What is alopecia? Alopecia is the general scientific term for hair loss. There are many subtypes of Alopecia including: Androgenetic Alopecia, Alopecia Areata, Traction Alopecia, Alopecia Universalis and so on. Put very simply, alopecia means hair loss. The other part of the name describes the subtype. The most common of which are :Androgenetic Alopecia, ( Alopecia androgenica ). Androgens are male hormones and therefore the name can be broken down to mean male hormone dependant hair loss: Male Pattern Baldness as it is more commonly known. The scientific community are still trying to get to the bottom of what actually causes male pattern baldness. Initially the male hormone testosterone was considered to be the problem. As time went by, a derivative of testosterone known as Dihydro-testosterone (DHT) was pinpointed as the bad guy. The problem is that DHT rises as we age and DHT blocking drugs do not seem to keep the problem at bay longer term - so confusion therefore still exists. Female Pattern Baldness. When women lose their hair, it tends to be more of a diffuse pattern than males. However women can have raised androgens ( male hormones ) and do adopt similar hair loss patterns to men – i.e receding temples / balding crown as well as a diffuse pattern of loss. Alopecia Areata. Patchy hair loss which usually starts off with a single bald patch. The auto- immune system is involved with this form of loss. That means that the body’s immune system amounts an attack on the hair follicle in the same manner that it would if you had a virus like influenza. The patch can sometimes correct itself or spread to a wider area. When the patch is contained to the scalp, the name Alopecia Areata is used. However should it present in the beard region the name alopecia barbae is used.Alopecia Totalis An auto-immune disease similar to Alopecia Areata that results in the loss of all hair on the scalp. It may begin as Alopecia Areata and progress into Alopecia Totalis. Alopecia Universalis An auto-immune disease that results in the complete loss of all hair over the entire body, including eyelashes and eyebrows.The Real World! It is convenient to categorise alopecia above, but in the real world the pattern of loss can present in combinations of the above:The most common example I see are: 1) A patch on the scalp ( AA ) and some eyebrow loss. 2) Male or female pattern baldness alongside alopecia areata 3) Male pattern baldness and alopecia barbae (AA)It follows you must first establish the pattern of loss before treating it, particularly as one or more patterns of loss may be present at the same time.

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