What is Alopecia?

Alopecia means hair loss. There are different types of Alopecia.

Alopecia areata is an autoimmune condition – an illness that occurs when the body tissues are attacked by its own immune system. The body’s immune system decides that hair follicles are bad and attacks them, causing the hair to fall out.
“It can occur in just one or two patches or can progress to total loss of hair from the scalp (also known as alopecia totalis) or total loss of hair from the whole body, including eyebrows and eyelashes (also known as alopecia universalis).

A common misconception about alopecia areata is that it’s a ‘stress condition’. It’s an autoimmune condition. Yes, in some people emotional stress can be identified as a trigger to the autoimmune response kicking in. But equally, many cannot identify an episode of emotional stress in the lead up to their alopecia.

“It is not known exactly what activates the autoimmune reaction in alopecia areata but research suggests it is a combination of genetic susceptibility and other triggers such as bacteria, viruses, hormonal imbalances, physical trauma to the body, and emotional stress. For alopecia areata to be labelled a ‘stress condition’ is far too simplistic and to someone with little knowledge of the condition, may lead to the belief that the person with alopecia is somewhat to blame for not coping with stress well.”

Alopecia areata requires a contribution of many genes to be inherited from both parents, as well as a contribution from the individual’s environment. Most children with alopecia areata do not have a parent with the disease, and the vast majority of parents with alopecia areata do not pass it to their children.

“It’s estimated that only in about 20% of cases of alopecia areata does the individual also have a family member with the condition (and this includes wider family members such as grandparents and aunts/uncles). There is no way to tell if you are a carrier of alopecia areata.

“The greatest misconception I have found is that a lot of the time people automatically assume that if you don’t have any hair, you have cancer.”

Hopefully we can find a cure for Alopecia, in the meantime education and information is the key to understanding.

Examples of Alopecia