‘The Great British Baking Show’ Star Baker Jasmine Opens Up About Her Journey With Alopecia: “I Genuinely Am Starting to Enjoy Not Having Hair and Being Different”

The Great British Baking Show “Bread Week” is always a tense episode for the bakers. Judge Paul Hollywood is basically the king of bread and puts everyone in the tent through their paces to prove their mettle. This year on the Netflix show, one young baker rises — no bread pun intended — above everyone else to win Star Baker. Not only that, but in the process of the episode, bald baker Jasmine Mitchell opened up about living with alopecia.

**Spoilers for The Great British Baking Show “Bread Week,” now streaming on Netflix**

Ever since The Great British Baking Show returned to Netflix a few weeks back, a few bakers have already differentiated themselves with their creative bakes and even more creative personal style. In just three weeks, 23-year-old medical student Jasmine has shown off her impeccable piping work, great biscuit game, and, yes, bald head. The beautiful baker aced “Bread Week” with Mediterranean-inspired monkey bread, a first place win in the iced donut Technical Challenge, and gorgeous Sweet Bread Showstopper. In fact, it was while she was prepping that Star Baker-winning Showstopper that she finally began to talk about the reason why she was bald in the first place.

As Jasmine found herself plaiting the dough of her stacked Showstopper breads, she mused, with a smile, about the irony of the situation.

“Ironic that I’m plaiting when I have no hair to plait myself,” she said.

“I had my own hair, completely, until I was like twelve,” she said, filling in her own personal backstory. “No one really knows what causes alopecia. There was nothing that triggered it. I just randomly started losing my hair.”

According to Jasmine, she wasn’t bravely bald from the jump. In fact, it took years until she was happy to go out in public without covering her alopecia with a wig.

“So it literally wasn’t until a couple of years ago, yeah, that I stopped wearing my wigs,” Jasmine said. “And it was really hard at the start going outside without wearing a wig and just looking different.”

She then said, really proudly, ” But I feel like I’m really getting to the point where I genuinely am starting to enjoy like not having hair and being different.”

The Great British Baking Show has a history of embracing and uplifting ordinary folks whom might considered “different.” Briony May Williams became a sensation when she nonchalantly entered the tent with a “little hand.” Lizzie Acker touched people all over the world when she baked a Showstopper cake celebrating her “SEN”s, aka Special Educational Needs. Two seasons ago, Tasha became the first deaf baker in Great British Baking Show history. Indeed, every season seems to literally expand who can be welcomed in the literal Bake Off tent to include more and more people from all walks of life. Baldness is beautiful, as is everyone who graces this wonderful show.

If you want to know more about Jasmine Mitchell, you can continue to follow her journey on The Great British Baking Show this year. You can also follow her on Instagram @jasmine.mitchell.