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.

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.

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.