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What is alopecia areata?
Alopecia areata is a condition in which the immune system attacks the hair roots, so hair falls out in smooth, round patches, usually on the scalp or in the beard. The roots aren’t destroyed, which is why hair can grow back. It often starts in the teens, twenties or thirties, isn’t contagious, and is more common in people with thyroid disease or vitiligo. Emotional stress or an illness can bring it on in people who are prone to it. Some people also get tiny dents in their nails.
How does alopecia areata treatment work?
Your doctor injects a small amount of a corticosteroid (triamcinolone) just under the skin of each patch, with a very fine needle. It calms the immune attack on the roots, so they can start making hair again. For people with a few patches, this is the most effective treatment.
The results are well studied. In a study of 127 people with patchy hair loss, more than 80% had at least half their hair regrow within 12 weeks. In another study of 85 people, monthly injections gave 63–77% of patients good regrowth within 12 weeks, and a lower strength worked about as well as a stronger one.
Who shouldn’t have steroid injections for hair loss?
Please wait if the scalp is infected or broken, and tell your doctor if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, have diabetes or glaucoma, or have reacted to a steroid before. Injections are usually given to adults, as children find them uncomfortable. If you have lost all the hair on your head or body (alopecia totalis or universalis), injections aren’t the right treatment, and your doctor explains other options, with our visiting dermatologist if needed.
Your alopecia areata treatment, step by step
- Free consultation: your doctor examines the patches, confirms it is alopecia areata, and may suggest a thyroid test.
- Preparation: the patches are cleaned and marked.
- Injections: tiny injections across each patch, in about 20 minutes.
- Course: usually about 5 sessions, 4 weeks apart.
- Check-ups: your doctor checks the regrowth at every visit and stops once the hair is back.
Alopecia areata in the beard (alopecia barbae)
Round, smooth gaps in the beard are the same condition, called alopecia barbae, and are treated the same way. Men often notice it first while shaving or trimming. The beard and any scalp patches are treated in the same visit, and regrown beard hair is sometimes lighter or white at first, then darkens. If your beard is thin or patchy all over rather than in round patches, see our patchy beard treatment.
Results and recovery
First new hair often shows within 4–6 weeks, and most people who respond see regrowth within 3 months. Patches that are newer respond better than ones present for over 6 months. The condition can come back: in one study about half of patients had a new patch within 1–3 years, and a new patch is treated the same way.
The scalp may feel sore for a day. The main side effect is a small dent in the skin where it was injected, seen in about 1 in 10 people at the lower strength in one study, so your doctor uses a low strength and spaces the sessions.
Aftercare
- No hair washing for the rest of the day
- No gym, sauna or steam for 24 hours
- Don’t rub or scratch the patches
- Paracetamol if the scalp feels sore
Alopecia areata treatment price in Pakistan
Alopecia areata treatment costs from about Rs 5,600 a session in a course of 5, or Rs 7,995 for a single session. Prices are the same at all 12 of our clinics.
Steroid injections, alopecia areata Save Rs 11,995
For round bald patches on the scalp or beard. From about Rs 5,600 a session in a course of 5; single session Rs 7,995
Rs 39,975 Rs 27,980 for 5 sessions
Free consultation first · Any current offer is explained at the clinic
For everyday shedding and thinning rather than round patches, see our hair fall treatment options, such as PRGF hair treatment.
Why choose Cutera Aesthetics
- Doctor-led: your patches are diagnosed and injected by our qualified doctors, with female doctors at every clinic.
- Free consultation: a clear diagnosis and plan before you commit to anything.
- A dermatologist when needed: a visiting dermatologist sees patients at every clinic; book ahead.
- 12 clinics in 7 cities: Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Hyderabad and Sialkot, at the same price. Find your nearest clinic.
Sources
- American Academy of Dermatology. Alopecia areata: diagnosis and treatment. Injections every 4–6 weeks; regrowth within 3 months.
- National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIH). Alopecia areata. Causes, triggers and linked conditions.
- Muhaidat JM, Al-Qarqaz F, Khader Y, Alshiyab DM, Alkofahi H, Almalekh M. A retrospective comparative study of two concentrations of intralesional triamcinolone acetonide in the treatment of patchy alopecia areata on the scalp. Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, 2020; 13: 795–803.
- Alopecia UK. Treatments for alopecia areata. When regrowth shows after injections.
