Hello. Thank you for writing to us Alopecia areata usually presents as smooth, bald patches of hair loss, most commonly over the scalp. Other areas like beard, mustache, eyebrows etc may also be involved Treatment of choice is intralesional injection of a depot steroid preparation e.g triamcinolone acetonide. New hair that regrows is fine and light colored, initially, however, they grow into normal looking hair. Other treatment modalities are topical steroid lotions; topical minoxidil; tinctures etc. All of these have a role in treatment of alopecia areata and therefore it depends on the treating doctor what he/she prefers to start with. You have been given a topical steroid during day and a tincture for night application by your treating doctor. These topical medications are absolutely safe and there are no side effects of these. The oral form that you have been asked to take is Levamisole, which is an immunomodulator. Levamisole has a role in treatment of alopecia areata since alopecia areata is due to imbalance in the local immune environment. Levamisole may cause side effects like an unusual feeling of discomfort or weakness and some patients may find it hard to tolerate. Regards