Temporal triangular alopecia: report of an African-American child with TTA misdiagnosed as refractory tinea capitis.

Temporal triangular alopecia is an underrecognized form of nonscarring alopecia that appears in children between the ages of 3 and 6 years and is often misdiagnosed. Increased awareness of this entity is needed to prevent ineffective and harmful treatments. We present a case misdiagnosed as tinea capitis in an African-American girl, review the literature, and elucidate the major differential diagnoses.