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. 2026 Jan 27;194(2):e56-e73.
doi: 10.1093/bjd/ljaf452.

British Association of Dermatologists living guideline for managing people with alopecia areata 2025

Matthew J Harries  1   2 , Alia Ahmed  3 , Anna Ascott  4 , Kashif Bhatti  5 , Joseph Earley  6 , Paul Farrant  4 , Susan Holmes  7   8 , Amy Johnson  6   9 , Abby E Macbeth  10 , Andrew G Messenger  11 , Julian Pearce  12 , Anita Takwale  13 , Andrew R Thompson  14   15 , Maria Hashme  16 , M Firouz Mohd Mustapa  16 , Alina M Constantin  16
Affiliations

British Association of Dermatologists living guideline for managing people with alopecia areata 2025

Matthew J Harries et al. Br J Dermatol. .
No abstract available

Plain language summary

Alopecia areata (AA) is a long-term condition that can occur in both children and adults. AA can appear as patches of baldness on the scalp. Sometimes, nail growth is also affected. Hair on other parts of the body may also fall out, such as the beard, eyebrows and eyelashes. Alopecia totalis is the name for total loss of scalp hair. Alopecia universalis is complete loss of scalp, facial and body hair. This is the second version of the guideline. The British Association of Dermatologists gathered a group of experts in managing people of all ages with AA. The group consisted of eight consultant dermatologists, one dermatology specialist registrar, one general practitioner, one psychologist, two people with AA and a team with expertise in preparing guidelines. This group of experts reviewed relevant studies published until 11 July 2025. Using the evidence, the group produced recommendations using rigorous standards for guideline development. The guideline development group produced 56 recommendations for management of people with AA. They also made 9 recommendations for future research and suggested 11 audit points for hospitals. Based on the guideline, a patient information leaflet is also available on the British Association of Dermatologists’ website (https://www.skinhealthinfo.org.uk/condition/alopecia-areata).

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