because I always got bullied, I never really went out and hung out with my friends like I do now. Because I was always too scared of what people would think of me.”

“But now,” Willow continued, “I feel so much more confident and beautiful with my hair.”

Willow and her mother, Maria, tried everything to get Willow’s hair to grow back. They saw innumerable specialists, doctors and dermatologists in their quest to make Willow feel more ‘normal’.

One day, when Willow and her mother visited a health food store, they were offered a Chinese herbal pill, which was supposed to assist with hair growth. The pill was made out of Chinese herbs that are believed to nourish the blood, and help the kidney and liver – which increases the blood flow to hair follicles.

The results were almost immediate.

Willow’s story was recently told on an episode of Channel 7’s Today Tonight.

It may seem unbelievable – miraculous even – but within weeks Willow’s hair started growing back. Willow told Today Tonight: “I was so excited and I kept taking more and more of the pills, and my hair just kept growing.”

Now, Willow looks like this:

It’s easy to understand why any adolescent would feel much like Willow did, in a similar situation. High school can be difficult enough to endure for teenaged girls, without having to worry about having no hair. And one can only imagine her relief when her hair began to grow back.

While there is no medical cure for alopecia, stories such as these keep sufferers of hair loss hopeful that there is something they can do.

And in Willow’s case, it worked.

Would you try a Chinese herbal supplement as a hair loss treatment? For those suffering from alopecia, do you know of any other hair loss treatments?