Today I want to talk about something many people don’t realize is possible: having different types of hair loss at the same time.
In my experience with my own hair loss and my own alopecia, I had Alopecia Areata. At the time, it was moving quickly toward what is called totalis. I had already lost about 50% of my hair when my stylist of over 30 years, Marcos, told me, “Johanna, you have alopecia areata, you need to go see a doctor.” That moment really marked the beginning of everything.
But what was happening to me wasn’t just one simple pattern.
While I was going through alopecia areata—seeing one patch, then a second, then a third, and eventually watching those patches connect—I was also noticing something else: massive shedding. Extreme shedding across my whole head.
That shedding is what’s known as Telogen Effluvium.
So at the same time, I was experiencing patchy loss and diffuse shedding together. On top of that, I saw my hairline receding, my eyebrows thinning, and my eyelashes falling out. I could tell I was progressing toward what is called Alopecia Totalis.
This is why I began to realize something important: hair loss is not always just one neat category.
Multiple types of hair loss can overlap
From my experience, and now from working with clients, I’ve seen that many people are dealing with more than one type of hair loss at the same time.
Alopecia itself is an umbrella term. Under that umbrella, there are many different forms and patterns. You can have patchy loss like alopecia areata. You can have diffuse shedding like telogen effluvium. You can also have patterned thinning such as Androgenetic Alopecia.
And to make things even more complex, there is also scarring-based hair loss, often referred to as Scarring Alopecia, which includes multiple subtypes and variations.
Many of my clients don’t arrive with one clear diagnosis. They come in saying things like, “I think I have multiple types of hair loss,” or “Nothing really fits perfectly, but I know something is wrong.”
And honestly, that makes sense.
When people experience hair loss, the first thing they do is search online, compare images, read forums, and then try to match what they see to a label. Even when they go to doctors, they can receive different answers depending on who they see and when they are seen. I’ve had clients told five different things by five different professionals.
So it becomes confusing. And confusion often leads to mislabeling or incomplete understanding of what is actually happening in the body.
Hair loss is rarely one simple story
What I’ve learned through my own healing and through hundreds of client cases is this:
Hair loss is often layered.
It is not always just one condition. It can be multiple processes happening at once, especially when the body is under stress, imbalance, or depletion.
In my own case, I had both alopecia areata and telogen effluvium happening simultaneously. That combination made the experience more intense and more unpredictable.
This is also why the approach to healing has to be more comprehensive. You can’t always treat it as a single symptom with a single solution.
Hair loss can also change over time
Another important thing to understand is that hair loss patterns can shift throughout life.
For example, postpartum hair loss is a common form of telogen effluvium triggered after childbirth. If someone experiences hair loss without pregnancy, it signals that something else is contributing to the imbalance.
And that’s important to recognize: the type of hair loss you have today may not be the same type you had in the past, or the same type you may experience in the future.
Healing is possible, even with multiple types
What I want to emphasize most is this:
Healing and reversing hair loss is possible.
Not just in theory, but in real life.
I am living proof of that. I experienced alopecia areata that progressed quickly, along with intense shedding. Today, more than eight years later, after pregnancy, after COVID, after stress, my hair has remained stable. It has not returned in the way it once did.
That doesn’t mean life stopped being stressful. It means I learned how to support my body in a way that reduces those triggers and helps maintain balance.
That is the key difference.
Once you understand your body, you gain tools. And once you have tools, you can respond differently to future stressors—whether that’s postpartum changes, illness, emotional stress, or other life events.
For example, I was able to navigate postpartum hair changes with my first baby in a way that minimized the impact. Many of my clients also begin to see reduced shedding within 2 to 4 weeks once they start addressing the root patterns and supporting their system properly.
It’s not about “if,” it’s about “when”
One of the biggest mindset shifts I see in healing is this:
It’s not “if” your hair can grow back. It’s “when.”
Regardless of the type—whether it’s alopecia areata, alopecia totalis, alopecia universalis, or a combination of shedding patterns—there is always a possibility for improvement and recovery.
The timeline may differ. The path may differ. But the possibility is still there.
Final thoughts
If there’s one thing I want you to take from this, it’s that multiple types of hair loss can exist at the same time—and that doesn’t make your situation hopeless or unique in a negative way. It simply means your body is showing more than one signal at once.
And signals can be understood.
They can be supported.
And they can change.
I’ve seen it in my own life, and I’ve seen it in my clients’ journeys too.
No matter how long you’ve had hair loss, no matter how many labels you’ve been given, there is still room for change when you begin to understand the full picture.
As long as you are here, breathing, and willing to engage in the process, there is always a path forward.
You can do this.
