Dismissed by her GP
"I was 35 when I started having what I didn't realise were perimenopause symptoms. It was dry mouth and my taste buds changed and brain fog," Estel Jennings told BlackCountryLive.
The Walsall mother-of-two and special educational needs teacher began losing hair and experiencing memory lapses. "I'd forget what I was talking about and words didn't form anymore for me. Then I noticed my hair went really dry and brittle and didn't look healthy," she said. When she consulted her GP, she was told she was too young for perimenopause.
Her hair also began falling out in the shower and when brushed. "Everytime I brushed my hair it was falling out and in the shower too," she explained.
Laughter from doctors
When she raised her symptoms with her GP, she received a dismissive response. "I was like 'something is really wrong with me' but the doctor said that my body was just slowing down," Estel said. She also requested an MRI due to constant headaches, but was refused. "I had a headache constantly and asked the doctor to send me for an MRI," she recalled.
The experience left her fearing for her health. "At one point I thought 'oh my god I am dying?'. That is what gave me the kick to launch the business because life is too short," she said.
A turning point came when a woman in her 50s suggested her symptoms could be menopause. "I went back to the doctor who pretty much laughed at me and told me they wouldn't waste their time on checking," Estel said. "A private clinic then diagnosed me with perimenopause and I was prescribed HRT."
An expensive problem
To cope with her hair loss, Estel began using hair oil to encourage regrowth and disguise her receding hairline. But the product was costly. "I ordered a 30ml bottle of hair oil and it was £50 and it only lasted a month. I knew I wouldn't be able to afford it going forward so decided to look into it myself," she said.
With a background in science and manufacturing, she started creating her own oil at home. "I started to look into the ingredients in my shampoo and conditioner and began making a conscious decision to look at natural ingredients," she said.
The hair loss took an emotional toll. "It was getting me down and I was styling my hair to cover up the loss. I began wearing hats and my hairline was receding so I never wanted to tie it up. I was convinced that people were looking at my hairline and it made me so self conscious," Estel added.
From TikTok to Vanity Fair
In summer 2024, she launched Idyllic Hair and Skin on TikTok Shop, later adding a website with help from a close friend. The formula went through many tweaks. "The formula was tweaked so many time until we got to where we are now," she said. "So many oils just sit on the skin and hair but we wanted something that really worked and penetrated into the scalp."
Friends and customers noticed a difference. "People were commenting on how good our hair looked and ended up asking for a bottle of oil for themselves," she said.
After achieving vegan approval, Estel took the product to the NEC Christmas fair in 2024. "I didn't want to launch until we were vegan approved. We booked into the Christmas fair at the NEC that year (2024) and we sold out before the weekend was over. It wasn't until then that we realised how big it could be," she said.
Since then, Idyllic Hair and Skin has been featured in Vanity Fair. Estel, now 39, is preparing to leave her full-time teaching job to run the business. She lives in Walsall with partner James Pettitt and is mother to Paige, 21, and Finley, 11.
A mission to help others
Having navigated her own healthcare ordeal, Estel is now focused on supporting other men and women experiencing hair loss. "When people ask how I manage to work full time as a teacher and do this too, I tell them it's because of the difference it is making to so many people," she said.
