Look to the Stars By Kelly Carson
It's not unusual for a client suffering hair loss to be charged with anxiety, uncertainty and gloom. The pressure to have perfect hair can be overwhelming. "From impossible beauty standards and folklore — think of the fairytale of Rapunzel and her impossibly-long, 'golden' hair, or the biblical story of Samson’s strength as residing in his hair — to 20th century feminist and social justice movements ... it’s such a fraught signifier," said Ellery E. Foutch, an assistant professor of American Studies at Middlebury College in Vermont, where she examines the role of hair in our history. So what's a quick way to help your clients? You may consider turning to the stars. It's helpful to tell clients they are not suffering alone and show how some heavyhitter celebs are coping with their journey. Celebrity star Jada Pinkett Smith, wife of mega-star Will Smith, shared an Instagram video recently, which was promoted by Prevention magazine, about her sojourn with alopecia. The Link reached out to Pinkett Smith for comment, but we did not hear back in time for publication.
“It was terrifying when it first started,” Pinkett Smith said. “I was in the shower one day and had just handfuls of hair in my In her Instagram post, Pinkett Smith said, hands and I was just like, oh my god, am I going bald?” “Now at this point, I can only laugh,” as She said she was inspired by her daughshe ran her finger across a bald line patch ter, Willow Smith, to go bald. “Willow made along the center of her scalp. “Y’all know me do it because it was time to let go, BUT I’ve been struggling with alopecia and just … my 50s are ’bout to be divinely lit with all of a sudden one day, look at this line this shed.” right here. Look at that.” She also posted, “Mama’s gonna have to take it down to the scalp so nobody thinks she got brain surgery or something. Me and this alopecia are going to be friends … period!.” In a 2018 episode of 'Red Table Talk,' a Facebook Watch talk show, Pinkett Smith opened up about her hair loss. 34
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But she's not the only A-List celebrity to publicize their hair loss journey. The Manchester, England, Farjo Hair Institute website, farjo.com, recently posted mini-profiles of a half dozen celebrities suffering various forms of hair loss. (The profiles have been lightly edited for spelling.)
Tyra Banks, 47: American TV personality and model Tyra Banks reported experiencing hair loss in 2011 while writing her book ‘Modelland’. She said it was caused by her stress levels reaching their peak and admitted 'chilling for me was eating a meal. I couldn’t just look at the ocean. In hindsight that wasn’t healthy.'
