Key Takeaways:
- Autoimmune disease hair loss can happen with alopecia areata, lupus, thyroid diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, and scalp psoriasis.
- Each disease has different effects, such as the immune system attacking hair follicles or affecting the scalp.
- Hair loss can also be a side effect of some medications used to treat autoimmune diseases.
- Seek medical help to treat hair loss while managing your autoimmune condition.
You might associate autoimmune conditions with symptoms like skin disease, chronic pain, and fatigue. But autoimmune disease hair loss can also happen.
Your immune system is meant to keep you healthy by attacking foreign bodies that can cause illness and infection. Sometimes, though, immune cells might mistake your own body tissues for foreign bodies, causing your immune system to attack your own cells. This is what happens with autoimmune diseases.
Every autoimmune disorder has its own range of symptoms. Certain conditions can affect scalp and hair health, leading to hair shedding.
We’ll cover which autoimmune diseases cause hair loss and explore treatment options.
This article was reviewed by Knox Beasley, MD.
Which Autoimmune Diseases Cause Hair Loss?
Several autoimmune diseases are associated with hair loss. The most common ones are:
- Alopecia areata
- Lupus
- Hashimoto’s disease
- Graves’ disease
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Psoriasis
- Crohn’s disease and inflammatory bowel disease
- Lichen planopilaris
Let’s look at these in more detail.
Image Credit: sasirin pamai/istockphoto.
1. Alopecia Areata
Alopecia areata is an autoimmune condition that affects about 2 percent of the population. It happens when the immune system attacks hair follicles. This can damage follicles permanently, eventually leading to bald spots.
This condition usually causes ring-shaped patches of hair loss on the scalp. It can also lead to hair loss on other parts of the body. For example, your beard or legs might develop patchy bald spots.
Beyond patchy hair loss, other types of alopecia areata include alopecia totalis (total loss of scalp hair) and alopecia universalis (total loss of all scalp and body hair).
Hair loss aside, other symptoms of alopecia areata include:
- Nail pitting
- Itching or tenderness on the scalp
- Gray or white hairs in the affected area
According to the American Academy of Dermatology, you’re at a higher risk for developing alopecia areata if you have:
- Asthma
- Hay fever
- Eczema (atopic dermatitis)
- Other autoimmune disorders, namely psoriasis, thyroid disease, or vitiligo
You’re also more likely to develop alopecia areata if you have a family history of autoimmune conditions.
Image Credit: Kunlathida Petchuen / iStock.
2. Lupus
According to the Lupus Foundation of America, hair loss and hair thinning are common among people with lupus.
Depending on the type of lupus you have, it might affect just your skin or your entire body. Cutaneous lupus (aka skin lupus) mostly affects the skin, while systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) can have effects throughout the body.
The most well-known type of skin lupus is discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE). It causes round skin lesions that are more prone to skin cancer than unaffected skin. These lesions can affect the scalp as well as the rest of the body.
Lupus-related hair loss can be caused by:
- Certain lupus treatments, which may have hair loss as a side effect
- Rashes or sores on the scalp, which can be a symptom of lupus
DLE can also cause issues like irregular skin pigmentation, scaly papules, and plaques on the scalp.
Image Credit: Andrii Iemelyanenko/iStock
3. Hashimoto’s Disease
Thyroid disorders are associated with hair loss. This makes sense, as thyroid hormones are essential for hair follicles to grow and maintain healthy strands of hair.
Thyroid disease is also linked to alopecia areata hair loss. Roughly 9 percent of alopecia areata patients have some form of thyroid dysfunction.
Hashimoto’s disease, also known as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, is a condition where the immune system attacks the thyroid gland. This leads to an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism). In fact, Hashimoto’s is the most common form of hypothyroidism.
Hair loss from Hashimoto’s disease can look like:
- Thinning hair
- Slow hair growth
- Dry, brittle hair
- Increased hair breakage
Other symptoms of Hashimoto’s disease include:
- Fatigue
- Weight gain
- Constant coldness
- Depression
- Dry skin
- Myxedema (an edema-like skin condition)
Myxedema is a medical emergency, so seek medical attention right away if you’re experiencing swollen skin with fluid buildup.
Image Credit: iStock / Drazen Zigic.
4. Graves’ Disease
Another thyroid disorder, Graves’ disease, is also associated with hair loss.
This condition is sort of the inverse of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. While Hashimoto’s disease involves the autoimmune system attacking the thyroid and causing an underactive thyroid, Graves’ disease involves the autoimmune system attacking the thyroid and causing an overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism).
Just like hypothyroidism, the condition is linked to hair loss. Major abnormalities in thyroid serum levels seem to influence hair growth (or a lack thereof).
Other symptoms of Graves’ disease include:
- Warm and moist skin
- Involuntary hand shaking (tremors)
- Mental health conditions, including anxiety and depressive disorders
- A heart rate over 100 beats per minute (tachycardia)
- Red palms (palmar erythema)
- Weight loss
- Swollen thyroid gland (goiter)
- Difficulty sleeping
If you think you may have Graves’ disease, make an appointment with a healthcare professional as soon as you can.
Image Credit: Chinnapong / iStock.
5. Rheumatoid Arthritis
Hair loss from rheumatoid arthritis is uncommon, but it can happen. The autoimmune disease itself doesn’t cause hair loss, but the medications used to treat rheumatoid arthritis can.
For example, methotrexate and leflunomide are often used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, both of which suppress chronic inflammation.
According to the Arthritis Foundation, about 1 to 3 percent of people who take methotrexate and 10 percent of people who take leflunomide experience hair loss.
Fortunately, as with most drug-related hair loss, this can be temporary. Your hair may grow back after stopping the medication or adjusting to the drug.
