Jada Pinkett Smith’s cropped hair is not a fashion choice. Will Smith’s wife has patches of hair loss. The most important questions and answers about the disease.
Instead of the films, after yesterday’s Oscars, the focus is on a slap in the face. Actor Will Smith slapped the show’s host, Chris Rock, after he joked about Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s cropped hair star reported. But Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head is not a fashion choice. The actress has an illness called Alopecia areataalso known as patchy hair loss.
Jada Pinkett Smith already spoke about her illness in 2018 on the Facebook chat show “. For a long time she wore a turban to hide her hairstyle underneath. In the chat show, Smith reported on the psychological and emotional effects of the illness: ” It was terrifying when it started. I was in the shower and all of a sudden I had tufts of hair in my hands.” The actress said that at that moment she was wondering if she was going to go bald. Because of the hair loss, she started to shed her hair and kept doing it. But the Loss left a mark.” My hair was a big part of me. Taking care of her was a wonderful ritual.” Suddenly she no longer had the choice whether she had hair or not. An estimated 1.5 million people in Germany – just like Jada Pinkett Smith – suffer from circular hair loss, like the Alopecia Areata Association writes The most important questions and answers about the disease:
What is alopecia areata?
It is an acute onset of hair loss. The bald spots on the head are usually oval or circular, which is why alopecia is also known as circular hair loss. Scarring of the hair follicles does not occur with this form of hair loss. The disease can affect children as well as the elderly. But in most sufferers, hair loss occurs for the first time between the ages of 20 and 40.
What is the cause of circular hair loss?
The cause of alopecia is not fully understood. However, doctors assume that it is an autoimmune disease. The immune system no longer only fights dangerous viruses or bacteria, but also attacks your own hair at the hair roots. Inflammation is triggered and as a result the hair no longer grows back or falls out. Genetic causes also seem to play a role. The onset of the disease can also be triggered by other factors. These include stress, allergies, trauma, infections, pregnancy, scalp injuries or medication.
What symptoms do those affected have?
If you have circular hair loss, you will usually find round hairless patches on your head very quickly. The hair often falls out in batches. Hair loss most often affects the hair on the head, but it can also affect the beard, all hair on the face, or all hair on the body. Around the bald spots, short, broken hair can usually be seen, which is referred to as “exclamation mark hair”. The course of the disease varies greatly and is often unpredictable. In many sufferers, the hair grows back completely on its own after a few months (usually six to twelve months). However, it is also possible that the hair loss will occur again at some point. Others may lose all their hair on their head. This is called Alopecia areata totalis designated. If there is also a loss of all body hair, one Alopecia areata universalis spoken.
How to treat alopecia areata?
If the hair grows back on its own after a few months, those affected may not need any further therapy. However, they must patiently wait for their hair to grow back. In some patients, administration of cortisone can slow down the inflammatory reaction. However, there are side effects to consider with this approach, and regrowing hair may fall out again because the inflammation recurs after the cortisone is stopped.
In the case of stubborn courses or unsuccessful cortisone therapy, treatment with so-called topical immunotherapy is possible. The contact allergen diphenylcyclopropenone (DCP) is repeatedly applied to the scalp. This is intended to trigger an allergy that distracts the immune system and ideally stops hair loss. However, DCP is not an approved drug. Treatment is only possible in specialized centers and university hospitals. Those affected should definitely contact such a facility if they want to choose this therapeutic approach.
Other approaches include treatment with zinc or the use of thymus peptides, which are intended to stimulate the cells of the immune system to differentiate and multiply.
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Source: Stern
