LOS ANGELES, United States — Hair loss among
women is painful, depressing, and embarrassing, according to
Jada Pinkett Smith and other celebrities who have gone public with their feelings.
اضافة اعلان
The subject has rushed into the public consciousness
after Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock for making a joke about Pinkett
Smith’s shaved hair at the
Oscars.
Pinkett Smith spoke out for the first time in 2018
about her diagnosis of alopecia, a medical term referring to the loss of hair.
“It was one of those times in my life where I was
literally shaking with fear,” the actress and director said on her online show
“
Red Table Talk”.
“And that was when I was like, ‘Oh, my God. Am I
going bald?’”
Democratic Congresswoman
Ayanna Pressley, who went
public with her diagnosis in 2020, took to Twitter on Monday.
“Let’s talk about what it’s like to live with
#alopecia,” she posted. “The deeply vulnerable & difficult moments that our
families see. Appreciation post for those who hold us down & support us
when we’re at our lowest points. They see us, fully.”
As Hollywood inches towards a healthier balance
between female beauty ideals and the lived reality, more actresses have begun
speaking out about the impact of losing their hair — due to stress, hormonal
changes after giving birth, and even COVID-19.
“This is so not glamorous, but it’s true: I need to
take longer showers so that I can collect the hair that falls out and throw it
away so I don’t clog the drain. Why do actresses never talk about that?” Selma
Blair told
People magazine in 2011 after giving birth.
Alyssa Milano, who says she lost her hair after
being infected with coronavirus, said it had affected her whole sense of self.
“It’s hard, especially when you’re an actor and so
much of your identity is wrapped up in those things like having long silky hair
and clean skin.”
Actress
Ricki Lake wrote on Instagram in 2020 that
she had struggled for her whole life with hair loss.
“It has been debilitating, embarrassing, painful,
scary, depressing, lonely, all the things. There have been a few times where I
have even felt suicidal over it.”
Oscar winner
Viola Davis said she had tried to hide
the effects of her alopecia with wigs.
“I had a wig I wore around the house. I had a wig
that I wore to events. I had a wig that I wore when I worked out,” she told an
interviewer.
“I never showed my natural hair... I was so
desperate for people to think that I was beautiful.”
Davis, who has been more open about the subject in
the last decade, even included it in the series “How to Get Away with Murder,”
when her character, a strong-willed lawyer and teacher, removes her wig
exposing her very short hair.
The
National Alopecia Areata Foundation (NAAF)
called Monday for more people to learn about the condition.
It said alopecia areata, a specific type of balding
caused by an autoimmune disorder that makes hair often fall out in clumps,
affects about seven million people in the United States and about 147 million
worldwide.
“It can be unpredictable and cause significant
physical, emotional/mental health, psycho-social, and financial burdens — and
there is no cure, effective treatment or standard of care,” the NAAF said.
“Alopecia areata does not
discriminate and can affect anyone at any age and may be a temporary or
life-long condition. Many people living with the condition are suffering, and
we must do better to support this community and erase the stigma,
discrimination, and societal barriers that persist.”
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