What Is Kelsey’s Alopecia Condition On ‘Younger’? [Season 6, Episode 4 Recap]

After taking last week off, TV Land’s “Younger” returned with Season 6, episode 4 (titled “An Inside Glob”) on Wednesday, and Kelsey’s (Hilary Duff) personal and professional lives continue to get more difficult in the episode.

Since she lost the bidding war for new-author Audrey’s (Willa Fitzgerald) memoir to new-publishing company Mercury, which Zane (Charles Michael Davis) works for, in episode 3, Kelsey’s ready to move forward and work hard on promoting the books Millennial and Empirical actually do have coming out, including a new “erotica for baby boomers” novel, as Diana (Miriam Shor) calls it.

The author of the upcoming book has been a big moneymaker for the publishing house, causing Kelsey to set a meeting with her to make sure she renews her contract with them. Before going to the meeting, she finds Zane and calls him out for snatching up a book he knew was important to her. Later in the “Younger” episode, she tells Lauren (Molly Bernard) that this was a bad time to lose Zane because he was a quick way for her to destress.

Clearly she needs some tools to destress because Kelsey heads to the salon to get refreshed only to have her stylist reveal she has a bald patch on the back of her head. After continuing to lose more of her hair, she decides to go see a doctor.

“Some of my hair has recently gone,” Kelsey tells Liza (Sutton Foster) and Diana when she’s back at the office. “The doctor says that it’s alopecia.”

How did Kelsey all the sudden start losing her hair? What exactly is alopecia and what causes it?

According to Mayo Clinic, alopecia areata is a medical condition causing a person’s hair to fall out in patches. Symptoms also include scalp infections and trichotillomania, a hair-pulling disorder. While the exact reason why people get the condition isn’t known, some possible factors include severe stress, genetics and hormonal changes.

As Kelsey’s under major stress in her new position as the head of the publishing house, this seems to be the likely cause of her alopecia. Per Mayo Clinic, if she starts to get her stress levels under control, it could all be temporary and her hair might start to grow back.

Fans will just have to keep tuning in to new Season 6 episodes of “Younger” on TV Land on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. EDT to find out if Kelsey’s condition continues or if she’s able to get it under control.