Alopecia Information

32 weeks

Here is the definition according to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation (NAAF):

"Alopecia areata is a common autoimmune skin disease resulting in the loss of hair on the scalp and elsewhere on the body. It usually starts with one or more small, round, smooth patches on the scalp and can progress to total scalp hair loss (alopecia totalis) or complete body hair loss (alopecia universalis).
Alopecia areata affects approximately two percent of the population overall, including more than 4.7 million people in the United States alone. This common skin disease is highly unpredictable and cyclical. Hair can grow back in or fall out again at any time, and the disease course is different for each person."
Basically, my body thinks my hair is something foreign, so it is trying to fight it off. (That's where the "autoimmune" aspect comes in.)


To read about my experience with the condition, here are a few posts I've written: