What is alopecia and how can you treat it?

The 2022 Oscars have been rocked by the moment Will Smith struck comedian Chris Rock for making a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s appearance.

Pinkett Smith has maintained a shaved head since July 2021 due to her alopecia.

Smith took to the stage after Rock quipped an apparent reference to Pinkett Smith’s shaved head: “Jada, I love you. GI Jane 2, can’t wait to see you.”

The King Richard star walked up onto the stage, hit Rock in the face and then walked back to his seat. He shouted twice: “Keep my wife’s name out your f***ing mouth.”

Pinkett Smith has previously spoken candidly about her struggle with alopecia, which she first revealed she had in 2018, during an episode of her podcast, Red Table Talk.

But what is the condition and is it treatable?

The word “alopecia” is a general term for hair loss, but there are several different types of alopecia. According to Alopecia UK, there are nine different types of alopecia people can develop, but the most common are androgenetic alopecia and alopecia areata.

Androgenetic alopecia is a hereditary condition that happens as you get older and affects both men (male pattern hair loss) and women (female pattern hair loss).

Alopecia areata is an autoimmune condition that causes hair to fall out. This usually happens in patches on the scalp or other places on the body that grow hair, such as the beard, eyebrows or eyelashes.

Pinkett Smith struggles with the latter and said that it was “terrifying” when the hair loss first began.

She said in 2018: “I was in the shower one day and then just handfuls of hair, just in my hands, and I was like, ‘Oh my god, am I going bald?’ It was one of those times in my life when I was literally shaking with fear.”

Other variations of the condition include traction alopecia (hair loss that occurs when it has been pulled tightly for a long time), alopecia totalis (total hair loss on the scalp) and alopecia unversalis (total hair loss all over the body).

Apart from unpredictable hair loss, some people with alopecia may see a change in their nails, which may develop dents and ridges, or become brittle and red.

However, many people with alopecia will only experience the hair loss.

The short answer is, possibly. If you have alopecia areata, your child will have a greater risk of developing it. However, not every child with this increased risk will get alopecia, according to the American Academy of Dermatology.

Although scientists believe autoimmune diseases, such as alopecia, vitiligo or Type One diabetes, are strongly influenced by genes, research has found that there isn’t a single autoimmune gene, and therefore the conditions “do not fit any simple pattern of inheritance”.

The NHS states that most hair loss does not need treatment and is their temporary, or a normal part of getting older.

However, if you are experiencing abnormal hair loss or it is causing you distress, there are several treatments available for hair loss, depending on the patient’s age and extent of the hair loss.

Some types of alopecia cannot be treated depending on how widespread the hair loss is, but dermatologists may be able to help offer treatments for other types.

Common treatments include topical steroids in the forms of creams, ointments, lotions or foams that are applied directly to the scalp or skin surface to stimulate hair growth.

Some patients are also recommended steroids that are injected into the affected areas with a fine needle, or systemic cortisteroids that can be taken orally as a pill or as an injection in the muscle.

The NHS warns that most treatments are not available on the health service and will have to be paid for at private clinics, and no treatment is 100 per cent effective.