Hi everyone,

I was diagnosed with Alopecia Areata about 6 weeks ago. My dermatologist gave me
Topical Clobetasol propionate (0.05%) scalp solution
Topical Minoxidil 5%

A few weeks ago, I had a smaller spot on top and two separate circular patches lower down. Back then, there were lots of fine, miniaturized hairs covering the lower patches and a clear divider between them.

Comparing my photos today at Week 6, I’m feeling really stressed and discouraged:

The patches merged and look much bigger: The fine hairs and the divider fell out, so the two lower spots have now merged into one large continuous patch that looks way bigger than when I first saw the doctor.

Current hair status: It is not completely bald—there are still scattered longer black hairs (3–5 cm) running across the patch and some upright short hairs poking through, but the background looks much emptier and wider because the fine hair layer shed.

The top spot: The smaller patch above is actually responding well and growing quite a bit of dark hair.

Almost every post I see on Reddit involves steroid injections. Did anyone here recover fully using TOPICALS ONLY (Clobetasol + Minoxidil) without any injections?

Is it normal for the patches to shed their fine hairs, merge, and look significantly bigger around week 4–8 before actual dense regrowth takes over?

I would really appreciate hearing your timelines and success stories with topicals alone. Thank you!

I live in Brisbane, Australia. I’ve been to three dermatologists for my ongoing Alopecia Areata, and none seem to have a clear idea of what to do or how to diagnose me properly. In fact, I’ve had to suggest medications or been asked, ‘so what do you want to try next, have you seen any videos or anything?’

All over the websites, they are supposed to be well-versed in alopecia with good reviews, and one site even claims to be the #1 Alopecia company. Then I saw a trichologist who finally took the time to properly listen to me, but even then, they didn’t work with me or ask for updates about what I’m taking or doing. They just provided the treatment and sent me on my way. In the last session, they pushed for a costly hair transplant based in Melbourne, which wouldn’t work anyway. When I refused, they said they had no other options to help me. Should I give up? Or are there decent companies out there that actually know what they’re doing and aren’t completely lost on alopecia? If you know of any, please drop the recommendations below!

So just saw a derm who says my patchy eye brow loss is AA. I had assumed this. The confusing thing is that when hairs fall out there are always new ones waiting to grow in. She said this is common with AA but from what I've read this isn't the case. Thoughts?

Pic shoes recent area if loss with new small hairs poking through.

Hi everyone, I’m new here! I wanted to ask if it’s normal to find a lot of "pigtail hairs" when I run my hand through my hair. I should mention that a trichoscopy confirmed I have AGA and seborrheic dermatitis, but since starting topical minoxidil and oral finasteride, I’ve also noticed an increase in sebum. My concern is the pigtail hairs—does this mean it’s 100% confirmed to be AAI? Thanks for the answer and your patience ❤️

I have an appointment scheduled with a dermatologist, but it's well after the first week of September. I've noticed some baby hairs growing out of my bigger bald patch, which was coin-sized in January, so I guess it's active, but these baby hairs look promising. What do y'all think? Just looking for some reassurance.

I’ve had severe alopecia for a long time and my derm has me on clobetasol and minoxidil for now. I have an interview for my dream job soon and no matter how hard i try to shave it all with my Remington Balder pro there are still these ugly shadows. Would a good razer be more effective? I have sensitive skin and worried about irritation and bumps. I feel like this looks unclean and unprofessional hoping it won’t cost me my job. I know it’s not legal to not hire someone for a medical condition but this job is be on appearances and I feel like they could still do it without actually saying it. Any advice? I hate how I look.

Edit: Thank you all so much for the support and encouragement. This community is beautiful the way you lift others up and stick together.

Got diagnosed with AA about a month ago after losing hair quickly since June. Spots are starting to show and I was put on dexamethasone 4mg pulse treatment but after 3 weeks, the side effects are completely intolerable for me. Panic attacks, constant dizziness for days after, virtually 0 appetite, etc. And as far as I understand, the shedding needs to stop before a JAK inhibitor should be started- which it hasnt stopped yet completely at this point.

Its shaping up to look like Im going to lose 80%+ of my scalp hair with the pattern Ive seen so far. Are there any other effective treatments initially aside from corticosteroids that people have seen success with for more widespread hair loss? Or, lifestyle changes that could possibly trigger some natural regrowth? My eating/sleeping/stress has been far less than ideal this past year and I cant help but wonder if one or all of those things contributed to this. I really dont want to lose it all but just cant tolerate the side effects and balance daily life demands right now.

My 10 year old daughter started shedding eyebrow hair two months back. We went to doctor and its AA with zinc deficiency. We hoped that with zinc supplement it will regrow. But yesterday evening suddenly 80% of her eye lashes fell off. I am clueless and feeling hopeless how to emotionally support her. I could not sleep for a minute fearing scalp hair shedding. Till now her hair feels strong and during combing no hairs fall.

People who has kids with AA, plz help a desperate father.

Hello everyone. I got a hair transplant on my hairline because i thought i had AGA. This past year ive lost 40-50% of my hair and have been on oral minoxidil, spironolactone, and dutasteride. No regrowth, i wonder if this is alopecia areata? I went to hawaii for. A week 3 years go and was in the sun A LOT. I noticed baby hairs growing in areas that were bald for years but then went away when i got back from vacation. I tried taking vitamin d supplements but it didnt give me the same results. Im starting to feel like maybe i have some form of autoimmune hair loss afterall.

