Alopecia Barbae

For the man who has a beard, waking up one day with patches in the beard missing can be a shocking and stressful experience. Most men who wear beards consider their beard part of their personality and as such seeing a person in the mirror who has a patch of hair missing from their beard can cause them to wonder how it happened and what everyone is going to think if they were to see it. For the friends and family of the men who experience beard patches, the immediate assumption is that the person is simply stressed or worrying about things and this is causing the problem. However, patches in the beard are signs of something more serious that can lead to other Hair loss down the road if not addressed.

Beard Patches - Alopecia Barbae

Alopecia Barbae is the medical name for patches in the beard. It is not typically stress induced, not directly at least, but instead is actually an auto-immune disorder. When Alopecia Barbae occurs, the body begins producing antibodies that attack the hair follicles. The anti-bodies are typically isolated to one patch of hair, producing a circular patch of smooth, hair free skin that is from a nickel to quarter in size. The hairs surrounding the beard patch are typically fine, brittle and easy to pull out and the patch itself sometimes will hurt or feel like it is burning.

Conventional medicine still has not worked out the underlying cause of an auto-immune attack; however, it is commonly believed that there is a genetic weakness and environmental factors cause that weakness to be expressed in th eform of an auto-immune attack. Genetics do play an important part in this and families that suffer atopic illness see a higher percentage of this problem. Bald patches in the beard can come about very quickly. Initially when a patch develops you may not pay that much attension to it. As the patch gets larger, that is when the person takes notice and gets worried. The earlier that you start to treat such patches in the beard the greater chance you have of reversing the problem.

Medical Treatment of Alopecia Barbae

When a man goes to a medical doctor for treatment of Alopecia Barbae, the treatment options are limited and some are severe with low success rates, lengthy treatment plans as well as side effects from the treatments. The treatments include cosmetic use of 5% Minoxidil to help encourage hair regrowth. While this treatment can help, there is not a high percentage revresal rate in cases of alopecia barbae. Steroids are another common treatment for Alopecia Barbae. Daily topical application of a steroid cream onto the beard patch is the most common way to use steroid therapy. However, some doctors will give the patient the option of a regiment of steroid injections once every four to six weeks for up to six months to help the hair grow back. However, steroids do not always work, can cause the beard patch not to not grow back permanently and the steroid can cause the skin of the beard patch to become thin and easily damaged. Minoxidil is often used in conjunction with steroids, as it appears to enhance the action of the steroids.

Alternate Means Of Treating Alopecia Barbae

Aside from medical treatments, there are a couple natural treatments available to treat Alopecia Barbae. One of the most effective methods of helping correct patches in the beard is the Beard Recovery Ointment. In this treatment, there are plant extracts as well as nutrients that help the body correct itself and stop attacking the hair follicles. These ingredients do bring about regrowth within time. Rather than try to supress the immune system which can bring about undesired affects. The Ointment helps the immune system get back on track and see the hair follicle as part of it's own body again. The Beard Recovery Ointment is part of the product group of Calosol which are effective on all types of autoimmune related Hair loss information