How is alopecia areata treated?

How is alopecia areata treated?

In approximately 50% of patients, hair will regrow within a year without any treatment. The longer the period of time of hair loss, the less likelihood that the hair will regrow. A variety of treatments can be tried. Steroid injections, creams, and shampoos (such as clobetasol or fluocinonide) for the scalp have been used for many years. Other medications include minoxidil, irritants (anthralin or topical coal tar), and topical immunotherapy (cyclosporine), each of which are sometimes used in different combinations.
A study reported in the journal Archives of Dermatology (vol. 134, 1998;1349-52) showed effectiveness of aromatherapy essential oils (cedarwood, lavender, thyme, and rosemary oils) in some patients. As with many chronic disorders for which there is no single treatment, a variety of remedies are promoted which in fact have no benefit. There is no known effective method of prevention, although the elimination of emotional stress is felt to be helpful. No drugs or hair-care products have been associated with the onset of alopecia areata. Much research remains to be completed on this complex condition.

Alopecia Areata At A Glance

• Alopecia areata is a hair-loss condition which usually affects the scalp.
• Alopecia areata typically causes one or more patches of hair loss.
• Alopecia areata tends to affect younger individuals, both male and female.
• An autoimmune disorder, in which the immune system attacks hair follicles, is believed to cause alopecia areata.
• For most patients, the condition resolves without treatment within a year, but hair loss is sometimes permanent.
• A number of treatments are known to aid in hair regrowth. Multiple treatments may be necessary, and none consistently works for all patients.
• Many treatments are promoted which have not proven to be of benefit.

Alopecia Areata

What is alopecia areata?

Alopecia areata is a hair-loss condition which usually affects the scalp. It can, however, sometimes affect other areas of the body. Hair loss tends to be rather rapid and often involves one side of the head more than the other.
Alopecia areata affects both males and females. This type of hair loss is different than male-pattern baldness, an inherited condition.

What causes alopecia areata?

Current evidence suggests that alopecia areata is caused by an abnormality in the immune system. This particular abnormality leads to autoimmunity. As a result, the immune system attacks particular tissues of the body. In alopecia areata, for unknown reasons, the body's own immune system attacks the hair follicles and disrupts normal hair formation. Biopsies of affected skin show immune cells inside of the hair follicles where they are not normally present. What causes this is unknown. Alopecia areata is sometimes associated with other autoimmune conditions such as allergic disorders, thyroid disease, vitiligo, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and ulcerative colitis. Sometimes, alopecia areata occurs within family members, suggesting a role of genes and heredity.

LIGHTEN HAIR NATURALLY

Lighten Hair NaturallyThere are many natural answers to the question how to lighten hair naturally. The following are some ways to lighten hair naturally.

The most natural way to lighten hair naturally is sunshine. Sunlight bleaches the hair to a lighter shade naturally. So just lie down in the sun, properly covering your body with a cloth to avoid sunburn with only your hair exposed to the sunlight. By spending some time outside will give your hair natural highlights that can be as light as you want.

Tea is another natural way to lighten hair naturally. You can steep your household tea and let it cool. Apply it to your hair and see the results. Tea won't give you instant results, thus you need to be patient. Before applying tea all over your head, apply some to the hair at the back of your neck. So if the hair color takes an ugly shade, it can remain well hidden. If you find the shade is fine, apply it over full head.

Swimming is another great way to lighten your hair. After a swim, lie in the sun, covering your body and expose your wet hair to the sun. The sun will naturally dry and lighten your hair. If you have been swimming in pool water with chlorine in it, it will help fasten the process of lightening hair naturally.

Blond or light brown hair can be lightened naturally using lime juice. Mix lemon juice with some water and apply to the hair. Lemon juice tends to dry hair and make them brittle. Thus, mix one tablespoon of juice with a gallon of water. Use this solution daily, till the desired effect is reached.

You can even use Chamomile flowers to lighten blond hair. Steep half a cup of Chamomile flowers in one quart of boiling water for half an hour. Strain and apply the cooled mixture over your hair. You should catch the mixture in a container and repeat the process 10-20 times depending on how light you want your hair. Leave the mixture in hair for 15 minutes and rinse hair later.

