A balding mum who spent years 'too embarrassed to look in the mirror' was left in tears by her new Dawn French-inspired hair replacement - that her smitten hubby says 'knocks 25 years off her'.
Angela Raine began losing her hair aged just 18 and saw her self-confidence plummet, while her 'nightmare' wigs left her living in fear that they'd blow off or be mocked in public.
But the 45-year-old, from Peterlee, County Durham, put an end to it earlier this month when she booked in with hair replacement firm Novo Cabelo to restore her self-esteem.
Smitten husband Chris Raine, 45, was wowed by her new look - claiming her quiff style and newly-regained mojo reminds him of the woman he fell in love with back in 1996.
In a viral TikTok video Novo Cabelo owner Rob Wood can be seen attaching a £350 'hair system', made with real hair, and when blindfolded Angela sees the finished look she can't help but well up with happiness.
The finance worker, who suffers from hereditary pattern baldness, used to 'hide in the kitchen' from visiting family to avoid them seeing her wigless.
She also spent holidays fearful of hairpieces flying off on rollercoasters or open-top buses.
But she's revealing her transformation she's been bombarded with compliments that have left her feeling 'very youthful' and now admits she 'can't pass a mirror without admiring her new look'.
Angela said: "It's taken me back to being 14 or 15 years old, because I haven't had a proper hairline since then. I feel very youthful.
"At 18 I couldn't have done the quiff like Rob did because you would have seen my scalp, then it got worse to a point where I wouldn't go anywhere without a wig on. It was so soul-destroying.
"I'd hide from mirrors until I had my wig on and my make-up done, and even then I thought I looked fake. I've been scared of looking in the mirror since I was around 26.
"Now Chris has joked he's going to take the mirrors down because I can't walk past them without having a peek.
"It's just like a dream and I'm going to wake up and not have my hair.
"I was really nervous in the morning of the transformation, but it was an excited nervous. When he lifted the blindfold, it just didn't look like me.
"The main thing was seeing that I had a hairline.
"I did well up, but it was the amazing comments on TikTok that made me cry. They just really boosted my self-esteem.
"I don't think anybody would have realised my confidence was dented, but if I was out and people wanted to take a photo I'd hate it because I could tell it was a wig. I hated photos or videos.
"I was scared to exercise outside the house. I stopped doing aerobic classes and I'd start to do them at home because if I got too hot with my wig on I'd start to itch and I'd be embarrassed.
"When we went to Florida in 2017 I'd only go on little rollercoasters and even those I'd literally have to hold on and try and do it without somebody looking.
"When we've been to London and done open-top bus tours it's been the same. If the wind [had] got hold of it and blew it off I'd have been horrified.
"It impacted the way I enjoyed those experiences. I enjoyed Florida but it was that hot, it felt like I had a woolly hat on. It was a nightmare.
"We're going back this year and it'll be amazing not to have to hold my hair. I won't be scared it's going to come flying off, I've got my confidence back now."
Chris says he didn't notice Angela's already-thinning hair when they first met, but as the pair grew older he saw her self-confidence decrease as her hair loss worsened.
He saw Angela's new look for the first time when she got home from her appointment with Rob and he says she looks like the person he fell in love with 25 years ago.
Chris said: "I always thought she was beautiful anyway and we're going strong, but it's almost changed her back to how she looked when we first met.
"I just thought 'wow'. She used to change her wigs that often, the colour would change, so to go for a natural grey of her normal hair it was unbelievable.
"She used to hide in the kitchen when people knocked on the door in case it was family and we used to laugh about that, but you could tell when she walked through the door how confident she was."
Angela first noticed her hair thinning at 18 years old when she'd tried to style it in a quiff, and she's since learned patterned baldness runs in the family - affecting her dad, grandad and brother.
The mum-of-two's hair troubles worsened when she had her second child, Jessica Raine, 12, in 2009 and she got her first wig six months later in 2010.
She's been eligible for NHS vouchers, costing £80, to receive two £100 wigs for a year, but she found her mood dropped the more used the wig began to look.
Angela's 'hair system' includes a stretchy ‘polyskin’ membrane attached to her head and existing hair with double-sided adhesive tape made especially for skin.
It'll last around six months and Angela will need to have it cleaned by 39-year-old Rob every month whose own salon is only a short drive away in Seaham, County Durham.
She believes her new style has boosted her desire to lose weight as she's 'not hiding behind the wig anymore', which is a far cry from her confidence being at an all-time low three years ago.
Angela's decision to look into ditching wigs was caused by her puzzled nephews asking questions when she had to remove hers due to the heat while babysitting over summer.
She approached Rob late last year after being wowed by his previous viral videos where he gives the same treatment to a London bus driver and a pensioner suffering from celiac disease.
After the pair met in November and decided to use grey hair, Rob took inspiration from Dawn French's new look to create her style - and he says he's proud to have been able to help.
Rob said: "I feel honoured to be the person to step things up for her and make her life easier.
"She's such a lovely woman and that's why I got quite emotional.
"I understood how important it was for her and that dawned on me at the time. It was a relief for her and she just deserves it.
"She's one of those women who've never asked for anything off anyone and this was about her this time."
Rob's post to novocabelohair on Tiktok has been viewed almost 5,000 times, liked more than 400 times and is approaching 100 comments complimenting Angela's new look.
Louise Kilner said: "Angela looks amazing. She really is a beautiful person inside and out."
Another user added: "Such a sad situation that you have turned into a wonderful one. Best wishes to this lady."
Even Chris commented to thank Rob, saying: "Thank you for making my wife even more amazing than she was before."
