Jada Pinkett Smith talks about autoimmune baldness. Understanding the schedule – 12/30/2021

Living with hair loss Jada Pinkett Smith shared a humorous video on her Instagram telling her how to deal with the issue.. The actress and presenter of “Red Table Talk” suffers from hair loss, an autoimmune disease that can cause hair loss on various parts of the body.

On social media, Jada joked that she would wear jewelry to hide the flaw on her scalp. “It got to the point where I could just laugh. You know I’ve been dealing with hair loss, and out of nowhere, this flaw just popped up here. Look at this. It came out of nowhere and it would be hard to hide. So I thought I’d better show it to my Everyone, so as not to arouse any suspicions ”, says the actress (see the video in full below):

What is alopecia?

Alopecia, or just hair loss as we usually call it, can be caused by genetic influences, local inflammatory processes, or systemic diseases.

One of the most common types of alopecia is macula, which is considered an autoimmune disease – when cells attack the body itself. It affects approximately 2% of the world’s population at various levels and can affect from small areas of the scalp or beard, through circular lesions, to causing a complete absence of hair all over the body.

Another common type of androgenetic alopecia, which is also an autoimmune disease and causes gradual thinning of the hair. It is more frequent among men, where the areas most affected are the crown area and the frontal area (entries).

On the other hand, women – an estimated 5% have androgenetic alopecia – have milder symptoms such as hair loss in the central region of the scalp. In their case, periods of heavy falls may be related to menstrual irregularities, acne, or obesity. Hair loss can also increase in people with a type of alopecia due to emotional factors, such as Stress Intense.

The condition is not contagious and does not pose any health risks. According to the SBD (Brazilian Society of Dermatology), the incidence of total body hair loss due to alopecia is in the minority and affects about 5% of individuals with this problem.

Is there a cure?

Yes, according to the SBD, alopecia areata can be treated with topical medications to control the disease, reduce blemishes, and prevent new blemishes from forming. It stimulates the follicle to produce hair again, and it needs to be continued until the disease is gone.

However, since it is an autoimmune disease, there is no specific treatment to prevent hair loss. Thus, the patient is likely to need constant monitoring and experience periods of severe hair loss and other stabilization.

For areas where hair loss has completely taken over, the alternative is hair transplantation. It helps to improve the aesthetic appearance by re-transplanting hair from the scalp in the balding area. Although balding areas are improved, this technique does not prevent falls in other areas.

Among the various alternatives, specialists stress that it is essential for the patient to seek a dermatologist so that he can understand the causes of hair loss and the doctor determines the best treatment for the condition.

*With information from articles published in 10/06/2020 e 02/04/2021.