Alopecia Areata

It begins inconspicuously. A small spot where the hair thins. Then a round, smooth area — like a circle someone drew in your hair with a compass. The skin beneath is unharmed, healthy, smooth. No rash, no inflammation, no visible cause. And yet: the hair goes. Sometimes it grows back, only to disappear again somewhere else — as though something invisible is moving across your scalp drawing circles.

Medically this is called alopecia areata — an autoimmune reaction in which the immune system attacks its own hair follicles. The body fights itself. From a psychosomatic perspective, a question presses forward that goes far beyond hair follicles: what has been working its way to the surface inside you that you have long kept under lock? And why do you lose something precisely where everyone can see it?

Alopecia areata is not a cosmetic problem. It is a pressure valve.