Alopecia is no laughing matter, and Will Smith’s slap of Chris Rock, though some critics called it inappropriate, sent Rock that message, after Rock laughingly targeted wife Jada Pinkett Smith's look during the Oscars on Sunday.
Jada Pinkett Smith has been outspoken about having the autoimmune disease known as alopecia, which creates patchy hair loss.
Pinkett Smith decided to shave her head bald due to alopecia, according to her social media account. Alopecia is a type of autoimmune disease where the individual’s body mistakenly attacks the hair follicles causing hair to fall out, health experts told Fox News.
Dr. Emma Guttman, the chair of the Department of Dermatology for Mount Sinai Health System and director of Mount Sinai's Alopecia Center of Excellence in New York City, explained to Fox News that alopecia has a lifetime prevalence of approximately 2% and equally affects men and women and all races. "It often starts from one or two patches but in up to 20% of patients it progresses to involve the entire body hair (universalis) or totalis (entire scalp hair)," Guttman told Fox News. "It is also highly prevalent in children, bringing much distress to the children and the entire family.
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