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Alopecia Areata is a type of hair loss that is most likely caused by an autoimmune disease and is also known as 'area-specific baldness'. It often begins with completely bald patches on the head that are round or oval in shape. These spots also tend to appear comparatively very quickly over a short period of time.
Alopecia Areata is a type of hair loss that is most likely caused by an autoimmune disease and is also known as 'area-specific baldness'. It often begins with completely bald patches on the head that are round or oval in shape. These spots also tend to appear comparatively very quickly over a short period of time.
Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease in which sudden, localised hair falls out. The body then rejects healthy hair follicles. This results in bald, round or oval spots in the hair. Typically, alopecia areata always occurs very suddenly, where other types of hair loss tend to occur over a longer period of time. Alopecia areata can also spread to other places on the body such as the beard, chest, eyebrows or arms.
About 2 in 100 people (2%) will suffer from alopecia areata during their lifetime, so it is more common than you might think. It can occur at all ages and in both men and women. In most cases, alopecia areata occurs in people aged 15-30, more than half of whom are under 20 years old. Alopecia areata can also occur in children, sometimes even when they are very young. Alopecia areata can also spread. Because of this, gradations have been defined.
The three gradations of alopecia areata:
people suffer from alopecia areata
is the age most people see it happen
half are in their teens
The bald patches are often round or oval and the size of a coin. They can also grow larger and appear in places other than the head. Alopecia areata cannot always be recognised by the same symptoms. Sometimes people experience a burning or itching sensation around the bald spot, but this is far from common. Also, 80% of people usually have only a single bald spot, where others, on the contrary, have several bald spots spread over the head.
It is not entirely clear what causes alopecia areata. The most likely explanation is that it is an autoimmune disease. This means that the body's immune system gets confused and attacks its own cells. In alopecia areata, the hair follicles are attacked. It is therefore more common in people who already have an autoimmune disease. You may have heard that the bald patches are caused by not enough vitamins or by stress. But this is unproven and very likely untrue. According to the Dutch interest group; Alopecia Vereniging, in 70 to 80 per cent of cases the hair growth recovers within a few months to a year.
The hair loss with alopecia areata is often temporary (i.e. in most people the hair grows back), but the duration can vary quite a bit and new patches can appear every time. Our products are not specifically formulated for autoimmune diseases, but have been shown to be able to help improve and accelerate hair growth.
The course of alopecia areata is unpredictable. In most cases, the hair grows back on its own. This can take several months to years. Hairs may return in one place, but develop new bald patches elsewhere. Sometimes it disappears and reappears years later.
In the case of small bald patches, the hair usually recovers completely. In cases of extensive alopecia areata, where all the head or body hair has disappeared, hair growth often does not come back permanently or completely.
There is less chance of the hair coming back if:
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It is essential that alopecia areata has been diagnosed by a GP or dermatologist before embarking on any treatment. Furthermore, there are several treatments available that can help improve and accelerate hair growth in alopecia areata:
Developments are underway in the treatment of alopecia areata. A drug has been approved by the EMA (European Medicines Agency) for its treatment in 2022.
The solution here seems to be found in so-called JAK inhibitors. These are drugs that are currently prescribed for people with rheumatoid arthritis. The active ingredient baricitinib inhibits the action of certain proteins (Janus kinase, hence JAK) that fight inflammation. What researchers found was that this drug turns off the signal that activates an autoimmune attack. This also gave a demonstrable positive effect for people who suffered from patchy baldness. The EMA considers it proven that the drug interrupts the signals that enable hair loss in alopecia areata.
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