Monitoring Scarring Alopecia

Monitoring Scarring Alopecia

How do we check if treatment for a scarring alopecia is helping?

It's important to remember that hair regrowth does not occur in most scarring alopecias. There are exceptions, but generally speaking if hair has been lost it has been lost permanently - and treatment is administered to help stop hair loss from getting worse.

The most important aspect of monitoring treatment for a patient with scarring alopecia is to compare whether the patient's hair loss has worsened. A picture is one of the best ways to determine if hair loss is getting worse or whether it is staying the same. 
Another helpful way is to measure the area carefully using a ruler. If an area remains the same dimension over time, month after month, year after year, the scarring alopecia is said to be "stable." If the measurements change and get larger over time, the scarring alopecia is said to be "active." Active scarring alopecias require more aggressive treatment than the patient is currently receiving in order to stop the hair loss.