Autoimmune Scalp Disorders

Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disorder that causes the body's immune system to attack hair follicles, which in turn kills them, leading to hair loss.

When you have alopecia areata, you may recognize patchy hair loss that presents itself as an oval patch or multiple patches of asymptomatic, well-circumscribed, non-scarring alopecia. You may notice a small bare patch or lose all your hair in entire areas of the scalp.

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Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease which impacts the joints, skin, brain, lungs, kidneys, and blood vessels. Some people with lupus can also suffer from hair loss.

A clinical study showed nonscarring hair loss in four women with systemic lupus erythemostus (SLE) and reported varying degrees of hair loss. Some women experienced widespread hair loss, while others lost their hair in localized areas of their scalp.

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Lichen planopilaris or lichen planus is an autoimmune disease that can cause swelling, ulcers, and irritation of the mucous membranes, skin, hair, and nails. It's more common to find it in the oral or genital regions, but it occasionally impacts the scalp.

This rare inflammatory condition leads to scaly, red, dry, and flaky skin. It can also lead to bald patches and pain.

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Tinea capitis is also known as ringworm. It's a fungal infection that attacks the scalp. This infection can cause hair loss, dry, scaly areas, redness, and itching. It can also attack the beard.

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Seborrheic dermatitis is the common skin condition that causes dandruff. It can cause flaky, greasy skin and rashes. Dandruff, on its own, does not cause hair loss. Scratching at your dandruff does. Repeated inflammation can also damage or scar the hair follicles. Instead of scratching, control both itching and dandruff with a strong coal-tar based dandruff shampoo.

Folliculitis happens when hair follicles become infected and inflamed. The infection may be bacterial, viral, or fungal. 

Often, it heals on its own, but if the infection spreads it's wise to seek medical attention. You may need anti-biotics or other treatments to get rid of it, and to protect your hair. Folliculitis doesn't cause hair loss on its own, but repeated infections can damage the hair follicles until they die. Once they die, hair stops growing.

A keloid is a scar caused by excess collagen that forms in the skin during the healing process. They're harmless, though unsightly. 

It's rare to find keloids on the scalp, but when we do it can interfere with certain treatments, like FUE. We would need to refer you to a dermatologist who could remove the keloids. In some cases, the scarring may be so severe that even that additional step would put FUE out of reach for some people.