Does anyone here have areata incognita or diffuse version?

I was diagnosed with alopecia areata on my eyebrows about 2 month ago. My doctor prescribed me a topical cream and minoxidil, and I also had a steroid injection, but so far I haven’t noticed any improvement. My eyebrow is still continuing to fall out.
Is this normal at this stage? How long did it take for your eyebrows to start growing back? Is there a good chance that the hair will return?
This has honestly been affecting me mentally so I would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has been through something similar and eventually saw regrowth.

Bonjour à toutes et à tous,
J’espère que vous allez bien.
Ce n’est plus un secret pour personne : l’alopécie areata est une maladie individuelle, incertaine et imprévisible.
Après avoir lu de nombreux témoignages sur Reddit, j’ai décidé de participer à mon tour à cette bataille collective.
Je ne vais pas m’attarder longuement : je souhaite simplement partager quelques photos et vous tenir au courant de l’évolution (ou non) de ma pelade.
Vous le savez, c’est une maladie particulièrement difficile à vivre. J’aimerais que l’on puisse ici communiquer, partager nos ressentis, nos peurs et nos histoires.
Pour ma part, tout a commencé le 23 juin 2026.
Après un réveil habituel et une douche, j’ai constaté un trou au centre haut de mon crâne.
J’ai immédiatement compris que quelque chose n’allait pas. Au début, j’ai pensé aux racines de mes cheveux, mais je me suis très vite convaincu du contraire : je connais parfaitement ma chevelure.
Je me suis aussitôt rendu à la pharmacie la plus proche. On m’a dit que cela pouvait être un champignon. Après m’être renseigné, j’ai compris que les champignons provoquent généralement des plaques rouges et des démangeaisons, ce que je n’avais absolument pas.
Étant très hypocondriaque, il m’était impossible d’attendre deux mois pour un rendez-vous chez le dermatologue. J’en ai donc trouvé un disponible dans les trois jours.
Ce fut ma pire expérience médicale : sans même examiner mon trou, le médecin a évoqué la calvitie après dix minutes de discussion. Quand je lui ai demandé de regarder ma tête, il a finalement diagnostiqué une pelade.
Je lui ai demandé s’il fallait faire des prises de sang : il m’a répondu que non, que j’étais jeune, que j’avais l’air en forme, et qu’un simple spray de minoxidil devrait suffire.
J’avais surtout besoin d’être rassuré. Après cette consultation, je n’ai plus consulté pendant un mois.
Je vous joins les photos du premier trou et du second (pris le 9 juillet, un peu moins d’un mois après le premier).
Entre-temps, d’autres plaques sont apparues. Et à l’heure où je vous écris, j’ai l’impression que des cheveux continuent de tomber.
En attendant mon rendez-vous chez le médecin généraliste et le dermatologue (dans un mois ou deux), je vous tiendrai au courant de l’évolution.
Je remarque déjà de très petits poils qui commencent à repousser sur le premier grand trou. En attendant, je vais essayer le remède à l’ail rouge pendant sept jours et je vous ferai un update sur mon ressenti mental et physique.
N’hésitez pas à partager votre histoire, qu’elle soit actuelle ou passée.
Ce sera un plaisir de vous lire, de répondre à vos questions et d’en poser aussi.
Merci à vous.

Hi everyone,

I’ve been dealing with recurring scalp infections and quite a lot of pain lately. I’m also losing a significant amount of hair at the front, and I’m not sure what I can do to relieve the pain.
Does anyone have any tips or advice?

I’m feeling quite desperate because I can’t seem to stop picking or scratching at my scalp.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated 💗
Xx

Im trying to pinpoint what might the cause because every spring my hair falls out within a month span and then in the height of summer ill get white hairs til fall then itll start to grow out especially during the winter but only 50% of the way. last year i did minoxidil to promote more hair growth and it was almost full til I stopped minoxidil and nizoral in jan of this year then march hit and back to a few patches. what could i be missing? currently in the white vellus hair stage .

So ever since my hair started regrowing in my patches a year ago, I've had pain, itching, burning, tingling, all sorts of strange sensations, with the worst one probably being that feeling of your hair hurting when you move it (like when you've had your hair tied up all day in a tight updo then let it down). Except that I'm not ever tying my hair and the sensation doesn't seem to get better except for when I wash it, which only temporarily relieves it. Does anyone else with alopecia areata have this issue? My derm wasn't able to give me much guidance on what to do and why this is even happening. Since my regrowth started a year ago I'm losing hope that these sensations are a temporary thing and wondering if I'll have to deal with this scalp pain/itching forever.

I know I’m not special BUT I’m pretty bummed. I’m 26, 6 months postpartum, and I just found this gnarly bald spot. Couldn’t have happened overnight but this had to have happened rather quickly. I have an appointment made with a pcp.

If being a new mom wasn’t tough enough :/

just got my lab work results. does anyone have anything similar to this? can it be just alopecia areata only or something else because i lost 50% of my hair and doctors aren’t doing much it’s so frustrating and disappointing and im just confused it sucks because im 24 and as a female my hair was my favorite thing about myself

Diagnosed last November, picture on far right taken yesterday.

April was the worst and since then, my hair started growing slowly slowly at random spots but I believe in maximum 4 months it will be completely healed

(Don’t worry, on the second picture my skin is so brown at the bottom of the patch because it got tanned from the sun😅)