advertisement

what to know about alopecia, the disorder behind the oscars' most dramatic moment

will smith hit chris rock after the comedian made a joke about his wife jada pinkett smith, who's been open about her hair loss.

alopecia is the illness behind the oscars' most dramatic moment
jada pinkett smith at the oscars. (emma mcintyre / getty)

whether or not you watched sunday night’s oscars, you probably heard about the face-slapping drama betweenwill smith and chris rock. the best actor winner hit the comedian following a joke rock made about smith’s wife’s appearance. jada pinkett smith wore a stunning emerald green gown with a long train, a collaboration between jean paul gaultier and glenn martens of diesel and y/project, according to harper’s bazaar. she accessorized with wide, dramatic silver earrings, made especially visible by her close-cropped hair.

it was her hair that rock took a swipe at while onstage to present the award for best documentary.
 jada pinkett smith at the 94th annual academy awards on march 27, 2022. (david livingston / getty)
jada pinkett smith at the 94th annual academy awards on march 27, 2022. (david livingston / getty)

“jada, i love you. g.i. jane 2, can’t wait to see it,” he said, referencing the 1997 movie starring demi moore as a soldier with a shaven head.

but pinkett smith’s short hair isn’t just a style choice. the actress has been open for years about having alopecia, an autoimmune disorder that causes hair loss.

“it was terrifying when it first started,” she said on a 2018 episode of red table talk, the talk show she hosts with her daughter willow smith and mother adrienne banfield-norris.

“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?’” pinkett smith said. “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.”

losing her hair, she said, felt like losing part of her identity.

“my hair has been a big part of me,” she said. “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.’”

at the time, she didn’t know why she was losing so much hair.

“i’ve gotten every kind of test there is to have,” she said. “they don’t know why.”

three years later, she opened up about her diagnosis.

what is alopecia?

alopecia is an autoimmune disorder, meaning the immune system attacks bodily systems it perceives as harmful — in this case, it attacks hair follicles, which the body then rejects. normally, people shed between 50 and 100 hairs a day, according to the canadian dermatology association, though new ones tend to grow back to replace the missing hair. with alopecia, the hair follicles become smaller, and eventually stop growing hair.

there are several kinds of alopecia. with female pattern baldness — androgenetic alopecia — hair typically thins on the top of the scalp. it can be due to aging, genetics, or hormonal factors. alopecia areata, which is what pinkett smith is said to have, is an autoimmune disease whether the body attacks its own hair follicles, “often causing hair to come out in clumps,” according to the dermatology association. about two per cent of the population will develop it over their lifetime.

there are other subtypes, too: alopecia areata totalis (complete hair loss on the head), diffuse alopecia areata (hair thinning, rather than bald patches), frontal fibrosing alopecia (receding hairline),  ophiasis alopecia areata (hair loss in a ring shape on the sides and back of the head) and alopecia areata universalis (hair loss on the entire body).

there’s also traction alopecia, which usually causes hair loss specifically in an area where hair is pulled — for instance, if someone regularly wears a very tight ponytail, the hair follicles in that area can become damaged and are sometimes unable to grow more hair. this kind of hair loss is common in black women, according to healthline, and can be caused in part by braids or cornrows that are very tight. it’s also common in ballerinas and gymnasts who regularly wear very tight buns.

one study found a higher lifetime incidence of alopecia areata in black and hispanic women as compared to white women. “other immune-mediated diseases are known to disproportionately affect certain racial or ethnic groups,” the authors wrote. lupus, for example, disproportionately affects women with african or hispanic ethnic backgrounds.

there’s no cure for alopecia. doctors sometimes suggest corticosteroids, topical medications or minoxidil (sold under the brand name rogaine), and light radiation therapy, but “these medicines have differing amounts of success in regrowing hair,” reports webmd.

it’s also not clear what causes it, although alopecia is thought to be at least partly genetic. it’s most common in people with a family history of autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis or type 1 diabetes. it’s also more common in women than men. in rare cases, it can also affect children.

‘such a freedom’

advertisement

advertisement

after years of hair loss and an alopecia diagnosis, pinkett smith finally decided to shave her head last year. the move was inspired in part by her daughter willow, who shaved her own head over the summer.
“i’m so glad i did it,” pinkett smith said on red table talk. “it was such a beautiful experience, and such a freedom…. it was a huge, huge, huge release.”
comedian and actress tiffany haddish, who was also on the episode, talked about making the choice to shave her own head. she didn’t have alopecia, she said, but the pandemic inspired her to feel more connected to her body.
when she first shaved her head, people thought she was crazy, haddish said. but she didn’t care. “i started to fall in love with myself,” she said. “now i’m seeing all my features: my eyes, my nose, my cheeks.”

later in the episode, pinkett smith spoke to the leader of a nonprofit called the bald boss movement that advocates for bald women. the founder, nell coleman, told pinkett smith that “in a world where beauty is determined by what grows on your scalp, we are here to spread the love, from one baldie to the next.”

rock hasn’t publicly commented on pinkett smith, her condition, or the altercation since the oscars. but some people were surprised his joke had to do with her hair. in 2009, rock made a documentary called “ good hair ” about the sometimes destructive beauty standards imposed on black women’s hair.

advertisement

advertisement

with files from sharon kirkey

maija kappler is a reporter and editor at healthing. you can reach her at mkappler@postmedia.com
thank you for your support. if you liked this story, please send it to a friend. every share counts.

comments

postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. we ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. we have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. visit our community guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.