Ashley Tisdale Gets Honest About Her Struggle With Alopecia
On a 2018 episode of "Red Table Talk," Jada Pinkett Smith opened up about having alopecia and dealing with hair loss. "It was terrifying when it first started," she said (via Health), mentioning that she was "shaking in fear" when she started losing her hair while she was in the shower. "That's why I cut my hair and why I continue to cut it." She also expressed that she was saddened to not "have the choice" to have hair or not.
Although Pinkett Smith has been pretty open about her condition, it certainly came to light when she was the center of a G.I. Jane joke at the 2022 Oscars, which prompted her husband, Will Smith, to walk onstage, slap Chris Rock, and continue to shout, "Keep my wife's name out of your f***ing mouth."
But Pinkett Smith isn't the only celebrity who has been open about having alopecia. According to BuzzFeed, Jesy Nelson from Little Mix, "Scream" star Neve Campbell, and even Tyra Banks have dealt with some form of alopecia or hair loss. And now, Ashley Tisdale can be added to that list.
Ashley Tisdale brings awareness to alopecia and hair loss
Ashley Tisdale recently opened up about having alopecia. She mentioned in a Frenshe blog post that she was under a lot of stress. "I noticed that a patch of my hair was starting to fall out," she wrote, stating that it was just a small patch behind her ear. "A few years ago, the same thing happened when I was overly stressed, so I knew exactly what I was experiencing: alopecia."
Following her blog post, the "High School Musical" star took to social media to go even more public with her condition, in hopes of bringing more awareness to the condition. "Alopecia and hair loss are fairly common, but a lot of people feel embarrassed to talk about these issues," she wrote in her Instagram caption. She mentioned that, although her hair loss is connected to stress, it can be caused by hormones and it can be hereditary. She also talked about how the condition can lower one's self-esteem, but "it's nothing to be ashamed of."
Actor Viola Davis can relate to Tisdale, as she also experiences alopecia due to stress. "I was so desperate for people to think that I was beautiful," she told Vulture, mentioning that she wore a wig everywhere. She then decided to reveal her "natural hair" at the Oscars in 2012. "I had to be liberated from that [feeling] to a certain extent," she added.