Jada Pinkett Smith updated followers on her hair loss journey in a new video posted to social media on Tuesday, saying she is embracing her battle with alopecia.
“Now at this point, I can only laugh,” the veteran actress said on Instagram of a bald line on her closely shaven head. “Y’all know I’ve been struggling with alopecia, and just all of a sudden, one day, look at this line right here. Look at that.”
“So, it just showed up like that,” she continued, “and this is going to be a little bit more difficult for me to hide. So, I thought I’d just share it so y’all are not asking any questions.”
During a 2018 episode of her Facebook Watch show, Red Table Talk, Pinkett Smith talked about her “hair loss issues.”
When she initially learned she was growing bald, the Girls Trip star described it as “terrifying.”
“It was terrifying when it first started,” she said at the time, theGrio reported. “I was in the shower one day, and then just handfuls of hair in my hands. And I was just like, ‘Oh my God, am I going bald?’ It was one of those times in my life when I was literally shaking with fear.”
Pinkett Smith has been seen using more headwraps and turbans in recent years to conceal her hair loss.
“My hair has been a big part of me. Taking care of my hair has been a beautiful ritual — and having the choice to have hair or not. And then one day to be like, ‘Oh my God, I might not have that choice anymore,” she previously stated on Red Table Talk.
“The higher power takes so much from people. People are out here who have cancer, people have sick children,” she said. “And by golly, if the higher power wants to take your hair — that’s it? … When I looked at it from that perspective, it really did settle me.”
Pinkett Smith remarked in a recent Instagram video that she prefers to keep a good attitude about her hair loss. “But you know mama’s going to put some rhinestones in there. I’m going to make me a little crown. That’s what mama’s going to do,” she added.
She captioned her Instagram video: “Mama’s gonna have to take it down to the scalp so nobody thinks she got brain surgery or something😜 Me and this alopecia are going to be friends … period! 😆.”
According to some specialists, hair loss is rampant among Black American women, as previously reported by theGrio.
Furthermore, Afro-textured hair is drier and more prone to breakage, and some hairstyles can cause scalp tension, according to hair specialists.
Central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia (CCCA) and traction alopecia are the most common concerns among women of color.
Both of these disorders are curable, but they can also cause irreversible hair follicle damage.
Hair loss begins in the center of the scalp and spreads out with CCCA, which is caused by a variety of reasons such as chemical relaxers or hot combing.
Hair loss caused by the constant tugging of the hair is known as traction alopecia.
“For traction alopecia, avoid any tight hairstyles including braids with extensions, tight weaves, tight ponytails, and cornrow,” said Dr. Susan Taylor, a Harvard-trained dermatologist. “For CCCA, you will need to have a biopsy performed to confirm the diagnosis, and then begin treatment with creams, injections, or pills.”
