What to know about alopecia, the condition behind Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved hairstyle
The viral Oscars moment where actor Will Smith hit comedian Chris Rock and yelled expletives after Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith while presenting an award, has sparked numerous discussions about her health.
Rock’s joke, which compared Pinkett Smith’s shaved hairstyle to that of actress Demi Moore in the movie “G.I. Jane,” landed poorly with many given that Pinkett Smith has alopecia, a medical condition that causes hair loss.
It’s a disease that affects about 6.8 million people in the U.S. alone, according to the National Alopecia Areta Foundation, and Pinkett Smith has been outspoken about her experiences in recent years.
Here’s what to know about alopecia and Pinkett Smith’s experience with the condition.
What is alopecia?
The American Academy of Dermatology defines alopecia as “a disease that develops when the body attacks its own hair follicles (where hair grows from), which can cause hair loss anywhere on the body.” Some also see impacts on their nails.
The condition typically affects people who are “otherwise healthy,” according to AAD. It can develop “at any age” but “most people develop it during childhood or their teenage years.”
“The hair loss tends to be unpredictable,” the AAD says. “Hair may regrow without treatment. This happens more often when someone has a few bald patches. When the hair regrows, it may fall out again — or it may not.”
The condition is typically divided into three categories: alopecia areata, a “patchy baldness;” alopecia totalis, total baldness; and alopecia universalis, loss of all hair on the body.
Hair loss can happen over time or suddenly, according to AAD. For Pinkett Smith, 50, it was sudden, she has said.
“I was in the shower one day and had just handfuls of hair in my hands and I was just like, ‘Oh my God, am I going bald?’” she said on her “Red Table Talk” series in 2018 . “It was one of those times in my life where I was literally shaking in fear. That’s why I cut my hair, and why I continue to cut it.”
Those with alopecia sometimes see their hair grow back without treatment, the AAD says, and there are also some treatments available to try to promote regrowth and prevent further hair loss.
Pinkett Smith said previously she had some success with “steroid injections” as a treatment.
Since initially sharing her diagnosis in 2018, Pinkett Smith has adopted a shaved hairstyle, crediting her daughter Willow on social media with helping her embrace the look.
“Mama’s gonna have to take it down to the scalp so nobody thinks she got brain surgery or something,” she wrote on Instagram in December along with laughing emojis. “Me and this alopecia are going to be friends … period!”
This story was originally published March 28, 2022 at 11:32 AM with the headline "What to know about alopecia, the condition behind Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved hairstyle."
