An argument for a buzz cut early in your alopecia diagnosis

If you’ve been diagnosed with alopecia, I suggest you get a buzz cut right away.

That might sound scary, but hear me out…

Hair loss is progressive and irreversible in most cases. And if you have a scarring form of alopecia like central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia (CCCA) – where the inflammatory process destroys your hair follicles so no hair will ever grow back – it’s just a matter of time before you lose increasingly more hair. If you’re under treatment, that time frame might be extended by years…maybe decades…but eventually time will catch up to you.

I didn’t cut my hair super low early on in my diagnosis… I wish I did.

It would have allowed me – while I still had enough hair to cover most of my head – to get a sense of how I would look bald, and to get past these negative stories in my head:

What if I have an irregularly shaped head?

What if you can see the scars from my scalp biopsies?

What if I have hyperpigmentation from topical steroids?

What if the scalp depressions I have from steroid injections look dreadful?

I bet, if I got a buzz cut early on, I would have discovered that none of this is true. And…it would have brought a sense of relief that however CCCA unfolds for me, I’ll be okay.

But I didn’t cut my hair back then. And now that I’ve lost 20% of my hair, I’m afraid to because it means revealing the patchiness of my hair loss to the world.

I’m sure I’ll move past this eventually, but I want to spare you the anxiety of agonizing over how you’ll look with no hair.

So, if you’ve been recently diagnosed with CCCA or any other form of hair loss, I suggest you consider a buzz cut for three reasons:

1. It will give you peace of mind that you'll look far better than you think you will.

2. It will lessen the anxiety you have about losing your hair.

3. It will show you that a buzz cut is an option for you at any time.

Wishing you grace on this journey,

Lisa

P.S. I appreciate you being here. If you found this newsletter helpful, please share it with others and leave me a comment. You can also visit my website to gain access to all my posts. Signup is free.

Disclaimer: I am a Black woman living with central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia who shares thoughts, stories and ideas with other Black women navigating this condition for informational purposes only. I’m not a doctor or licensed or certified professional, therefore nothing in my posts – explicit, implicit, by implication, or in reference – is intended to constitute, or be a substitute or replacement for, licensed, professional, medical care. Always seek the advice of your dermatologist or other qualified provider with any questions you have regarding your health, CCCA, and treatments for CCCA, be they medical or otherwise, and before making any decisions about your health care. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read in my posts.