Balding and Bawling

[LynnieB]

The derm said that alopecia can occur at any time as well as it might not reoccur. its an autoimmune disease where the immune system attacks the hair follicles. when the hair falls out it leaves a bald patch that is a scar on the scalp preventing the hair from growing. The steroid will thin the scalp and reduce inflammation of the follicles. I am lucky its only a small patch but its still a bit daunting to know that it can reoccur at any time. She didnt say anything about stress or hormones. I think the tests from the medical doctor will tell me more than the derm. I was given clobetasol. she didnt say say anything about the wig. I did a research online and most sites encouraged the use of a wig during alopecia because it protects the scalp from the sun etc. my cornrows are usually 1 inch off the scalp so I dont have a receding hair line from tight cornrows, i am very careful about scalp. I cant wear tight braids so i do them myself. they are not flat, but medium sized and loose. the derm asked me if I always have them this loose or if I do them tight at times. I told her never. i dont, I am afraid to lose my hairline so I dont think thats the issue. I will take pictures so that you can see the bald spot. if the steroid works then you will see my starting point and we can do this togther.

Hi zailless - i'm a lurker on this site and have also been diagnosed with alopecia aerata. i'm also a member of np (gr2006 on there and as an nonsubscribing member here) - when i did a search for alopecia and hair loss the np site had a forum specially for conditions like this.

my daughter (verseau_blu) gave me the inspiration to start posting and come out of lurkdom - if she can do it, so can i ).

i was diagnosed around June, 2006. My bald patch (there's a 2nd one i only recently discovered) first appeared in Feb. 2006.

Mine was definitely caused by severe stress but i believe it was exacerbated by a relaxer.

I can relate to everything you're going through but also want to tell you not to give up hope. it took about 6 months before i finally started seeing fine vellus hairs appear and another month and half before i began to see those hairs finally darken and become "real" hair.

right now, most of the bald spots of sprouted dark hair - in some places it's about 2 inches in length but in others (particularly the spot where the hairs first fell out) about 1/8 of an inch.

my derm did not do any hormonal testing on me - he just listened to what has happened in my life recently (alot) and examined my scalp. he first prescribed Dermator (prednicarbate) ointment. one month later, he prescribed Olux (clobetasol propionate foam). i go back in oct and we'll go from there to see if there's something else he can do.

it probably could be a coincidence but i really had more progress with the Olux. but, it could just be the alopecia has run its course.

what's really disturbing about the whole alopecia thing is when i first noticed my hair dropping, that entire spot was itching like crazy and was an angry pink color. this itching was followed by losing about 10-20 hairs at a time. the spot went from a dime size to a silver dollar in a matter of a week or 2.

i also noticed as the hair fills in, the same crazy itching occurs and i find myself finding a mirror to see if something bad is going on. the pinkish coloring has disappeared entirely.

so far so good though.

during some of the crazy itchies i'll dab some seabreeze or witch hazel on the spots and it seems to soothe the worst of the itchies pretty good.

i have not had a relaxer since Feb of this year so i'm officially transitioning from relaxers. i've used heat to dry my hair out about twice since Feb., am taking multi vitamins and msm and just generally babying my scalp and hair and avoiding any chemicals which could aggravate it.

i use from time to time: Wild Growth Oil, jojoba, olive, avocado oil mixtures, pure shea butter, elasta qp dpr-11 and ORS hair mayonnaise as deep condioners and a few other things. i find switching up here and there keeps transing hair happy. it also seems washing my hair and scalp relatively frequently (every 4-5 days) also helps. i use clarifiers, elasta qp shampoo (in fact ALOT of elasta's line of products agree with me) and conditioners with no problems.

i was also taking Biotin in the beginning but it seemed to make my patch itch so bad that i took that out of my regimen all together. i might go back to it but not at this time.

i have a couple pictures of the worst of it and will have my daughter help me start an album of recovery.......really just to visually give other women hope it can get better.

just remember, this is something that i believe, has to take its course - at least with me it's the truth. you're gonna have to have patience with yourself and not get frustrated as i believe it will make things worse. trust in God, leave the relaxers alone and do what you're derm says.

i wish you much luck with this and feel free to pm me if you want a shoulder to lean on or an ear to hear you out.

Lyn

 

[zailless]

Thanks for the info.
It does itch alot. i had plenty of hairs come out. I plan to take a pic this weekend. I have just one spot. I already see the tiny black hair coming out the bald spot but they are tiny. I am not sure if it will come back to its full thickness, each strand that is. some hairs that broke off around the bald spot that are just about half iinch in length. those are closer to my hair line. I am not sure if those will grow back strong. I hope so. I am not aggravated about it. I am trying to seek balance in my life. I am not stressed but I recently moved closer to my job and settling in is taking me a whiile (making new friends etc.) By balance i mean appreciating myself through massages, exercise, food and fruits and relaxation. I hope this will work but i want to just apply the cream and be surprised in a month or two. Thanks for taking the time to post. I think olux is the same clobestol that i got.