What is alopecia, the disease Edouard Philippe and Jada Pinkett Smith suffer from?

Updated article, published March 28, 2022

Thursday 2 February the former prime minister Edward Philip made a much commented appearance on BFMTV, where he confided his ambitions for France, on pension reform but also on the disease that strikes him and causes him to lose his hair, thealopecia. If this name tells you anything, it’s because we talked about it a lot this past March after the 94th Academy Awardwhere Will Smith slapped Chris Rock when the latter had the misfortune of making fun of him Alopecia by Jada Pinkett Smith. But what is alopecia and what causes it? We will explain everything to you.

What is alopecia?

Alopecia comes from the Greek “alopex” what does it mean ” Fox “. This animal reference is not there by chance as it echoes the spring moult that the canine undergoes. A moment where she loses a lot of her hair to make way for her summer fur.

In the case of humans, men or women, this significant loss of hair or body hair can be normal when it equals 50-100 hairs/hairs per day. Besides that, it can be temporary as well due to hormonal upheavals, fatigue, lack of iron or be the result of a serious infectionor, if it persists, be a alopecia.

What are the causes of alopecia?

Dermatologists define several types of alopecia:

• Scarring alopecia: it is the result of an aggression which may have destroyed all or part of the hair follicle. The causes can be various but this event is usually established as a major burn, exposure to radiotherapy, lupus erythematosus, lichen planus, folliculitis, HIV infection or syphilis…

• Non-scarring alopecia: which are more due to a slowdown in hair growth due to too much iron deficiency, malnutrition or even due to endocrine dysfunction. Of course, it is also possible that the causes are toxic following, for example, chemotherapy or estrogen-progestin intake.

• Androgenic alopecia : it is a hereditary affection. It is translated by a sensitivity of the hair follicle receptors to androgens (male hormones) according to The Journal of Women’s Health. If this disease affects an average third of men at 30 and half at 50, this figure is 25% among women aged 35 to 45. At 50, it rises to 35-45%. In the latter, alopecia causes hair loss along the entire parting and sometimes at the top of the skull. It is also marked, more often than not, by a rarefaction rather than a total loss of capillary mass.

• Alopecia areata: it is an autoimmune disease characterized by an excessive work of the immune system which directly attacks the hair follicle causing a rather impressive loss of hair mass. In France alone, there are an average of 60,000 to 120,000 cases PER YEAR!
• Traction alopecia: a common condition among black women, caused by wearing very tight hairstyles like braids, vanillas, dreadlocks, etc.

Why is it a difficult disease to live with?

As you already know, Jada Pinkett Smith has spoken publicly several times about the alopecia she suffers from. Her first statements date back to 2018, the year in which she discovered that her hair was slowly but surely starting to fall out.

He recalls a terrifying moment from his Red Table Talk show:

“I was in the shower one day and only had a handful of hair in my hands. I thought to myself that I was going bald. It was the first time in my life that I was literally shaking with fear. »

And we understand that. Why lose your hair it’s not trivial and so can cause psychological difficulties. According to Maryanne Senna, a dermatologist and instructor at Harvard Medical School who specializes in hair loss: “Hair is a mirror of health. » They therefore represent one of the main indicators that allow us to know if everything is going well or not. Losing hair overnight can therefore be source of anxiety or even frustration for those affected: “Unpredictability, lack of control and not knowing the cause can be a source of anger and anxiety for patients,” Dr. Senna explains to Refinery29.

Traction alopecia, a disease that closely affects afro hair

According to the Hopkins Medicine website, nearly half of black women experience more or less severe hair loss during their life.

Scalp traction isn’t the only cause of this problem, quite the contrary! The use of chemicals used to straighten the fiber or bleach it can also be a source of hair loss.

Obviously, this process doesn’t happen in a single day, and rather acts as a kind of hair assessment that takes place over several decades, but it still exists today and fortunately many women like Jada Pinkett Smith are there to lift the veil. on this issue… Although for this she is gleefully mocked by Chris Rock, who does not hesitate to make fun of the appearance of black women to make his audience laugh…

Here’s why Chris Rock’s joke at the Oscars: “Jada, I love you, can’t wait to see GI Jane 2”, comparing the 50-year-old actress to Demi Moore in the movie GI Jane, From Ridley Scott, it was not in good taste. Especially since if the actress has decided to take on her illness, other women, who are not in the limelight, could have more difficulty making up their minds and suffer from hair loss on a daily basis… A little more would therefore be needed benevolence to avoid adding an extra burden to those affected.

An image credit: @jadapinkettsmith.