Alopecia areata - how do your patches start? Positive stories?

[PuddingLane]

DH has a couple of small bald patches due to alopecia areata, one on the crown which I'd sort of noticed already but another was evident after he had a short haircut (hair had got quite long before the cut so we hadn't noticed the patch). Am now worrying he's going to get a lot more patches. His hair looks quite thin on the sides and you can see his scalp a bit through it, but it's not actual patches and I'm wondering if it's just because his hair's been cut short and I'm looking too much that I'm worrying it's new patches starting. If you have experience of alopecia areata, do your patches just appear suddenly as a patch out of nowhere, or do they start off with gradual thinning? Any words of wisdom greatly appreciated! Or can stress hair loss look like patches rather than general shedding?

I found quite a large patch on the side of my head whilst blow drying. I don't know how long it had been there. Completely smooth shiny bald. About 3 inches long and an inch wide. A private doctor said he'd write to one of his dermatology colleagues which he did. I heard nothing and sort of forgot about it for 6 months. It started growing back with baby hair and disappeared completely after about 6 months. Not recurred.

Thank you withiceplease, fingers crossed that happens to DH, I just keep worrying about what I've read about the condition (proper websites only though, I've learnt my lesson with that type of thing!)

Hi my friend told me about steroid injections that treat this and the hair comes back natural colour and not white. Private dermatologist and ask if they offer this treatment. We went to Harley Street

Thanks Malibu

Honestly I think its probably different for everyone.
In my case, its been a bit of both.

The first time I had it, it got quite bad. It started when I noticed a bald patch a bit bigger than a 10p piece. Then it got gradually worse with thinning patches and also bald patches. I lost about 50% of my hair. However, it all grew back eventually. Completely. Same colour dark brown. Started off curly, which was a bit bizarre as my hair is only a bit wavy, so the new hair stuck up out of the gaps! Its now all just a bit wavy again.
I use dermovate lotion on the areas, but I'm not convinced that does anything other than make me feel like I'm doing something about it.

Since then, I've had the odd patch, here and there. I have one now right on the top of my head, but luckily I can change my parting to cover it. I'm convinced its triggered by stress, so I try not to think about it, and just accept that there's at least one patch on my head that has no hair on it. I've seen it grow back before, so I know it will do so again. Positive thinking and all that!

Thank you sugarbumfairy. From what I've read it does seem to be unpredicatable as to what happens with it. I'm trying to focus on the statistic that seems to be widely quoted of the hair growing back in 80% of cases, but it's hard not to focus on the worst case scenario!

thesugarbumfairy I meant to ask you, when you get a new patch is it just there as a patch one day? Or does it grow gradually from what looks like thin hair?

@puddinglane sorry I just saw your question.
For me personally, my patches and my thinning areas seem to be 'separate'. I don't have any thinning areas at the moment. The patches tend to just be there one day. I think my hair just drops off in that location. The patches can get larger - but the hair around the patch is always normal - my hair is naturally thick and dark - which makes the patch more obvious.

@puddinglane and yes, its unpredictable - and very hard not to stress about what is /is not going to happen. In my case - the first time was by far the worst. It was quite distressing as like I said - my hair is very dark and thick - I've always had a chunky ponytail and it ended up about half the size. However it came back. All of it. And ever since then I've only had patches here and there.

Thank you so much thesugarbumfairy. I'm sorry you must have had a horrid time the first time it happened. Thank you for explaining what happened with you - it's given me a lot of comfort. It's such an odd thing and I'd never really heard of it much before, but it seems to be fairly common.

I have to say, it's cautiously reassuring reading these posts. I've had AA on and off since 2019, and recently it's gotten more persistent. Whenever I shower I stress about what's coming out in my hand, and having to apply the (f*ing expensive) minoxidil cream is frankly a horrible experience. I live on my own and have unruly curly hair which makes targeting the patches with a fingerful of cream virtually impossible.

I know in my core that in previous years it's come and gone, and that the likelihood is that it'll continue to do the same throughout my life. And I know I shouldn't stress, as that's potentially a trigger. But it's hard not to worry about it when it feels so completely randomised.

Thank you to everyone sharing their experiences here.

I lost a patch of hair about 20 years ago. It didn't thin gradually - it just shed within a month. My hairdresser pointed it out. I had some steroid injections by a dermatologist. I think there may be some research that they don't make any difference but I wanted to give it every chance. It regrew in a month or so. I have loads of very fine hair so it's not thin - not now and not before. I was warned after one attack I was at risk of another. I haven't had another attack but for a long time I anxiously examined the hair collected in the shower trap looking for suspicious strands.

I am not sure how it grew in because my husband refused to give me progress reports. The patch was hidden under a lot of hair at the back. He said we had to give it a month so we weren't examining bits of fuzz and trying to work out whether it was regrowing. In a month it was unmistakeable that it was regrowing - same texture and colour as before.

The only time my hair has been even vaguely thin was after having children when I was low in iron. Supplements thickened it up again.

I blame the initial hair loss on a bang on the head. I slipped on the floor in a petrol station and hit my head on a fridge. It was a really solid blow. It wasn't hit on the bit where the hair shed but I think it was just the shock. I lost the patch shortly afterwards.