For about a year and a half, I’ve been having significant hair loss (generally known as alopecia areata). Somewhat fortunately, it started out in mostly inconspicuous places like on my arms and legs. Then it moved to my facial region (I am male), and most recently completely wiped out my eyebrows and eyelashes. Oddly enough, this all happened with no hair loss on the scalp (which mystified my dermatologist).
Now, I’ve started losing significant amounts of scalp hair. I’ve been growing my hair out to hide it, but it’s getting to the point where I’m looking really shaggy and a little bit ridiculous.
I’m not looking for sympathy (although hugs are always welcome ), but rather some helpful advice or suggestions on how to proceed. I’d like to just shave it all off, but my SO says that I’d look a little freaky (big head and all). It doesn’t help that I’m painfully caucasian.
So, should I shave it all off, or just cut my hair normally and just shrug off the odd looks?
I have a friend (female) who has the same thing, only hers comes and goes. Her Dr. decided that her body is treating it like an invador. Basicly she is allergic to her own hair and with some allergie treatments she is getting a nice growth back (hopefully it stays)
Perhaps ask your dr. to check that, its something to do with her immune (SP?) system.
Good luck and heres your (((((((((((((hug))))))))))))
I guess if my SO doesn’t care for it, I have some “other options.”
I’m definitely leaning towards shaving at this point. The only other thing I can think of is getting it cut regular, and taking up some hats. That would work fine most of the time, but wouldn’t go over well at work (I’m a part-time retail manager).
With all this support, I’ll talk to my girlfriend about it some more. I’m just getting tired about wondering if my remaining hair (which is think and plentiful) cover the ever-increasing bald spots.
My GF and her brother both suffer from the slightly more severe Alopecia Universalis. When I met her she had pretty much lost all her hair (doesn’t make her any less stunning though ) but from what I could gather she had managed to keep the total loss at bay, especially the loss of her body hair, for a large numberof years through some kind of injection into the affected areas (I’ll ask her what the injection was next time I get a chance) I do also know that there is a research institute in Maine that is doing research…if you REALLY want to look for a cure or the best thing to a cure that might be the place to check out…again, I’ll have to ask her exactly what the place is next tiem I speak with her.
What’s the difference please between alopecia areata and alopecia universalis? I’m assuming areata means in areas and universalis means all over?
I lost goodly chunks of my hair in high school - big, random patches of about a quarter to half dollar in diameter. I was never diagnosed specifically with anything, but my doctor seemed to think it was caused by stress. It’s been more than 20 years since my hair grew back, but when I’m under extreme stress, I always have the additional worry that I might lose my hair along with my marbles.
If you’re a guy, shaving your head is always an option - bald men of all ages can be very atractive. Bald seventeen-year-old girls, in the days before punk was cool, had limited options back when I was one
My ex-brother-in-law lost all of the hair on his entire body when he was in his late teen years. Even his nose hairs fell out. He was tested for every disease imaginable and spent years trying all different kinds of medication. He is now 25 years old and has no hair on his body anywhere from what he says. His doctors are completely mystified as to what caused it. He was under a great deal of stress at the time he started losing his hair (his parents had just divorced and his dad was dying from diabetic complications), so the doctors think it might just have been the stress that caused it all. Whatever the case, he has accepted it as a fact of his life. It certainly hasn’t stopped him from dating or socializing.
), but rather some helpful advice or suggestions on how to proceed. I’d like to just shave it all off, but my SO says that I’d look a little freaky (big head and all). It doesn’t help that I’m painfully caucasian.
