Alopecia areata is autoimmune disease, not a cosmetic problem.

Alopecia areata is autoimmune disease, not a cosmetic problem. The framing matters because it shapes who you should see, what treatments are worth considering, and what to expect.

The condition affects roughly 2% of people at some point in life. About 50% of patchy AA spontaneously regrows within 12 months without treatment. The course is unpredictable. Some people have one patch that never recurs; others lose all scalp hair (totalis) or all body hair (universalis).

For severe disease, the treatment landscape changed in 2022. Three oral JAK inhibitors are now FDA-approved: baricitinib, ritlecitinib, deuruxolitinib. They produce significant regrowth in roughly a third of patients with severe AA, with stopping leading to relapse.