Jada Pinkett Smith, Rep. Ayanna Pressley and countless other women suffer from this autoimmune disease which leads to irreversible hair loss. What is alopecia?
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00And y'all know I've been struggling with alopecia.
00:03And this is gonna be a little bit more difficult for me to hide.
00:07So I thought I'd just share it so y'all not asking any questions.
00:31Sorry Jojo Siwa and Ariana Grande.
00:34Not the best hairstyle, so if you want to hold on to those hairs,
00:38maybe change things up if you can.
01:00So you know mama's gonna put some rhinestones in there.
01:08And I'm just gonna make me a little crown.
01:23The most common form of hair loss is purely cosmetic.
01:26And we call that traction alopecia.
01:28And it occurs because of a combination of hairstyles that are too tight,
01:34as well as hairstyles that are too tight that are done on hair
01:37that has already been chemically weakened by straightening.
01:49Alopecia errata disproportionately affects children and black Americans,
01:53and particularly black women.
01:56Some people may say that it's just hair.
01:59But for me and for many people living with alopecia,
02:02hair is intrinsically linked to our identity and our cultural expression.
02:07I'm still coming to terms with my new alopecia reality,
02:10and the impact of my traumatic hair loss.
02:13Every day, thanks to the support of my family, my staff,
02:17and the broader alopecia community and others who have experienced hair loss,
02:20I am making progress.
02:23I am making progress despite the hateful comments,
02:27the cruel and constant online harassment about my baldness,
02:30the intrusive and ignorant questions on the elevators,
02:34and the unsolicited advice, and stares.
02:37Lots of stares.
02:39No doubt about it, a bald woman entering a room,
02:42entering the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives,
02:45makes people uncomfortable.
02:54I mainly want to raise awareness for alopecia,
02:58because not a lot of people know about it.
03:00And I also just want people to learn that it's okay to be different.