Alopecia Areata, also known as hair loss, causes bald patches on the scalp and other areas of the body. The victim of this disorder may experience either partial or total loss of hair. This disease can affect both males and females thereby causing male pattern baldness and female pattern baldness respectively. Both men and women face different types of pattern when they experience this problem.

In some cases, the patient may suffer from hair loss only for a temporary period such as during menopause and pregnancy. However, it depends on the type of alopecia areata the patient is experiencing. Likewise, in some rare cases, like alopecia areata universalis, the patient may suffer from permanent hair loss.

Fortunately there are some effective treatments that can help you cure alopecia areata and get back your healthy hair. Let’s take a brief look at these treatments.

•    If the condition is not so serious and in its early phases, you may try some essential oils that encourage hair growth such as rosemary oil, cedarwoord oil, etc. Given that essential oils cannot be used in their pure form as they can be quite irritating to the scalp’s skin therefore carrier oils should be used to dilute the essential oils.

Add few drops of an essential oil in a tablespoon of carrier oil like jojoba. Apply the mixture onto your scalp and massage the affected areas thoroughly. This treatment will help you increase the blood circulation, which as a result will promote hair growth. This treatment should be practice regularly.

•    Finasteride is an effective oral medication for the treatment of alopecia areata. It is an FDA approved drug for men only. It is a very powerful drug that restrains the enzymes thereby affecting the behavior of testosterone. In most cases the drug has a slowing affect on the disorder whereas in some cases it resulted in stopping the baldness.

The results of this drug are not immediate and may take several months to get the desired result. However, the patient may experience baldness again if the use of finasteride is stopped.

•    Another FDA approved medication that has created its name and popularity in the market is Minoxidil. Unlike Finasteride, it is a topical medication that can be applied directly onto the scalp. Results have shown that this medication can promote hair re-growth in few months. It doesn’t only stop the spot baldness but also reverses the effects it had on the hair follicles. However, the medication should be used continuously to sustain the results.

Minoxidil may also cause some common side effects such as irritation, dryness of the scalp, scaling, etc.