Alopecia Awareness Month: Supporting Patients Beyond the Treatment Plan

Hair regrowth is only one part of caring for patients with alopecia areata (AA). The emotional effects of losing hair, navigating treatment, and feeling misunderstood can extend well beyond what clinicians are able to address during a brief office visit.

In recognition of Alopecia Awareness Month, Dermatology Times spoke with Deann, an alopecia resource provider, mentor, advocate, and founder of Alopecia Life, about ways dermatology clinicians can better support patients throughout their experience with AA.

According to Deann, clinicians are increasingly aware that AA carries a significant psychosocial burden. The challenge is finding meaningful ways to acknowledge and address that burden within the limited time available during a typical appointment.

“There is a huge emotional component, a huge mental component that often, most of the time, can't be addressed in a very short visit,” she said.

Making Brief Clinical Encounters Meaningful

Even when appointment time is limited, Deann said compassion and guidance can have a meaningful effect on the patient experience.

Rather than expecting clinicians to address every psychosocial need themselves, she emphasized the importance of acknowledging what patients are experiencing and helping them understand what comes next.

“I think it's more about what you can do within that short period of time, that short appointment time, that can make a huge difference,” Deann said.

This includes preparing patients for the realities of treatment. With a growing number of therapeutic options available for AA, including Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors and topical therapies, patients may enter treatment hoping that finding the right medication will lead to rapid hair regrowth.

Deann cautioned that this expectation can contribute to frustration and disappointment.

“Patients really [need to] understand that their hair is not going to grow overnight,” she said.

Hair growth occurs over time and is influenced by multiple factors, making realistic conversations about the treatment journey particularly important. Helping patients understand that improvement may not be immediate can better prepare them for the period between initiating therapy and seeing visible results.

Addressing Isolation and the Grief of Hair Loss

Beyond treatment expectations, Deann identified loneliness as another significant challenge facing patients with AA.

Despite growing visibility of alopecia on social media and an expanding number of resources, she said patients may still feel as though they are navigating hair loss alone.

“It's a very lonely and interesting way to move through life when your hair falls out,” she said. “It's a very taboo subject. People don't want to talk about it.”

That isolation may be compounded when others minimize the experience as “just hair.” For patients, however, hair loss can carry emotional, social, and identity-related consequences that may not be immediately apparent to family members, friends, or others around them.

“It's like a grieving process when you lose your hair,” Deann said.

Recognizing that experience can be an important component of patient-centered care. Rather than minimizing the emotional response to hair loss, clinicians can validate patients' concerns while directing them toward resources that provide additional support.

Connecting Patients With Community

Deann emphasized that community resources can help bridge the gap between dermatology visits, particularly when clinicians do not have sufficient time to address every emotional and practical concern associated with AA.

“There is something else. There's a community component that can really, really fill that gap,” she said.

For dermatology clinicians, connecting patients with advocacy organizations, mentors, support groups, and other individuals living with alopecia may complement medical management by providing a space for conversations that extend beyond treatment response.

During Alopecia Awareness Month, Deann's message underscores that successful AA care is not solely about whether hair returns. Setting realistic expectations, acknowledging the emotional weight of hair loss, and helping patients recognize that they are not navigating the condition alone can all contribute to a more supportive treatment experience.

Watch the full Dermatology Times interview above to hear more from Deann about the psychosocial impact of AA and the role clinicians can play in supporting patients throughout their treatment journey.