★★★★★
I have had alopecia areata for over fifteen years (since my early 20's). At its worst, nearly half of the hair on my head was gone - what was left was scattered in different sized patches. I went through the series of treatments offered by dermatologists including topical ointments, injected and oral steroids (! ) There was always new hair growth but it seemed to eventually get worse.
After a few years a friend encouraged me to consult her sister-in-law who is a Chinese Medicine Practitioner. I will refer to her as 'Z'. Immediately I began a regiment of acupuncture, an herbal remedy (taken for a couple of months only), a combo of tui na, shiatsu, reflexology and, the tool that sealed the deal for real results (in my opinion) was treating each balding area with a tiny tool used in acupuncture known as a seven pointed star (I think that's what it's called). It's pretty much a tiny hammer whose head is covered in small short needles.
Basically, Z would disinfect each area with an iodine solution and lightly (ok, not so lightly) give the bald areas whacks until there was a bit of blood flowing. I know, its sounds horrible and for those with a low threshold for pain or for kids, it'll be a real challenge. All I can say is when I saw the results, I didn't mind the pain at all - if anything, enduring it made me stronger. From my very basic understanding of it, this injury serves a couple of purposes: 1.) It gets blood flowing to the stagnant area and 2.) It does what some of the topical western medicines do - creates an injury/irritation so that the immune system (which attacks the hair in those with alopecia) starts to work on healing the irritation and leaves the hair growth alone to do its thing.
While I still have a bald spot or two at any given time, my condition is nowhere near what it was back then. For now it remains almost entirely a non-issue. I have continued to see Z pretty regularly over the years - taking a few breaks here and there - haven't needed the hammer in years as spots that show up tend to remain smaller and easy to hide until regrowth occurs - hope it stays that way.
For those who have the perserverence to go see someone and know that results could be a good three to six months down the road and will require possible long-term maintenance, I can't encourage you enough to give this a try - oh and you may want to work on a good breathing technique for the few intense moments of pain each appointment but trust me it is well worth it!
