Hair loss can be a sensitive topic for a lot of people. While certain life events and old age can lead to hair loss, sometimes it can be caused by a health condition. One such condition is alopecia areata. Alopecia areata is a condition that can cause your hair to fall out more than normal. The average person can pretty easily lose up to around 100 pieces of hair a day from their scalp with most of that growing back. Alopecia areata is when that hair loss gets more significant and you have trouble getting that hair to grow back. The amount of hair that falls out varies from person to person, but it can be anything from small, rather unnoticeable patches, to greater amounts of hair loss as the patches increase in size and connect with each other. We often think of this as hair loss relating to what's on top of your head, but this condition can also include hair loss in places like your eyebrows and eyelashes, as well as your face and other parts of your body. According to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation, this condition is fairly common, affecting as many as 6.8 million Americans with a lifetime risk of 2.1%. While there is no cure, symptoms can come and go. It might develop slowly, then go away for a few years before coming back. Alopecia areata can lead to alopecia totalis, where you lose all of the hair on your scalp, or alopecia universalis, where you have total hair loss. Generally, when and if your hair ever does grow back, it might fall out again later on. It often first shows up with children, but can begin in any age group.