beauty
Everyone’s talking about alopecia!
Here’s what you need to know
The 2022 Academy Awards ceremony will go down as one of the most infamous events in Hollywood history. It will forever be remembered as the night in which renowned actor Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock on stage after Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith’s, shaved head. By Sunpac
H
ad she shaved her head to make a beauty or fashion statement, the night may have taken a completely different turn, but in the hours following the ceremony, the public learnt that the reason for her shaved head was alopecia, an autoimmune disorder that causes severe hair loss. In the days that followed, the word “alopecia” was on everyone’s lips. Did you know that following the incident, the phrase “what is alopecia” was the number one searched question on Google in South Africa, for the entire month of March? But what exactly is alopecia and how does one get it? According to WebMD: “Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disorder that causes your hair to come out, often in clumps.” It can affect the hair on the head as well as the hair on the body and it can be permanent or temporary. An autoimmune disease is one in which the body’s immune system attacks the body’s healthy cells. In the case of alopecia, the body attacks the hair follicles, resulting in hair loss.
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