I have friends and family with autoimmune disorders, and one of the biggest concerns, interestingly enough, is the loss of hair. 

My mother had stage four colon cancer. The doctors told her she only had a 3% chance of living. And she was worried about losing her hair. It is not painful, I hear, but it is unsightly. And when you are already struggling with other health issues, the last thing you want is to lose all of your hair, too. 

For my mother, the hair loss would have come as a result of the treatment, not cancer. For others, it is due to the illness. 

My stepmother has an autoimmune disorder that could result in hair loss, and she has already invested in a dozen wigs. For people with patchy hair loss, it can be even worse, because it falls out in chunks, leaving you to wonder if it will all fall out or if you will be stuck with some bald patches and some longer hair. 

For those people, a big concern is how to stop alopecia areata from spreading. 

Table of Contents: 

• What Is Alopecia Areata?
• 5 Tips for How to Stop Alopecia Areata from Spreading
• Essential Oils
• Coconut Oil
• Nutritious Diet
• Massage Brush
• Stress Management
• Why Oils Work for the Scalp and Hair
• Oils to Invest in for Your Hair

What Is Alopecia Areata?

Alopecia areata is more common than you might realize, affecting 1 in every 500 to 1,000 people. It is an autoimmune disorder that sees your immune system attacking your hair follicles. Most people see the first signs of the condition occurring before they turn 30, and it is not curable. It seems to merely be a condition you must learn to live with. It can happen every once in a while throughout your life, or it can affect you regularly. 

If you find yourself in an ongoing situation with alopecia areata, you may want to take a cue from my stepmom and invest in wigs. Just shave your head and be done with it. The guessing game of when you might lose your hair, and how much of it you will lose each time can be so frustrating that you end up severely stressed, which will only contribute more to your hair loss. 

If you are still interested in battling hair loss, however, I have some solid tips for you that might help. 

5 Tips for How to Stop Alopecia Areata from Spreading

Essential Oils

Essential oils can serve two functions for those with alopecia areata. First, you can keep your head moist and hydrated by massaging your scalp with oil. Second, oils like tea tree oil, when added to carrier oils such as argan oil and jojoba oil, among others, can actually help promote hair regrowth. 

Coconut Oil

Coconut oil is full of healing properties and will keep your scalp and hair moist while you work on regrowth. It contains lauric acid, which binds the protein in your hair and protects your roots from breakage. 

Nutritious Diet

What you put inside your body greatly affects what happens on the outside of your body. Foods like eggs, berries, and spinach are all packed with the vitamins and minerals that support hair growth. Maintain a balanced diet of mostly whole foods, and you can expect better results with your hair than if you are dependent on a junk food diet. 

Massage Brush

Massaging your scalp with a massager brush will help encourage blood circulation, promoting hair regrowth and potentially halting further hair loss. It also feels really good, so you can just call it self-care. 

Stress Management

Stress is a major contributor to hair loss, and while alopecia areata is not directly caused by stress, if you are stressed, it can only make your hair loss worse. You can work on stress management on your own through meditation practices and mantras. 

Try relaxing more before bedtime, turning off phones and computer screens. If your stress is beyond your own management, get help. Resources and experts are in place to get you through it. 

Why Oils Work for the Scalp and Hair

It seems today that so many people are prone to make jokes about essential oils. The line of thought is that some hippies are bought into wacky unconventional medicines that won’t help them. The image comes to mind of a yoga studio with a humidifier misting lavender oil on students in the class. 

Nothing could be further from the truth. While essential oils are great as fragrances, and plenty of evidence exists that shows the benefit of smelling various scents, those oils are good for so much more than fragrance. Essential oils carry powerful chemical properties that are beneficial for health. 

When it comes to hair, the most commonly used are lavender, lemongrass, and tea tree, but there is a whole range to choose from. Take your time doing some deep research and experimenting with which oils work for alopecia areata. You are sure to find oils for many other purposes along the way. Even if it is just for your yoga class humidifier. 

Oils to Invest in for Your Hair

Below you will find links to several oils to explore for alopecia areata as well as a massager brush to invest in.  

Hair Oils

This list of oils is designed specifically to promote hair growth and strength. 

Essential Oils

Here, you have the full range of oils that can prove beneficial for a variety of illnesses and discomforts. 

Massager Brush

The massager is great to have on hand just as a radical act of self-care, but it is also wonderful for stopping hair loss and promoting hair regrowth. 

Follow the links above and take your time browsing the ingredients and descriptions. You cannot go wrong stocking up on essential oils.