.

With a memorable Oscars complete, we are getting a new question a lot…What Type of Hair Loss Does Jada Pinkett Smith Have?

Jada Pinkett Smith has said in the past that she suffers from alopecia. But alopecia is a very broad term with many different types of hair loss that fall under the “alopecia” umbrella. More specifically, Jada Pinkett Smith suffers from a type of alopecia called alopecia areata.

What is alopecia areata?

Alopecia areata is an autoimmune type of hair loss that is usually defined by small to medium sized circular patches of complete hair loss. Autoimmune types of hair loss are types where the body attacks the hair and causes it to fall out. This specific type of loss is also defined by inflammation build up in the scalp. It isn’t entirely clear what causes flare ups of alopecia areata, but the hair follicle is still alive in the tissue, so the hair can generally be saved even in the patches where it falls out.

How is it treated?

The most common type of treatment involves the use of steroids as they are strong anti-inflammatories. Both topical steroids and steroid injections directly in the areas of loss are used, and for some patients, this treatment alone is enough to regrow the hair. Other patients add treatments such as platelet rich plasma to the steroid treatments. The circular areas of loss can expand, and for patients who have big areas of loss, they can quickly take up large portions of the scalp. There is no cure for alopecia areata, so even if the hair returns, many patients see it reoccur at different times throughout their lives. Some patients do not respond as well to the treatments, so it is possible to lose large areas of hair.

Jada Pinkett Smith still has the majority of her hair and hopefully as time goes by, she will see the return of the hair she has lost. Alopecia areata tends to be self limiting, even if untreated, so she should be hopeful about her chances to see full recovery of all of her native hair.