Medical Treatment Options for Hair Loss: Differences and Similarities in Common Medications Used for Cicatricial (Scarring) Alopecia Jennifer A. Wintringham Cicatricial (scarring) hair loss has a variety of different treatment options which can be overwhelming to patients. In general, all these medications are used to reduce or halt the progression of hair loss, control [...]

Aloe Vera, Castor Oil and Coconut Oil on the scalp of those with Cicatricial Alopecia. Help or Hindrance? By Sherifat A. Ademola MD Candidate, Class of 2022 Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University Reviewed by Lynne Goldberg, MD Is it safe to use aloe vera, castor oil, and coconut oil on your scalp? I [...]

The group of hair loss conditions known as the “scarring alopecias” are less common overall than the non-scarring alopecias. Scarring alopecias include conditions such as lichen planopilaris (LPP), discoid lupus (DLE), frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA), folliculitis decalvans (FD), central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia (CCCA) and dissecting cellulitis (DSC). This diagram shows the typical age ranges that patients [...]

When it comes to differentiating between FD and DSC, it’s all about location, location, location. Folliculitis decalvans (FD) and dissecting cellulitis (DSC) are both types of scarring alopecias, classified as subtypes of ‘neutrophilic’ scarring alopecia. Although they are classified as ‘neutrophilic’ scarring alopecia, biopsies of these two conditions show a mixture of neutrophils, lymphocytes, histiocytes and [...]

Immunotherapy (DPCP, SADBE) Does NOT Help Scarring Alopecia Diphencyprone (DPCP) and Squaric Acid Dibutyl Ester (SADBE) are long standing treatments for the autoimmune hair loss condition alopecia areata. The cause itching and burning in the scalp and essentially trigger an allergic contact dermatitis. The inflammation that these chemicals create can trigger hair growth in some patients [...]

Lichen planopilaris is a scarring alopecia. Treatments are largely focused on reducing inflammation in hopes that by doing so the disease can be stopped. In the present day, there are many aspects of LPP that are difficult to predict. We know to some degree which treatments are better than others. We know the proportion of patients [...]

For the past decade, bacteria have increasingly been proposed to play a role in the autoimmune disease known as lupus. Specifically, research has shown that biofilms containing bacteria are potential triggers of this serious disease. A new fascinating study raises the possibility that bacteria that are commonly found on humans could trigger some of the auto-antibodies [...]

If you follow the medical literature and the unfolding story of a specific type of hair loss known as frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA), you’ve probably come to appreciate that an environmental factor is proposed to somehow be relevant in the mechanisms that lead to frontal fibrosing alopecia (or simply called “FFA”). This environmental factor (if the [...]

Classic trichoscopy of active lichen planopilaris, an immune mediated scarring alopecia is shown below. Classic trichoscopic image from a patient with active lichen planopilaris (LPP) There is redness and scale around hairs (called perifollicular erythema and perifollicular scale). Some hairs are twisted (called pili torti). The areas of scalp devoid of hairs are no longer red [...]