My Hair Was My Crown—Until It All Fell Out. It Took Years to Find an Effective Treatment.

When I was growing up in North Carolina, I was very athletic, so I usually kept my hair in braids, though sometimes I got a blowout. My first hint something was going on was when I was in eighth grade. I went to the same stylist every other month, so she knew my hair really well. This time, I was getting a blowout, and she said, “Hey, I just want to let you know that I noticed a little bald spot on the back of your head. I don’t think it’s anything to be concerned about, but you should keep an eye on it.”

I was just 14 and didn’t think much of it. The bald spot grew back on its own, and that was that.

Fast-forward to high school, when I hit puberty and started caring more about my appearance: I was looking in the mirror a lot and putting my hands through my hair, and one day I said, “Hmm, this doesn’t look right!”

More bald spots were popping up, and this time they were bigger. I also had some thinning at my hairline. I was 16 then, and this was really upsetting. So my parents took me to the doctor, who referred us to a dermatologist. She looked at my scalp and gave me the shocking news that I had alopecia areata, an autoimmune skin condition that causes hair loss in patches.

Painful Shots and Wigs

I couldn’t understand what the doctor was telling me. I kept asking, “What do you mean? What can we do?” You think when you go to the doctor, they’ll give you a definitive answer, and you’ll leave with something to cure whatever you have. But that didn’t happen.

The doctor told me they don’t know exactly what causes alopecia areata, but stress and anything that affects your immune system can trigger it. At that point, she offered topical spot treatments. Those topicals didn’t really work for me, so I was just using powder that you can get in a beauty-supply store to cover the bald patches.

This really broke my heart. For African American women, it’s a really big accomplishment when we can achieve some healthy hair length. We’re always trying new products and there’s a lot of trial and error, and it had just gotten to a length I liked. I didn’t grow up wearing wigs or weaves, and wasn’t ready for that, but by my junior year, my mom said, “I just want my baby girl to feel good,” and she took me to buy a wig.

I eventually went back to the dermatologist and asked her for something stronger. So for about a year and a half before I left for college, I was getting corticosteroid shots directly into my scalp. It was so painful. My mom would have to come to school to drop off numbing cream for me and then come back two hours later to take me to the appointment. I was willing to do almost anything that I could to keep and maintain my hair.

College, Stress, and More Hair Loss

By senior year, the shots had worked well enough that I was able to cut my hair short and wear it like that. I was so excited to start college with my natural hair, and even though I was very homesick at first, I found my group of friends and everything was going great.

But at the end of my first year, my grandfather passed away. That triggered a lot of stress, and I think that jump-started my immune system to go downhill again. Between continuing to adjust to college life and now grief, my autoimmune condition caused me to stay bald from sophomore year to senior year of college. Then my eyebrows fell out completely and I had to invest in eyebrow microblading.

One very fortunate silver lining: I went to an HBCU (historically Black college and universities), which is the epitome of beauty, brains, and fashion. Wigs were very accepted as a way to change your hairstyle. So thankfully, I didn’t feel the pressure of sticking out like a sore thumb.

I still felt a bit like an outcast, though, because I didn’t know anyone else going through what I was dealing with. A big turning point for me was connecting with the National Alopecia Areata Foundation (NAAF), where I found support and information. I would always hear about clinical trials and get updates on new treatments.

Finding Hope

By senior year, I was on a JAK inhibitor, a class of drugs that targets the overactive immune system pathways that cause the hair loss. It worked! It grew my hair back… until it stopped working.

In 2025, I was at a NAAF conference, and I heard about a new JAK inhibitor that had just been FDA-approved specifically for alopecia areata called Leqselvi. I felt like this was my last-ditch effort before I’d have to wear wigs forever.

I started taking Leqselvi twice a day, and in less than two months, I started to see hair growth. I’m at a point now where I can start styling it with finger waves, and I’m really excited to see the progress. I’m still learning the newness of having hair again.

I still wear wigs sometimes, but I like having the option of just waking up and not dealing with a wig! I’m 27 now, I work full time and I have a boyfriend, and he is so supportive and amazing. I feel beautiful in every way.

Not everyone with alopecia areata will want to pursue treatment—it’s a personal choice, and I know women who look beautiful without hair. But I want everyone to know there are options and resources out there, and if you’re going through this, you should look into them so that you can make the best decision for you.

What Is Alopecia Areata?

“Alopecia areata [AA] is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system mistakenly attacks the hair follicle, disrupting the normal hair growth cycle and resulting in hair loss,” explains Joseph W. Fakhoury, M.D., incoming assistant professor of dermatology and director of the Alopecia Clinic at the University of Maryland. It’s estimated that around seven million Americans will be affected by AA at some point in their lives, and 700,000 are currently living with the disease. “Fortunately, the hair follicle is not permanently destroyed by this immune attack, which is why hair regrowth remains possible,” says Dr. Fakhoury.

While there are different types of alopecia, in this particular condition, hair is lost in circular, coin-size patches; it can affect not only the scalp, but eyelashes, eyebrows, and sometimes hair on the arms and legs as well.

Research shows that alopecia areata affects more women than men, and is more common in the Asian, Black, and Hispanic communities, compared with white Americans.

No one knows exactly what causes AA, though it’s believed to be a combination of genetic susceptibility and outside triggers such as a virus or environmental factors that lead to an abnormal autoimmune response, Dr. Fakhoury explains. For many people, AA starts in childhood.

While AA doesn’t cause any physical pain, it can have an effect on mental health, as people adjust to living with hair loss. While some choose to live with hair loss or wear scarves, hats, or wigs, there are treatments available to regrow hair. These include:

• Corticosteroid injections

“For patients with severe alopecia, [oral JAK inhibitors] are the preferred first-line systemic treatment option,” Dr. Fakhoury says. “They target the inflammatory signaling pathways responsible for the autoimmune attack on hair follicles.”

Dr. Fakhoury wants people living with AA to know that while it can be emotionally challenging and unpredictable, there are more treatment options available today than ever before, with additional treatments currently being studied. “Find a dermatologist who specializes in hair loss, advocate for yourself, and remember that your hair loss does not define you,” he says.

For more information, check out the National Alopecia Areata Foundation.

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