What is alopecia? It's no laughing matter for millions of Black American women

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The joke that sparked a slap from Will Smith centered on his wife Jada’s hair loss. A dermatologist explains the causes and treatment for alopecia.

The Oscar slap that overshadowed the Academy Awards ceremony was sparked by a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s lack of hair — with husband Will Smith objecting violently to comedian Chris Rock mocking the actress’s shaved head.

People are also reading… 1. What is alopecia?Alopecia is a medical word that refers to hair loss generally. And there are descriptors added which can refer to where the hair loss is occurring, or to the cause of it. Traction alopecia, for example, is hair loss from trauma or chronic inflammatory changes to the hair follicles.

Or it might result in complete hair loss on the scalp, alopecia totalis. Some people lose eyebrows or see a thinning of their eyelashes.Alopecia areata is considered an “immune-mediated” type of hair loss. The immune system is attacking the hair follicles. It has to do with T cells, the important white blood cells in the immune system.

Thyroid abnormalities can be related to hair loss as well. In fact, when patients come to me with hair loss, the first test that I may order is a thyroid study. 4. Why is traction alopecia so common among Black women?That is due to certain hair styling practices that Black women use on their hair — wearing tight weaves or extensions, straightening with heat, that sort of thing. Hair is a big deal among African American women in a way that it isn’t for others. When I was growing up, my older relatives told us girls that our hair was our “crowning glory.

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Alopecia advocate praises Will Smith’s Oscars slap: ‘Showed strength’“I think it’s inappropriate to make any joke about someone with alopecia as it’s a condition that highly impacts mental health for that individual and isn’t a laughing matte… Yes agree. It’s BS BS
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