r/alopecia_areata

Patches appeared out of nowhere. My family tried everything homeopathy, dermatologists, conventional medicine. Nothing lasted.

What nobody told us: alopecia areata is autoimmune. Treating only the scalp while ignoring inflammation, gut health, and nutrient levels was never going to work long-term. I had to figure that out myself.

A few things that genuinely works for me:

Blood tests — but ask for the actual numbers. "Normal" isn't optimal for hair growth. My ferritin and Vitamin D were technically in range but far too low for follicle function. Ask specifically for ferritin, Vitamin D, B12, zinc, and TSH.

Fresh ginger juice on patches — alternate days. Squeeze fresh adrak, apply with a cotton ball, leave 20–30 mins, wash off. Not every day. Not once a week. The rhythm matters.

Anti-inflammatory eating from your own kitchen. Turmeric, dal, sabzi, homemade curd. Less refined sugar. Nothing fancy or foreign.

Sleep as a non-negotiable. Fixed bedtime, dark room, no screens. The impact on my shedding cycles was real.

Tracking baby hairs, not just loss. It keeps you going through the hard stretches when you need evidence that something is working.

20 years of this eventually became an recovery app HappiHeal. I built it so no one else has to spend two decades figuring this out alone. Free trial details on my profile if anyone wants to explore.

Happy to answer questions!

Hello! I’m 20F and have been dealing with alopecia areata since I was around the age of 8. It started with the typically patchiness and then eventually I lost my full scalp of hair. However, throughout the years I’ve only ever lost the hair on my scalp. I’ve kept my eyebrows, eyelashes, leg hair, armpit hair, etc. but this week I’ve noticed a small bald spot appearing in the tail of my right eyebrow. It’s very smooth, but also a little painful. Almost as if there’s a pimple there or the hair was tweezed. In over 10 years of experiencing alopecia areata, I’ve NEVER felt pain from hair loss. It’s not unbearable but definitely sore to the touch. It’s smooth and I don’t see any signs of hair growth in that area. I do have a history of getting acne in my eyebrow area but I’ve never noticed signs of hair loss because of it.

I just didn’t think it was possible that in ALL my time of having a certain type of alopecia, it could change to a different one. Don’t get me wrong, I knew it was possible just not after years. Now I’m extremely nervous about potentially having to adjust to a new change. My whole thing was “yeah I’m bald, but I have my eyebrows.” And now… I just don’t know what to think anymore.

When I was 19, basically the moment I finished school, I suddenly started getting bald spots.
Six months later, I shaved my head and wore my first wig.
After countless doctor’s appointments, I finally received the diagnosis of Alopecia areata a year later.

What followed were, of course, endless doctor visits, alternative medicine, naturopaths, psychosomatic treatment attempts, etc.
I spent thousands of dollars. Not counting the freaking wig expenses.

The next seven years were sometimes better, sometimes worse, sometimes absolutely terrible with my eyebrows and eyelashes affected, sometimes with almost shoulder-length hair. but always to the point where I had to wear a wig.

Then there were about four years of complete stagnation. Equally bad. Bald. But at least I still had my eyebrows and eyelashes.
And then I got pregnant. And almost like magic, I suddenly had really full, strong, almost black hair again.

And then - my baby was 3 months old and BAM, this nightmare started all over again.
Now I’m 30, bald again, and to top it all off, I barely have any eyelashes left. I honestly can’t take this anymore.

Nothing seems to help me. I’m mad as fuckx.

F u alopecia.

I use hair loss shampoo, conditioner, vitamins, minoxidil and I got my thyroid checked. Nothing is working and I keep getting more. What to do?

My thirteen year old lost about 20% of her hair in two weeks. It could have been going on longer and we just didn’t notice, but the spots definitely developed then. She mostly has the band around the nape of her neck, but she also has some bald spots in other places, one really large on the back of her head.

She started on litfulo 12 days ago. I don’t see any new spots since then, but she still sheds a lot when I gently wash it, and her hair seems thinner in general.

i have some questions. First is her thyroid bloodwork. Her thyroid was 3.8 and t4 was .91. They are rechecking labs in another two weeks (4 weeks from first labs). Does that seem appropriate?

Second, her ferritin was 35, so she is now on a multivitamin with iron.

lastly, when would we start to see whether the litfulo is working?

I am trying so hard to be calm and just follow her lead, but this is the hardest thing I’ve ever done as a parent.

