Is my FFA Active?

Is my FFA Active?

Frontal fibrosing alopecia known as FFA is a type of scarring hair loss. Individuals most commonly affected are peri and post menopausal women.

Treatments are needed to help stop FFA. These treatments include topical steroids, steroid injections, topical calcineurin inhibitors, finasteride/dutasteride, hudroxychloroquine, doxycycline, and mycophenolate mofetil. 

There are many helpful things that clinicians look for when the scalp is examined in order to determine how active the condition is. Redness around the follicles (called perifollicular erythema) is one important criteria to look for, as redness around hairs signifies high disease activity.

In this picture, we see an individual with FFA with little to no redness around hairs. Is the disease quiet (inactive)? The ultimate test of whether FFA is quiet (or not) is determining whether hair loss is continuing. Pictures of the areas of hair loss taken one year apart is often helpful. If the photo looks identical, a patient's FFA is likely fairly quiet.