Hair regrowth in cicatricial alopecia: A literature review

Abstract

Cicatricial alopecias (CA) describes multiple subtypes of hair loss in which the hair follicle is destroyed by an unknown inflammatory mechanism. The main goal of treatment is to stop this inflammatory process and prevent further hair loss; however, there have been occasional reports of hair regrowth following treatment in some subtypes of CA. This review aims to highlight these reports. A total of 71 cases of hair regrowth were found documented in the literature. The treatments used varied widely both between and within each subtype of alopecia. This review highlights that regrowth is possible in at least a subset of patients with cicatricial alopecia; however, the mechanism by which this occurs has yet to be elucidated.