What is alopecia areata?

Alopecia areata is an inflammatory disease of hair follicles that rapidly causes patches of hair loss on the scalp and may continue to expand to other areas of the skin. Alopecia areata is considered a nonpermanent hair loss and is different than androgenic alopecia (male pattern baldness), in which hair loss is caused by hormones and has a clearly defined pattern. More severe types of hair loss include Alopecia totalis (loss of scalp hair) and Alopecia universalis (loss of all scalp and body hair). One in 5 cases of alopecia areata eventually turn to alopecia totalis.

Alopecia areata is a fairly common problem that affects an estimated 2% of the world’s population.