Alopecia areata & scalp redness advice/help needed.
I was diagnosed with alopecia areata last year (2025) after an extremely stressful life event caused me to suddenly wake up with a bald spot on my scalp. I was able to see a dermatologist through my insurance, and after two rounds of steroid injections, the hair grew back really well.
Unfortunately, the spot started flaring again about a month ago. Around the same time, I used a box dye and ended up having an allergic reaction. My dermatologist believes it was a PPD hair dye allergy.
Since then, I’ve been dealing with ongoing redness, dryness, burning, itching, and flaking in the area where the bald spot used to be. Sometimes the burning/itching is so bad it keeps me awake at night. I was prescribed a steroid spray and Nizoral 2%, but my scalp still feels very irritated and inflamed.
Has anyone with alopecia areata or a PPD allergy found anything that helped calm the redness and dryness without making things worse? Any shampoo/product/routine recommendations would really help.
Unfortunately I can’t use minoxidil long term due to fertility concerns.
Thank you so much 🤍