Rhubarb is another way to lighten hair naturally. Add citrus juice like lemon, grapefruit or pineapple to Rhubarb. Use this mixture over the hair to lighten hair naturally. You may need several applications to reach the desired effect.

Ideas of Gray Hair Styles

Gray hair styles for women give a nice textured look, and many people actually love getting textured hair by coloring. Hence, many people tend to go for lowlights to get a textured hair look. Many people even tend to go with coloring gray hair to cover their graying hair. But, having naturally gray hair, will give a nice salt pepper look. Men who have gray hair look great and even attractive. Women, when going for gray hair style need to be a little bit careful, short or medium length gray hair styles on women look good.

Ideas of Gray Hair Styles for Women

Short Pixie Cuts: These short hairstyles look great as hairstyle for older women. To get a pixie cut, the hair on the back and sides are cut into short crops, and the front of the hair is cut into blunt bangs or, for a stylish look, into long sweeping bangs.

Long Layered Styles: If you have medium or long hair, then you can get classic layered hairstyles. A side parted layered style with side bangs looks great. This style is a good idea if you have fine straight hair.

Trendy Short Styles: These gray hair styles for young women are very popular and suit people of all face shapes. To get these styles, get you crown hair cut a bit stacked, and the back hair cut short near the nape of the neck. Then style the front hair with side sweeping bangs. The side hair should be cut in pieces and should fall above the ear and look tapering. To get the sleek style look, get a razor cut done on these gray hairstyles for women.

Bob Styles:. You can go with a nice layered short bob cut with side bangs, or for a trendy look go with a nice graduated bob style. For a graduated bob style, the hair near the nape of neck are cut very short near the nape of the neck, and the hair on the sides are kept longer.

Hair Color Ideas for Brunettes

Hair Color Ideas for BrunettesThe type of hair color that you will be using also depends upon your skin tone. If you naturally have a beautiful hair color, you can just add a little bit of extra color to make it look shiny and gorgeous. If you wish to try something different, here are hair color ideas for brunettes with different skin tones.


Hair Color Ideas for Fair Skinned Brunettes: Fair skinned people are advised to go for warmer shades of brown that help in complementing their fair skin. You can have light brown shades like honey brown or copper brown, if you wish to have a uniform color for all your hair. If you are thinking of just highlighting your hair, you can go for golden or light red highlights that will embellish your natural brown.


Hair Color Ideas for Olive Skin: Coffee or chestnut hair colors look best on olive skin or medium skin tones. It is also recommended for olive skin people to have their hair colored in single color that complements the skin. In case you wish to highlight your hair, you can go for golden streaks in the naturally brown hair.


Hair Color Ideas for Dark Skinned Brunettes: People with dark skin have warm skin tone. Therefore, you can opt for dark hair colors suitable for warm skin tones. Hair color ideas for black women include richer and darker brown shades like chocolate brown or caramel color. For highlighting your hair, you can opt for bronze hair color. You can even have plum hair color for a more glamorous and adventurous look.

Hair Color Ideas for African Americans: The natural 'brunette' colors look best for African Americans. You can go for the lighter shades like cappuccino brown or mocha brown to darker shades like copper. You can also have hair colors in darker shades of red like burgundy, cinnamon or wine color.

Brown Hair Coloring & Highlighting Ideas

Brown Hair Coloring & Highlighting Ideas
So, first find the category you belong to, using the below mentioned color compatibility chart. And then use any of the below mentioned hair color ideas for brown hair and brown hair highlights on other base colors.

• If you have blonde hair color, then use a shade of medium to dark brown hair color, and use this color to add lowlights to your hair. This will give a beautiful textured and fall look. If you have a base of shiny brown hair, then use some light caramel color highlights on your hair to make your hair look even more stunning.
• On a base of dark brown hair, go with some highlights at the crown of auburn hair color.
• On a base of dark brown hair add lots of skinny highlights of ash blonde or beige color. This will add a natural and subtle textured hair color look.People with warm skin tones and eye color, can change their natural hair color to a deep and rich shade of chocolate with some skinny golden blonde highlights, or go with a rich caramel hair color.
• People with golden blonde hair color can go with few streaks of light brown hair color.
• On a base of shiny raven black hair add hair highlights of chestnut brown or some auburn brown highlights.