What Causes Alopecia Areata?

Many patients visit Dr. Espinosa Custodio’s clinic with alopecia areata, a hair disorder whose origins are still not fully understood. When a patient develops alopecia areata, we can observe oval patches without hair on the scalp and, if the condition is very advanced, it may progress to alopecia totalis.

Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease. The cause of this type of hair loss is that the body’s own cells attack hair growth in certain areas. The question is why this happens. The origin of alopecia areata has not yet been proven. It is suspected that stress may trigger it and that genetics may play an important role, as is the case with androgenetic alopecia, but further studies are still needed in this field.

The Solution for Alopecia Areata

At present, there is no permanent and reliable cure for alopecia areata. However, there are treatments capable of stopping its progression and even restoring the hair that has been lost. As with any hair disorder, these treatments should always begin with a diagnosis by a doctor specialising in trichology.

Determining the cause of alopecia areata at an early stage is the first step in treating it. If this type of hair loss is not identified promptly, there is a risk of wasting considerable time and money on treatments that will not be effective.

Given the autoimmune nature of alopecia areata, it is also possible for the body’s own cells to stop attacking hair growth. In that case, this type of hair loss may resolve on its own. Likewise, it is also possible that once treatment has ended, the hair may begin to fall out again, as the underlying cause of the disease has not been resolved.

Dr. Espinosa Custodio works at Instituto Médico del Prado, his hair clinic in Madrid, and performs hair transplants in Mexico, twice a year. If you would like to make an appointment, you can contact us on +34 912 468 664, on WhatsApp +34 627 396 322 or on the contact page of our website. From Mexico you can contact us at +52 55 4590 9909.