American actor and producer, Will Smith has grabbed the headlines after he slapped fellow actor and comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars 2022 on 27th March. Chris cracked a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald look.
Chris actually made fun of Jada’s look by referring to the film “G.I. Jane” in which Demi Moore shaved her head.
However, in Jada’s case, she deals with the peculiar problem of Alopecia Areata.
After this whole series of events, fans and many others are trying to find out what exactly is Alopecia?
If you too are one of them, read on as we discuss everything you need to know about Alopecia in our article below!
What is Alopecia?
Alopecia also called Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disorder that leads to hair fall that often falls in clumps the size and shape of a quarter. The amount of hair loss differs for everyone, some might lose it only in a few spots while others lose a lot.
At times, hair grows back in the area however it falls out again later while in some cases hair grows back for good. The condition can impact any person irrespective of age and gender. Generally, in most cases, it occurs in women who are aged between 30-50.
Jada has been quite vocal about her Alopecia problem and keeps sharing posts on social media.
She recently uploaded a video on Instagram with a caption saying, “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!😆”.
Below is one more post in which she was seen flaunting her bald head in a beautiful way indeed.
Types of Alopecia
There are mainly five different types of Alopecia. They are:
- Alopecia areata: It is an auto-immune disorder that causes bald patches on the scalp.
- Androgenic alopecia: This type of alopecia is very common among men and women that lead to receding hairline and thinning of hair.
- Alopecia totalis: In this type of alopecia there is a total loss of hair on the scalp.
- Scarring alopecia: Inflammation breaks up hair follicles in this condition. The follicles get replaced by scar tissue, which will eventually lead to hair loss in that area.
- Traction alopecia: In this type of alopecia, there will be stress on hair with constant stretching or pulling.
Causes of Alopecia
This root cause of Alopecia is either because of genetic reasons or a history of baldness in the family. There is no particular reason that causes this condition.
There are other potential reasons like seasonal allergies, asthma, genetic predisposition to alopecia, stress, thyroid disease, vitiligo, and even Down syndrome.
Treatment for Alopecia
There is no cure for this peculiar disease as of now. Even though there are few forms of treatment as recommended by doctors to help in the growth of hair very rapidly.
The use of corticosteroids is the most common form of alopecia areata treatment. Corticosteroids are very powerful anti-inflammatory drugs that can defeat the immune system. It is also treated by Immunotherapy which uses chemicals on bald spots for hair growth.
Alopecia condition seriously impacts not only a person’s self-worth but also his/her mental health.
Do you think it was correct on the part of Chris to crack a ‘joke’ on this sensitive issue? Let us know your views in the comments section.
How do you know what type she has?