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Alopecia Barbae: What Causes Beard Hair Loss and How to Treat a Patchy Beard?

What is Alopecia Barbae?

Alopecia barbae can be defined as the condition that causes beard hair loss in men. It is a disease that is as frustrating as hereditary balding. Alopecia Barbae is an autoimmune disease and a version of hair loss which affects men’s beard area. Hair loss from alopecia barbae typically occurs in small patches and could be really disturbing for physical appearance.

Men may notice one or more patches on their jawline or on the neck with either thin facial hair or no facial hair at all. Alopecia barbae is a specific form of alopecia areata that affects the beard. Usually, it comes on suddenly and you begin losing beard hair in small circular bald patches. If you are among men who experience alopecia barbae, you are probably looking for beard hair loss solution. First, let’s see what are some beard hair loss causes.

Why Does Beard Hair Fall Out?

The causes of hair loss in men’s beard is relatively unknown. In alopecia, the autoimmune attacks are directed at hair follicles, where they become damaged. While Alopecia Barbae is thought to be caused by genetics or hormonal influences, experts also believe that alopecia areata and alopecia barbae could be triggered by external factors such as stress or an injury.

Four Stages of Hair Growth

Your beard loss also might be just a natural facial hair growth cycle. Your facial hair growth follows a similar anagen-catagen-telogen phase. Because of this cycle, you will naturally lose a lot of beard hair on a daily basis. However you will not be losing these hair follicles forever. See picture:

Low Testosterone Can Cause Beard Loss

Testosterone encourages the beard hair follicles growth and increases their size. Healthy levels of testosterone will stimulate hair growth throughout your body, including your facial hair. However, lower levels of testosterone don’t usually mean that your beard will always be patchy or that you will never be able to grow it. It simply means that your beard may grow slower compared to others with high testosterone levels.

What Causes Beard Hair Loss?

While there are numerous factors that cause hair loss, these factors may also affect beard loss in men. Apart from hereditary factors, beard hair loss can be caused by mental and external reasons. Possible causes of beard loss can be listed as:

  • Family hereditary
  • Stress
  • Poor diet
  • Medicines
  • Alcohol
  • Chemicals
  • “Alopecia barbae is a special form of circular hair loss”

Will Hair Loss Affect Your Beard?

Not usually. The hair loss that kills the hair follicles on your head won’t do the same to the facial hair follicles. Those follicles are not sensitive to DHT like the follicles on your hairline, temples, top of your head, and crown.

How to Treat Alopecia Barbae?

  • Apply beard massage to stimulate the hair follicles
  • Wash your beard and exfoliate your face once a week
  • Apply bunch of natural beard oils
  • Choose a beard stimulating diet for beard care Increase your intake of vitamins A, C, and E
  • Avoid too aggressive beard care routine
  • Reduce stress to encourage beard growth
  • Get a medical support regarding your testosterone and DHT levels
  • Have a lifetime solution by getting a beard transplant or mustache transplant at Dr. Serkan Aygin Clinic

Beard Transplant for Beard Loss

Beard hair transplant procedure is performed on men who are experiencing hair loss on their beard and moustache, as well as those who cannot grow as much facial hair as desired. For all types of beard transplants, we used the latest method called the DHI method. 

Beard & Moustache Transplant Results 

Check out our results page for facial hair transplants before-after pictures performed at Dr. Serkan Aygin Clinic.

What to Do If You’re Losing Your Beard

If you are suffering from beard loss or alopecia barbae, you might be seeing patchy hair loss on beard. Here’s how to fight back: There are plenty of treatment ways to cure hair loss spots in beard including medical or natural. Some people simply wait for the autoimmune attack to stop and the hair to spontaneously regrow. The first step in treating alopecia barbae is early diagnosis. If you’ve noticed bald spots or patches on your beard that is not growing, it’s best to schedule an appointment with a dermatologist.

Medications for Alopecia Barbae Treatment

In most cases, a doctor might prescribe minoxidil for beard growth. This medicine is rubbed onto the patches of hairless beard area. Not only It helps to regrow hair but also it protects the hair follicles from losing more hair.

Conclusion

Even though losing beard hair can be frustrating, it is better to remember that losing beard hair can be part of the natural shift in the hair follicle growth phase. Still, it can be difficult to deal with emotionally as our appearance also affects our mental health. That is why it is so important for men to improve their life-style for a healthy and thick beard.