Our 10-year experience with PUVA treatment for alopecia areata, partialis, totalis and universalis was retrospectively reviewed using charts and follow-up questionnaires for 70 patients at St John's Institute of Dermatology. In all cases, several previous therapies were judged to be unsatisfactory prior to starting PUVA, and many cases were already deemed clinically refractory prior to referral for PUVA. If cases of vellus hair growth are excluded, and those who lost their PUVA-induced regrowth rapidly on follow-up, the effective success rate was at best 6.3% for alopecia areata partialis, 12.5% for alopecia areata totalis and 13.3% for alopecia areata universalis. We affirm that PUVA is generally not an effective treatment for alopecia areata.