Beard Alopecia: An Updated and Comprehensive Review of Etiologies, Presentation and Treatment

The document provides a comprehensive review of beard alopecia, detailing its causes, presentation, and treatment. Common causes include alopecia areata barbae, pseudofolliculitis barbae, tinea barbae, and herpes simplex folliculitis, with rarer causes like dermatopathia pigmentosa reticularis and frontal fibrosing alopecia. Treatments vary based on the cause, ranging from topical and intralesional steroids, Janus kinase inhibitors, altering shaving practices, oral antibiotics, to potent topical steroids, calcineurin inhibitors, and systemic therapy. The document also discusses rare genetic causes, chemotherapy-induced alopecia, and alopecia following cosmetic procedures. Treatments for these include scalp cooling, dose reduction, or medication discontinuation. Topical minoxidil, tretinoin, testosterone gel, and latanoprost have been shown to stimulate beard hair growth. Other treatments include platelet-rich plasma injections, fractional carbon dioxide laser therapy, microneedling, micropigmentation, and hair transplantation. A study by Ragab et al. showed favorable results for hair regrowth in alopecia areata with these treatments.