IS IT JUST A PATCHY BEARD OR ALOPECIA?

For today’s post about beard issues I have chosen a really important topic to address it’s the Alopecia areata I know you’ve never heard of it.

Well it is often confused with the patchy beard condition when it’s actually a treatable, and should be treated fast because it can spread rapidly.

So I am going to be giving you some information about this condition how to spot it and make the distinction from patchy beard and how can you treat it.

Let us start with the basics.

1 - What is Alopecia areata?

Alopecia is the medical term for hair loss, this condition affects the whole body not only beards but it is most commonly observed in head skull and beards the areata term refers to area which means a hair loss limited to a specific area (there is other forms of Alopecia that affect total head or beard or even total body but are very rare), causing patchy bold spots on your beard. Alopecia areata is most common in people younger than 20, but children and adults of any age may be affected. Women and men are affected equally.

2 - How to distinct Alopecia from regular patchy beard?

Well the obvious thing is that Alopecia is a hair loss condition meaning you had hair then lost it patchybeard is areas of the beard where hair never actually grew, typical first symptoms are small bald patches. The underlying skin is unscarred and looks superficially normal. 

These patches can take many shapes, but are most usually round or oval. so if you notice that you are having some bold spots in areas where you actually had hair before then you probably have Alopecia, and patchy beard spots are often regular and similar to both sides of your beard the same areas meaning your beard is kind of symmetrical  but with Alopecia you will be having bold spots randomly in your beard.

3 - What causes Alopecia?

It is actually still a mysterious condition that we don’t know a lot about, it’s thought to be an autoimmune disorder, The germ fighting cells attacks hair follicles as if they were a bacteria or a virus this reaction causes the immune system to stop the hair from growing what’s not clear is why the immune system does this, however factors like illness stress or medication can trigger the reaction.

4 - Is Alopecia areata treatable?

If the affected area is small, it is often advised to only observe the progress of the patches, as in most cases the patches spontaneously regresses and the hair grows back, it could be periodic or linked to the use a specific medicine unhealthy lifestyle or a treatment that is no longer in place.

If the patches keep growing and other patchy spots appear it is suggested to see a dermatologist as soon as possible, there are many treatments that have shown good results and in most cases the hair grows back after a while, however in some cases it can turn into an Alopecia totalis or universalis with complete hair loss.

It is advised for people who suffer from this condition especially at the beginning if they notice just some small patches to switch to a more vegan health diet to along with some detox.

5 - How to deal with it?

When growing a beard patchy beard or Alopecia are actually the same on a styling level you can use the same techniques used for patchy beard to cover it up and still have the full beard look you are looking for but generally time and growing your beard longer and brushing it to give it volume sorts out this problem.

If you want some detailed tips on how to cover the patchy beard Checkout my post "4 contouring tips for patchy beards"