Alopecia: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

Are you worried that you have alopecia areata? Are you wondering why you’ve started to experience this condition, and whether it will ever go away? Perhaps you’re looking for tips on things to avoid when you have alopecia areata? Read on to discover all you need to know…

What is Alopecia?

Alopecia is hair loss that appears, most commonly, in patches on the scalp. Occasionally, it can also occur on other areas of the body. It isn’t a particularly common condition – with only around 2% of the worldwide population experiencing it during their lives.

The numbers of alopecia in women and alopecia in men tend to be similar – so the condition doesn’t discriminate. It is not uncommon to see alopecia in children, and this is often the time the disease will present itself. If you are going to experience this skin condition you will likely have developed it by age 30.

What causes Alopecia?

Alopecia areata is an autoimmune condition. Alopecia symptoms develop when your body’s immune system decides to wrongly attack a certain part of your body. In the case of alopecia areata this happens when your body’s cells start to attack your hair follicles.

How does Alopecia start?

Alopecia can be highly upsetting to experience so it’s no wonder you’re anxious to find a reason as to why you’ve suddenly started experiencing hair loss. There are a few reasons why you may be seeing signs of alopecia. These include:

• Changes in your hormone levels
• Stress
• The body’s natural ageing process
• An underlying medical condition

What are the symptoms of Alopecia?

Early signs of alopecia can be fairly easy to spot. The most common things you might notice are:

• Seeing small patches of balding hair on your head or elsewhere on your body

• Losing a large amount of hair in a short time frame

• Patches may start off small and then get larger and become more visible

• You may notice that hair starts to grow back in one bald area, only to see that another patch develops elsewhere

• You experience more loss of hair in spates of cold weather

• You develop brittle, red and pitted nails on your fingers and toes

What treatments are available for Alopecia?

There are a number of different alopecia types, and alopecia treatment varies depending on the specific strain of alopecia that you’re experiencing. The most common types of alopecia are:

Alopecia areata

Patchy baldness on your scalp or body. Alopecia areata treatment includes steroid creams, tablets or injections; immunosuppressant medication; Laser Hair Growth therapy at Este.

Androgenic alopecia

Male or female-pattern hair loss. You can try adapting your diet to be high in raw vegetables, fresh herbs and protein to help slow the early signs of alopecia down. Minoxidil is widely used to treat hair follicles, as is Laser Hair Growth therapy.

Traction alopecia

Hair loss caused by repeated stress on the hair itself such as pulling and stretching. This type of alopecia can be reversed if the hair stops experiencing the stress that’s causing it to fall out. Avoid tight braids and ponytails and your hair should regrow if you’ve caught it soon enough.

Frontal fibrosing alopecia

Hair loss experienced at the front of your head which can also affect your eyebrows. This is a scarring alopecia and if it’s not treated early enough there is no alopecia cure for this type of hair loss. Topical steroids and  antibiotics are some options your hair specialist may suggest.

Treatment for alopecia isn’t simple. It needs to be tailored to each person experiencing the condition. Rarely is the disease able to be solved with a magic cure-all alopecia shampoo, and usually takes much deeper investigation into what’s going on in the body.  

Can Alopecia be cured?

It’s the million dollar question and one everyone hopes for a positive answer to. At Este we have seen amazing alopecia areata regrowth signs and have even enabled a man who started losing his hair during his A Levels to regain a full head of hair in time for his wedding at age 34.

So if you’re wondering, ‘does alopecia go away?’ we know that with the right programme of treatment, it most definitely can be stopped and reversed.

If you’re ready to make a positive difference to your life and start tackling your signs of hair loss, get in touch with the team at Este today. We understand how difficult it can be to lose some or all of your hair, and we will do our utmost to help improve your condition, stop it spreading, and give you your confidence back.