Scarring Alopecia

Scarring Alopecia

Scarring alopecia, also known as cicatricial alopecia, is usually caused by complications of another condition. In this type of alopecia, the hair follicle (the small hole in your skin that an individual hair grows out of) is completely destroyed. This means your hair won't grow back.

Depending on the condition, the skin where the hair has fallen out is likely to be affected in some way.

Conditions which can cause scarring alopecia include:

• Scleroderma – a condition affecting the body's connective (supporting) tissues, resulting in hard, puffy and itchy skin.
• Lichen planopilaris –is a rare inflammatory condition that results in patchy progressive permanent hair loss mainly on the scalp.
• Discoid lupus – a mild form of lupus affecting the skin, causing scaly marks and hair loss.
• Folliculitis decalvans – a rare form of alopecia that most commonly affects men, causing baldness and scarring of the affected areas.
• Frontal fibrosing alopecia – this type of alopecia affects women, usually post-menopausal, but not always. The hair follicles around the front hairline are damaged causing the hair line to recede, with no chance of any hair regrowth due to the scarring nature of this condition. Eyebrows can be affected by this condition with the outer edge of the brows being lost.