Hair loss among women is painful, depressing and embarrassing, according to Jada Pinkett Smith and other celebrities who have opened up expressing their feelings.
The focus on this subject has shifted back into public consciousness after the ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’ star Will Smith slapped comedian and show host Chris Rock for making a tasteless joke about Pinkett Smith’s bald head at the Oscars.
Pinkett Smith spoke about her diagnosis of alopecia (a medical term for loss of hair) first in 2018. “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 to give her views.
Let’s talk about what it’s like to live with #alopecia. 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. #IYKYK pic.twitter.com/vITnxgCn9f
— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) March 28, 2022
As Hollywood inches towards a healthier balance between female beauty ideals and the lived reality, more actresses began speaking 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 thrown it away so I don’t clog the drain. Why do actresses never talk about that?” Selma Blair told People magazine in 201 after giving birth.
Oscar winner Viola Davis said she had tried to hide the effects of her alopecia with wigs. She 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.
Following the ‘slapgate’ incident, the National Alopecia Areata Foundation (NAAF) came up with the statement talking about the medical 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 and 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 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.”
(A short quiz on Alopecia here.)
Meanwhile, regarding the insensitive joke cracked by Chris Rock, many in the social media have offered a counterpoint saying, ‘What did we expect at the show other than mean jokes?’. Benny Johnson, a well-known media personality, had this to say on the Oscar show. Watch it !
This is the greatest Hollywood Awards Show speech ever given. The looks on the celebrities faces says it all. This gets better and even more accurate with every passing year. Tonight is the Oscars. Every elite should watch to remind themselves what the world thinks of them: pic.twitter.com/Bu77nGDc7o
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) March 27, 2022
(Photo courtesy: bbc.com)
