Alopecia: The Jada Pinkett Smith condition behind the Oscars #slapgate

The actor has spoken about her struggles with alopecia areata, an autoimmune disease that causes hair loss

Chris Rock probably wishes he could step back in time and clap his hands over his mouth before that ill-timed GI Jane joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's slipped out. Currently, the world's most famous "slapee," Rock received a smack from Will Smith at the 94th Academy Awards stage for his poor attempt at humour at Pinkett Smith's shaved head. Smith later received an Oscar for Best Actor for his role in "King Richard." The actor has since apologised to the academy for his behaviour.

While people are still divided over whether Smith should have resorted to violence in defence of his wife, the incident has brought the autoimmune condition called alopecia areata that Pinkett Smith suffers from into focus. The actor has previously opened up about her struggles with hair loss on social media and in interviews.

Sharing a video clip on Instagram in December, the 50-year-old showed her shaved scalp pointing out a new bald patch spreading across the top of her head. Captioning the video Jada wrote, "Mama's gonna have to take it down to the scalp, so nobody thinks she got brain surgery or something."

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"Me and this alopecia are going to be friends…period!" she added.

Pinkett Smith spoke about her alopecia for the first time in 2018 during an episode of her talk show. She stated that she was experiencing "issues with hair loss."

"It was terrifying when it first started. 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?'"

"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," she added.

Alopecia and its causes

Alopecia is an autoimmune disease where the body's immune system attacks the melanocytes present under the hair leading to the destruction of hair follicles. Pinkett Smith is suffering from linear alopecia areata, where hair loss happens in the form of a line or patch, leading to baldness.

"Non-scarring alopecia happens due to several reasons such as heredity, hormonal imbalance, nutrition deficiency, chronic or acute illness and the intake of medicinal drugs. Interestingly, alopecia also happens when people tend to tie their hair tightly, pulling it backwards. Using beads on hair can also lead to alopecia," said Dr Souvik Sardar, a Kolkata-based dermatologist.

Alopecia can occur at any age. However, hereditary alopecia, also called Androgenetic alopecia, is commonly seen in the 20s and 30s.

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"The initial symptoms of alopecia are hair loss in large numbers along with thinning of hair and loss of density of hair on the scalp leading to baldness," he added.

The hair loss can be in the form of a pattern or patchy for non-scarring alopecia.

"Alopecia can happen to anyone, especially those with a family history of androgenetic alopecia. Also, people suffering from iron deficiency, thyroid disorder, PCOS, or recovering from any illness like Covid-19 or dengue are susceptible," said Dr Sardar.

Jada, who has acted in the "Matrix" franchise, embraces her latest bald look.

"You know mama's going to put some rhinestones in there," she said in the video. "I'm going to make me a little crown. That's what mama's going to do."

(With inputs from Anindita Ghosh)