Here’s one positive outcome of Will Smith’s unhinged moment at the Oscars: It brought global attention to alopecia. And here’s another: Jada Pinkett Smith seems to have made peace with it. She wore her near-baldness intentionally, glamming it up at an event where the public gaze is about as intense as it gets. She winced at Chris Rock’s joke, but it didn’t undo her. She was fabulous.
Then there are us mere mortals. I too have alopecia. Sometimes I think it’s cosmic payback for being overly obsessed with image. My late husband said I loved the mirror too much. “You’re always looking at your hair,” he said, when he caught me in the act.
It’s true — I was always looking. First to make sure my hair was in decent shape, literally. Anything from donning a pullover sweater to a mild breeze can wreak havoc with curly hair. But I was also simply admiring my coppery-to-brown (lately green-tinged) ringlets.
