Alopecia Areata is a disease classified as an autoimmune condition. It emerges after the immune system decides to attack its own body tissues. The immune system sees hair follicles as harmful foreign bodies in the body and attacks them leading to the loss of hair on the body.

Alopecia Areata can affect a singular or two parts and in some instances, it progresses to total body hair loss from the scalp. Wholesome scalp hair loss is known as alopecia totalis. Total body hair loss is known as Alopecia Universalis.

A lot of people who see me as an Alopecia Areata victim try to encourage me by saying that it’s just hair loss, and I am beautiful. However, what they don’t understand that as a young woman it was more than just hair loss.

At 17 years, believe me, every girl is all about hair and makeup. At that age, you feel like this condition has taken away your femininity, and you feel like your identity is lost forever.

Common Alopecia Areata Misconceptions

Unfortunately, most people believe that stress causes this condition. I would like to clarify by saying that it’s not a stress condition. It’s an autoimmune disease.

Science has discovered that for some individuals, emotional stress acts like a trigger which invites the autoimmune response to kick in. Unfortunately, many of said individuals are unable to identify emotional stress episodes which lead to Alopecia.

The exact Alopecia Areata trigger is not yet known. However, research suggests that the trigger is a combination of bacteria, viruses, genetic susceptibility combinations, emotional stress, hormonal imbalances and physical body trauma.

Alopecia Areata labelling as a stress condition is simplifying the magnitude of the illness. Unfortunately, since a lot of people don’t bother to find out the cause, they end up saying that the disease results from poor stress management.

Alopecia and Heredity

Alopecia areata can’t be inherited; however, heredity plays a significant role. Alopecia areata demands a contribution of numerous genes from both biological parents and the environment the individual resides.

A lot of children suffering from alopecia areata don’t have parents who suffer from the same illness. Moreover, parents who suffer from alopecia areata also don’t pass the disease to their children.

Estimates place 20% of all alopecia areata individuals to come from the same family with a member who suffers from the same condition. The family members encompass the extended family not just the nuclear family.

Unfortunately, there are no telltale signs of knowing whether one is carrying alopecia areata genes. Some people believe that it’s okay for men to be bald, however, in some instances people with alopecia don’t like being bald as they would love a head full of hair.

Some ladies with this illness will cover up with wigs, wear fake lashes and adorn fake eyebrows. However, it would be difficult for men to emulate the same fete. Since alopecia in not a widely recognized condition, many people see an individual with a bald head due to alopecia and immediately assume that the individual has cancer.

Personally, I have been asked numerous times which stage of cancer treatment I am currently at and it becomes tough to explain my condition. They can’t get it through their heads the difference between alopecia and cancer treatment side effects.

Conclusion

In my experience, the biggest misconception people have is, baldness is a result of cancer. For alopecia patients, there is nothing as heart-wrenching as getting pitiful looks due to assumptions. I have embraced my alopecia, and I love the fact that I have the liberty to choose who I want to be.

Every wig I own has its name and personality, things I hold dear. There is a time I went to the Wimbledon and wore my bright neon-green hair. That day I had plenty of people who came up to me and hi-fived me.

I think that no one caught on that I didn’t have any hair, and they perhaps thought the wig I wore was to match the event’s spirit. That day was the first in my life after being diagnosed with Alopecia I felt normal again and happy to be accepted back into society.

Hair Loss Treatment with Propecia and Finpecia