What is Alopecia Areata?

Alopecia areata is a chronic, systemic autoimmune disease that causes hair loss on the scalp, face, and sometimes other body areas, like under the arms or on the legs. People with alopecia areata often lose hair in circular, coin-sized patches on the scalp, but in more severe cases, they may lose all of their hair. About 2% of people across the world will experience alopecia areata at some point in their lifetime.

Symptoms and Diagnoses

An alopecia areata diagnosis depends mainly on the history of hair loss. In addition, how the hair loss presents (looks) is different according to the type. You may see:

• Small, round or oval patches of hair loss on the scalp, eyebrows and eyelashes, beard, or other areas with body hair
• Hair loss and regrowth at the same time in different areas of the body
• Significant hair loss in a very short period
• Hair loss that’s mostly on one side of the scalp instead of both sides

There are different alopecia areata types or forms, causing varying amounts of hair loss. It most commonly begins as isolated patchy hair loss. Terms used to describe alopecia areata are:

• Patchy alopecia areata, which causes one or more coin-sized, usually round or oval, patches of hair loss on the scalp or other places on the body that grow hair. This type may progress to more severe forms of alopecia areata (listed below,) but most commonly, it remains patchy.
• Alopecia areata totalis, a type of alopecia areata that results in hair loss across the entire scalp.
• Alopecia areata universalis, the most severe type of alopecia areata that results in hair loss across the entire body, including eyebrows and eyelashes and body hair.
• Diffuse alopecia areata, a sudden and unexpected thinning of the hair all over the scalp. It can be hard to diagnose because it looks a lot like other forms of hair loss such as telogen effluvium or male or female pattern hair loss.
• Ophiasis alopecia, a term that describes this pattern of alopecia areata hair loss that occurs in a band along the sides and back of the head.

With all types of alopecia areata, hair loss and regrowth can be very unpredictable and cyclical (happen over and over). For some people, hair may even regrow and not fall out again.

Even though alopecia areata causes hair loss, the hair follicles remain alive. This means it is possible to regrow hair, even after many years of hair loss. Fortunately, there are now effective, FDA-approved treatments that block the immune system attack on the hair follicles and allow hair to regrow.

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