Question about eyebrow loss

hey all,

i'm new to this website, but have found it incredibly encouraging to know that i'm not alone. i was diagnosed w/ aa end of this past july and sadly, have found my aa progressing worse. i lost my entire right eyebrow and now in the process of losing the other (is there anything that can be done to prevent my other eyebrow from further loss or do i have to watch it all fall out again...). however, one thing i noticed was my missing eyebrow has "white hair." i was curious on how the process of growing (if, and hopefully soon) new normal hair occurs? does the white hair just naturally fall off and new healthy pigmented eyebrow hair grows underneath? for those that have experienced eyebrow growth, how did it happen for you? also, i was prescribed elidel, but i'm terrified of using it because of its black box warning, has anyone had any success w/ it? or any success w/ alternative medicine?

also, i read that stress can make alopecia worse, does that include even physical stress like exercise? i registered for a marathon and have been 3 months into my training, where now, i'm thinking about withdrawing for fear that i might exacerbate my condition.

sorry for all these questions, i'm trying to understand aa more, and hopefully w/ more understanding, i'll begin to accept these changes i now face.

thanks for taking the time to read and post. =)

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Permalink Reply by clare on September 20, 2009 at 8:54pm
dear all,

thanks so much for all the suggestions and support!!
Permalink Reply by Sarah on September 23, 2009 at 12:52am
when i lost my eyebrows 3 years ago, i occasionally had white hairs that grew in. it was kind of like a fuzz that eventually fell out too. it took me about a year for my eyebrows to start growing back normally and now 2 years later i almost have them all. just missing one little spot on the right.
Permalink Reply by AnneHW on June 13, 2017 at 8:52pm
I'm new as well, and have questions. I just read that stress is not a factor, although that was thought to be the case in the past. However, I do wonder sometimes.

I didn't start having problems until my early 50s, about the time I went through menopause. But, my dad and my uncle both lost their eyebrows at some point. One of my brothers has lost most of his, and my other brother isn't as bad, but interestingly, he is balding. No one else in my family had problems with hair loss other than their eyebrows.

What bothers me as much as anything is the inflammation. I also seem to get white bumps in the hair follicles. Just touching my eyebrows can cause the skin to turn red!

I've been seeing a dermatologist, and I thought she had finally found the right combo of medications because my eyebrows seemed to be recovering, and actually growing hair. Then I decided to try using Rogain and things really went to hell. One eyebrow is half gone and the other one is patchy. This is so discouraging.
Permalink Reply by Khy Ellie on June 14, 2017 at 11:54pm

Stress may not be a cause (still unconvinced...) but I do suspect that bodily changes can be. For me and several people I know, hair loss started at the same time as puberty. I think that's why many people find stress to be a 'cause'--more a correlate because emotional stress has major impacts on the body.

Hi Clare--I think that it's different for every case of alopecia, but white hairs are common and are not guarantees of long-term hair regrowth. My head hair fell out rapidly between ages 13-14, 11 years ago. Other hair around my body stopped growing as well, but not all of it. I lost my eyebrows/lashes about 4 years ago. Just about 2 years ago I had the only significant instance of regrowth I've ever had, where I had those white, downy hairs sprouting all over my head--I got so excited! I had some hairs grow up to an inch long during that episode, but it's all gone now. I do have a small, inch-wide spot on my head that has thick, coarse, black hair that has never stopped growing. It's actually kind of annoying since it's the only consistent spot :D I'm not sure what's up with that spot, haha.

Basically: Don't worry about physical stress. Emotional stress maybe. White hairs are normal but don't really mean anything. Just have faith and press on!

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