Hair is a multi-billion pound industry. It is a potent sign of femininity, sexuality, and health. As a nation, we're obsessed with it – we preen it, cut it, style it, dye it and spend millions on it every year. Losing it can be devastating. Yet across Britain an estimated one million people are literally tearing their hair out. They suffer from trichotillomania (TTM), an impulse control disorder that causes sufferers to experience uncontrollable urges to pull out their own hair, often to the point of baldness. Why do they do it and how can they stop?

In Girls on the Pull filmmaker Ruth Kelly explores the secret world of trichotillomania by meeting those affected by the condition. Laura, Mel and Harriet are three bright, beautiful women who are determined to stop pulling their hair out. They take us with them on their journey to recovery, which for some comes in the form of blonde bombshell Lucinda Ellery. Lucinda runs a salon specialising in treating women with trichotillomania by helping them to achieve what they want more than anything else – a full head of their own hair. But it's not as easy as it sounds and in spite of their determination, the women face an uphill struggle as they battle against the overwhelming urge to pull out their hair.