During my very comprehensive hair loss exam, one of the most common questions that I’m asked is, “But doctor, is this alopecia?” The answer, quite simply, is “yes.”
In medical terms, the word “alopecia” just means hair loss. There is a fear in the general population associated with the term “alopecia” because the misconception is that alopecia means eventual complete hair loss. The fact is that there are many kinds of hair loss.
Having alopecia does not mean that you’re going to lose all of your hair all of the time. When we think about hair loss, it’s important to consider whether the hair loss is scarring or non-scarring, for example. It’s also important to consider whether hair loss has an infectious etiology. It’s important to consider possibly an autoimmune cause or vitamin deficiency resulting in alopecia. Chronic, tightly pulled hair styles can lead to a kind of alopecia called traction alopecia.
The important thing when we think about hair loss is to realize that there are many variations and causes and presentations. We may be talking about something as simple as alopecia areata, which is just a small circular patch of alopecia that’s non-scarring and completely reversible. We may be talking about familial pattern hair loss, which has a pattern that gradually progresses over time, but can be slowed down with early treatment. We may be talking about something called telogen effluvium. Telogen effluvium is when too much of your hair shifts into the shedding phase in response to a major physical or emotional stressor like surgery, childbirth, divorce, or loss of a loved one.
The point is that alopecia is a term that is very broad. It’s almost like saying “ice cream.” There are so many different flavors and ingredients that go into different types of ice cream. Similarly, there are so many kinds of alopecia. We’re going to spend the next few months exploring different kinds of alopecia in depth, one by one. This should help practitioners to better understand their patients and the emotional distress that goes along with the diagnosis of alopecia. It should also help stylists to know when alopecia is or is not reversible, and when we can do our clients a favor by referring them to the dermatologist.
Photo credit: @retress