Hi everyone,

First I’d just like to say that I’ve been looking through this sub for 3 weeks now. And there are so many amazing people, with insane strength and all of your tips have been amazing.

In an attempt of minimising my partners stress. I have taken on much of the work in order to reduce my partners stress whilst navigating her diagnosis. Including research, appointment making, purchasing ointments and vitamins etc.

My partner has one medium size (golf ball) patch on the back of her head that is currently fairly easy to conceal.

After almost 3 weeks since noticing the first spot she has no new spots. Though the overall shedding is getting worse.

I fear it getting worse though she is staying as positive as possible god bless her. She is hoping like many best case scenarios that exist. That she deals with this spot and maybe a few in the future after this one heals.

My question is. How can I prepare for drastic changes whilst letting her not stress about the whole process?

Would you consider it overstepping for me to buy some bandannas, headbands etc.?

Also for anyone else out there with boyfriends/girlfriends/partners etc. doing the wrong/right things. Please let me know your tips. She is aware that I am researching and planning. But I just want to make sure I’m not overstepping. Usually I’d communicate this with her. But my main priority is managing her stress and being loving and supportive. Maybe I’m going about it the wrong way?

For those interested her current treatment is as following.

- Steroid injections (every 6 weeks)
- Clobetasol and Monoxidil topicals (alternated once daily)
- Prednisone 25mg for 2 weeks. (Then doses halved every 2 weeks until finished).

On top of this she has increased her protein intake. We are vegetarian and our diet is already very low inflammatory. Lots of leafy greens, Legumes, Healthy fats. Loving a few drinks is probably our main downfall. But we eat super lower processed as a whole.

She is currently taking the following:
- VIT D
- OMEGA 3
- Probiotics
- Iron
- Biotin supplements
- Zinc

Has anyone tried hair patches to cover bald spots?

im 17, graduating soon, big events. ive had alopecia since i was 7. most of it grew back. right now, i have a full head of hair except my hairline is really far back. its not growing anytime soon, its been around 5-6 years.

i was wondering why i felt so tired after going outside. i realized how its taken such a big mental toll on me for years. im always aware of how my hair looks and i cant function like this anymore. its my biggest insecurity. most my friends dont know i had alopecia, so they just think i have a bad hairline which is even worse.

i cant tie my hair up or put it behind my ears. it does not look good. im missing out on cute hairstyles. im inconveniencing myself everyday. i feel so self conscious when i have to tie it for a chem lab, cook with people, sports. when i dont tie it when i have to, the teacher asks me why and my heart drops.

i dont do sports partially because ill have to tie my hair. but once i said i didnt want to play guitar because i had to cut the long nails i always had and ruin my soft hands. but i have a guitar now and my nails are short. i have calluses on my left hand.

other than family, i let one person see me with my hair clipped up only a couple months ago. i feel safe with my best friend. its just one person, but it feels so free and i feel so much happier. i cant imagine how happy id be if i could just clip my hair up in public.

during covid, i refused to turn on my camera. for two years i would have heated arguments with my parents because my teachers sent emails that i wasnt turning on my camera. it was so annoying because it wasnt a big deal to keep my camera off. it was the biggest deal to me to turn it on because i was fucking half bald and i looked like a boy with a bad haircut. my parents did not seem to notice that even after i told them i looked ugly. my mom kicked me out of the house once and i walked around my neighborhood for an hour in the cold winter.

i felt like the ugliest person in the world in 8th grade. it got a bit better after but im still so self conscious. i actually like everything about my appearance other than my hair. it ruins me and i can’t accept that it fell. its hard to look at my childhood pictures. i used to wear wigs and hats when i was little and people would ask if i have cancer. i could not stop crying while writing this, so yes this has had a huge impact on me for ten years.

i need to change something. ive been wanting to do minoxidil for a long time but im young and its invasive and ill have to do it forever. im not the healthiest person ever and i dont want to mess with my body. a year ago i asked my doctor about it after building a lot of courage, he said my iron was a bit low and i needed to get my period back (yes i have it back now). i sobbed for the whole car ride home because that was so embarrassing. i always eat really healthy but i dont sleep enough, drink enough water, or exercise.

i could also shave my head, which im not opposed to. i did it once when i was younger. ive heard stories from people shaving their heads. i would really benefit from shaving my head but i would still miss my hair.

i dont know what to do