The Belgravia Centre Blog

Tomorrow, Wednesday 15th July, American Alex Whitley sets out to climb the highest mountain peak in Europe, Mount Elbrus in Russia. The effort is part of a campaign called Ascent for Alopecia and will raise money for two American alopecia areata organisations, Bald Girls Do Lunch and the National Alopecia Areata Foundation.

Whitley has a personal reason behind taking on this challenge. His girlfriend, Dana Crook, has alopecia areata, an autoimmune hair loss disease. He says, “There are two things I love most in life – climbing and my girlfriend Dana. This is a great opportunity to incorporate both in one experience”.

Dana Crook was diagnosed with alopecia areata eight years ago and recalls the impact it had: “It was devastating. Being a confident homecoming queen at 17 and shortly after finding a scared hairless girl staring back at me in the mirror”.

Whitley has traveled in 29 different countries and climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro and many other peaks through 12 countries of Africa. His ultimate goal is to reach the highest point on each continent. “I have been on many adventures and climbing expeditions around the world and would love to start incorporating alopecia organizations as my motivation” he explains.

Alopecia areata is charaterised by the sudden patchy loss of hair. In 70% of cases the hair will either grow back or can be treated with proven hair loss products such as minoxidil. Alopecia areata affects about one person in every 100, mostly teenagers and young adults, and runs in the family in one in five cases. One in five people with alopecia areata may go on to develop a more severe form of hair loss – alopecia totalis (no scalp hair) or alopecia universalis (complete hair loss on the scalp and body). Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease and has been linked to a number of triggers such as local skin injury, viral or bacterial infection, allergies, chemicals and stress. Stress, however, is often a side effect suffered by the those with the condition which can make matters worse.

Alopecia areata does not always require treatment because in up to 70% of cases, hair will grow back on its own within a year. The first step is to consult a doctor and a hair loss specialist in order to get to the bottom of the condition and find out which method of treatment is right for you. If you’d like to arrange a free appointment with a hair loss specialist, call the Belgravia Centre on 020 7730 6666 or message the clinic. If you can’t make it to the centre, fill in the online diagnostic form for expert knowledge and impartial advice on your hair loss situation.

More Information:
Alopecia Areata Treatment
Hair Loss Success Alopecia Areata: “My hair is growing back… much heavier and much thicker”
Female Hair Loss and Alopecia Areata: Total Regrowth

Interesting Articles:
How Women’s Hair Loss Affects Quality of Life
Why Men Worry About Baldness But Do Nothing
Children’s stress levels spark increase in hair loss cases