What is Alopecia and What You Need to Know About It

 Whew, chile! The Oscars got heated the other night. 

Many people have been talking about what happened between Will Smith and Chris Rock.

However, I want to talk about Jada Pinkett Smith's hair realities as a Black woman living with alopecia. 

Alopecia is not new and Jada is not the only one who experiences it.

Here's the thing: 1/3 women of African descent experience alopecia. 

In this article, I want to talk about alopecia so that you can know what it is and what causes it.

And of course, in my next article, I will talk about what you can do about it. 

What is Alopecia? 

Put simply, alopecia is a broad term that describes hair loss.  Hair loss is a common experience for Black women and even girls. 

There are several types of alopecia. This is important to understand because the type of alopecia that you have will help determine what your treatments are. 

Alopecia is not something that you should try to diagnose yourself. It is recommended that you see a dermatologist or trichologist for a proper diagnosis. 

When I hear people say they have diagnosed themselves, I look at them like this . . . 

#1) Traction Alopecia 

One of the most common types of alopecia is traction alopecia. This is the type of alopecia that often results from constantly pulling your hair.  The result is that your roots can become damaged and lead to scarring and permanent hair loss. 

However, traction alopecia does not typically happen over night. It usually takes years for this develop. Traction alopecia can result from tight braids, ponytails, weaves and any other consistent hair pulling.  So be cautious in how often and how long you wear ponytails, tight braids, and pull your hair. 

#2) Androgenic Alopecia 

This type of alopecia is common in women but also in men. Dermatologist typically refer to this as male and female pattern hair loss or baldness. 

For women this can mean that your hair will start thinning but you typically won't become completely bald. The good news with this type of alopecia is that you typically won't have a receding hair line. 

For men, androgenic alopecia is often caused by dihydrostestosterne (DHT), which comes from the hormone testosterone. What happens to men is that DHT attacks the hair follicles, which results in hair falling out and it stops growing.

Because men typically have more testosterone than women, they experience this type of alopecia more often. 

#3) Alopecia Areata 

This type of alopecia is has been linked to autoimmune disorders that cause your hair to come out.  A sign that you may have Alopecia areata is that your hair will fall out in large clumps or patches about the size of a quarter. 

That is why this type of hair loss is known as "patchy baldness."  

The thing with this type of alopecia is that your immune system accidentally attacks your hair follicles. The good news is that your hair might grow back on its own without any help.

But the bad is is that your immune system could attack your hair follicles again, causing your hair to fall out. 

And to know that alopecia areata can keep attacking your hair follicles, makes me want to give the immune system this type of look . . .