In my previous article, I have discussed some diseases that may cause hair loss problems. Most of the time, the damages caused by the diseases are temporary and your hair will grow back with time. Unfortunately, there are also some more serious diseases that can cause potentially scarring hair loss problems. When I said “scarring”, it does not necessarily mean that you will get visible scars on your scalp. Most of the time, the damage/scarring occurs beneath the scalp. Basically, hair follicles are replaced with scar tissue. This may cause your hair not being able to grow anymore. Below are some of the diseases that have been known to cause scarring hair loss problems:Lichen Planopilaris: This disease usually appears in the form of purplish bumps or purple rims around the hair follicles. Scientists have not found out the real cause of this disease, but many think that it is caused by white blood cells attacking the hair follicles. As a result they are permanently damaged and hair can not grow back. Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia: This disease usually happens to post menopausal women. The main characteristic of this disease is the appearance of large spaces between hair follicles. This is usually caused by the body’s immune cells attacking and destroying the hair follicles around them. Dissecting Cellulitis of the Scalp: This disease is actually similar to severe facial acne. Multiple pustules and cystic nodules will usually form on the scalp, especially at the back area. Mostly, this disease occurs to people of African descent. Lupus: Lupus is a rare autoimmune disease. It causes inflammation of organ tissue and may also result in hair loss problem. There are two types of Lupus: SLE (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus) may cause non-scarring hair loss. This disease is systemic and may impact various parts of the body. As hair follicles are not permanently damaged, hair will grow back once the disease is treated. On the other hand, DLE (Discoid Lupus Erythematosus) may cause scarring hair loss. This disease is more localized but may cause patches of dark and white skin along with scales and scarring. Unfortunately, as a result of hair follicles that are permanently damaged, your hair can not grow back. Usually, people with Lupus are sensitive to the sun. They also tend to develop mouth ulcers, arthritis, fevers, fatigue and facial rashes. This disease normally only attack women between the age of 20 and 50. Even though DLE can cause scarring hair loss, it is generally considered less dangerous as a whole compared to SLE. Taking oral medications such as Plaquenil and steroid injections can control the disease well enough. On the other hand, people with SLE is generally less concerned with losing hair. It is because they usually have more troubling symptoms to take care of. This may range from severe arthritis to kidney and lung diseases. To make it worse, medications that can be used to treat DLE such as Plaquenil, can also cause hair loss effect to patients of SLE. Therefore, it is crucial to consult regularly with your doctor if you have this disease. This way, further damage can be prevented.