Jada Pinkett Smith is embracing her hair loss after years of 'struggling with alopecia'
Jada Pinkett Smith is not letting a bald patch bring her down.
Smith, 50, who has been open about her hair loss for years, shared a candid video this week showing off a bald area of her scalp caused by alopecia, an autoimmune disorder that attacks hair follicles resulting in small clumps of hair to fall out.
“Mama’s gonna have to take it down to the scalp so nobody thinks she got brain surgery or something,” the Red Table Talk co-host captioned her Instagram post. “Me and this alopecia are going to be friends … period!”
In the clip, Smith pans her camera phone upward to show a visible bald patch on her scalp that takes the shape of a line across her head.
“At this point, I can only laugh,” she says, running her finger across the bald patch. “Y’all know I've been struggling with alopecia and just all of a sudden one day, look at this line right here. Look at that.
“It just showed up like that and this is going to be a little bit more difficult for me to hide,” she continued. “So I thought I’d just share it so y’all are not asking any questions. But you know mama’s gonna put some rhinestones in there. I’m going to make me a little crown. That’s what mama's going to do.”
Fans were quick to celebrate Smith’s positive attitude. “Gorgeous as always. It’s your tiara spot!” one commenter wrote, with another adding: “I like that!”
Smith’s hair journey has long been documented. This summer she decided to take the leap and completely shave her head, inspired by daughter Willow Smith, 21.
“Willow made me do it because it was time to let go BUT my 50s are bout to be Divinely lit with this shed,” Smith captioned a photo featuring her freshly shorn head.
That image also featured a comment from Willow: “A gift is pure when it is given from the heart to the right person at the right time and at the right place, and when we expect nothing in return.”
Smith also opened up about her issues with hair loss during a 2018 episode of Red Table Talk: “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?’”
“My hair has been a big part of me,” she continued. “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.’”
The Matrix Resurrections star later added that she’d found treatment to help stall some of the hair loss.
“I’m getting my little steroid injections, and they seem to be helping, but not curing, but they seem to be helping, but I’m open to other ideas,” she said. “I just want to say a thank you to everyone for all the outreach, from all the doctors and all the holistic practitioners, who have been reaching out to me for this head of mine, I appreciate it so much. And I’m taking into a lot of consideration all the recommendations that are coming my way.”
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