If you’ve noticed significant hair loss and think it might be related to your medication, speak with your healthcare provider. They might adjust your medication if necessary.
Image Credit: Nadzeya Haroshka/istockphoto.
6. Psoriasis
Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease. It causes skin cells to grow rapidly and build up on the skin, creating itchy, scaly patches of thick, red skin.
These psoriasis patches can show up everywhere — including the scalp.
As you can imagine, scalp psoriasis can affect your ability to grow healthy hair, especially if you scratch your head and pick at the flakes a lot. That’s why there’s a link between psoriasis and hair loss.
Good news, though: Scalp psoriasis can be reversible. If you treat your psoriasis and the flare-ups calm down, hair regrowth is possible.
Image Credit: iStock / Delpixart.
7. Crohn’s Disease and Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Crohn’s disease and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are gut disorders. But they affect more than just your stomach and bowel movements.
Both conditions are linked to hair loss. According to a 2015 study that looked at over 150 IBD patients, around one-third reported hair loss.
It’s not entirely clear why IBD and Crohn’s can lead to hair loss. The medication used to treat these conditions might cause hair loss as a side effect. It could also be that IBD sometimes leads to nutritional deficiencies, which can cause hair loss.
So, if you feel like your hair has been thinning while dealing with a gut disorder, that just might be the case. A healthcare provider can help you navigate this.
Image Credit: LightFieldStudios/istockphoto.
8. Lichen Planopilaris
Lichen planus is an inflammatory skin disease. When it affects the scalp, it’s called lichen planopilaris.
There’s a lot we don’t know about lichen planus and lichen planopilaris, but they’re thought to be autoimmune diseases.
Symptoms of lichen planopilaris include:
- Patchy hair loss
- Tender, painful scalp
- Itchiness of the scalp
Although you may lose hair in random patches along the scalp, you might also develop frontal fibrosing alopecia. This type of lichen planopilaris mostly affects the front of the scalp, which may look a bit like a receding hairline.
Lichen planopilaris causes hair loss — and unfortunately, it can be permanent. So starting treatment as quickly as possible is crucial.
Image Credit: Ridofranz/istockphoto.
Is Autoimmune Disease Hair Loss Treatable?
Autoimmune disease hair loss can be treated in some cases. It depends on the exact type of hair loss you have.
There aren’t any FDA-approved treatments specifically for hair loss caused by autoimmune diseases. The best course of action is to work with a healthcare professional to manage the symptoms of your autoimmune condition by addressing the root cause.
For instance, your healthcare team or dermatologist might recommend:
- Immunosuppressants. Alopecia areata can be treated with corticosteroid creams and injections, which may help promote hair regrowth in the affected areas.
- Avoiding triggers. Certain foods, climates, and environmental pollutants could contribute to autoimmune disease flare-ups. Try to avoid these triggers to minimize the effects on your scalp.
- Eating a healthy, balanced diet. Eating a variety of nutritious foods can help you avoid nutritional deficiencies, which may contribute to hair loss. A hair growth supplement like biotin gummies might help.
- Minoxidil (Rogaine®). This over-the-counter topical medication can boost hair growth. Research shows that it can promote hair regrowth in people with alopecia areata.
- Gentle hair styling techniques. Harsh chemicals and rough styling techniques can cause hair breakage and irritate an inflamed scalp. Tight hairstyles can also cause a form of alopecia called traction alopecia.
It’s essential to speak with a healthcare professional before trying any hair loss treatment — even if it can be bought over the counter.
Image Credit: iStock / Jacob Wackerhausen.
Bottom Line: Autoimmune Disease Hair Loss
Hair loss can be a sign of a bigger problem. If you’ve noticed excessive hair shedding, don’t ignore that red flag. Make an appointment with a healthcare professional and get personalized medical advice ASAP.
Skip the waiting rooms by doing a free virtual consultation through our online platform. We’ll help you connect with a licensed healthcare provider who can shed light on your hair loss.
They can go over your symptoms, health history, and current medical conditions, then tell you whether you’re experiencing autoimmune disease hair loss or another cause of hair loss, like male pattern baldness (androgenetic alopecia). Next, your provider will recommend a treatment plan based on your unique needs.
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
FAQs
How can I fix hair loss from autoimmune diseases?
The first step in treating autoimmune hair loss is to consult a dermatologist or another medical professional. They’ll discuss potential treatment options, including corticosteroids, topical treatments, or oral medications like JAK inhibitors (short for Janus kinase inhibitor), like baricitinib.
Image Credit: Fenton Roman / iStock.
What does autoimmune hair loss look like?
Autoimmune-related hair loss — most often alopecia areata — typically looks like smooth, round, or oval bald patches on the scalp or other areas of the body. A key indicator is “exclamation point” hairs — short, broken strands that taper toward the base of the hair shaft.
Image Credit: jacoblund/Istockphoto.
What autoimmune diseases cause hair loss?
Several autoimmune diseases can cause hair loss, including alopecia areata, lupus, Hashimoto’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, scalp psoriasis, Crohn’s disease, and lichen planopilaris. These conditions lead to excessive shedding either directly by targeting hair follicles or indirectly through systemic inflammation, medication effects, or hormonal disruptions.
Image Credit: Rawpixel/Istockphoto.
What’s the difference between telogen effluvium and autoimmune hair loss?
Telogen effluvium is temporary hair shedding caused by stress, illness, or hormonal changes that push hairs prematurely into the resting (telogen) phase — but the follicles remain healthy. In contrast, autoimmune hair loss — like alopecia areata — is when the immune system attacks hair follicles directly, often causing patchy or patterned bald spots.
Related:
Like MediaFeed’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article originally appeared on Hims.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
AlertMe
