There are quite a few taboo topics in Hollywood (including the gender pay gap which was recently discussed by Jennifer Lawrence) but celebrity female hair loss is another, as it is seldom discussed in the same way male hair loss is. However, it is now being spoken about more openly, which has helped people going through the same thing feel less alone.
Hair loss is extremely common, with a 2018 study conducted by the International Journal of Women’s Dermatology finding that one in four women experience some sort of female pattern hair loss by the time they reach the age of 49, with 50 percent of women experiencing some form of female pattern hair loss by the age of 79 years old. Trichologist Sally-Ann Tarver, director of The Cotswold Trichology Centre, said: “An estimated 1 in 4 women will suffer hair loss at some point in their lives and over 50% of men will see significant hair changes by the time they reach middle age, which can affect confidence and cause unwanted stress.”
READ MORE: Want To Stop Hair Loss? These Are The 3 Simple Habits Doctors Say You Should Be Doing Every Day
What Causes Hair Loss?
According to the Mayo Clinic, hair loss can be caused by a number of different factors. As well as genetics and the aging process, hair loss can be caused by stress, a virus (such as Covid-19, for example, which still lists hair thinning and hair loss as one of its more common side effects) and hormonal changes affected by things like pregnancy, childbirth, menopause and thyroid problems. It can also be a side effect of certain medication and treatments for cancer, arthritis, depression, heart problems, gout and high blood pressure, or medical conditions such as alopecia areata, a disease that happens when the immune system attacks hair follicles and causes hair loss, and the hair-pulling disorder trichotillomania.
Sun damage can also be a factor, as can heat damage from hair tools such as hair dryers, curling tongs and hair straighteners, and hair dye, while hair extensions have also been known to cause hair loss. Hair loss caused by things like medication, stress, and overprocessing can often get better over time, with a dermatologist telling MSNBC: “When the body recovers from stress, hair will get back up to its normal ratio of growth over time.”
Hair loss can have a devastating effect on our confidence and can negatively impact our day to day life and potentially affect both mental and physical health. “Hair loss in a woman is so emotionally devastating that it can trigger a wide range of social and emotional issues that can negatively impact healthy daily living and overall quality of life,” Dr. Shani Francis, a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology and director of the Hair Disorders Center of Excellence at Northshore University HealthSystem in Illinois told Medical News Today. “I have heard of women that retreat from social situations, have diminished work performance, and even alter their healthy living – avoiding exercise, overeating, not treating other medical illnesses – due to their hair loss,” she added.
10 Celebrities Who Lost Their Hair
Female celebrities have actually gotten better at opening up about losing their hair over the years, and it appears to be something that affects women in all industries. From models to singers to actresses to reality TV stars, let’s take a look at ten female celebrities who have been open with their fans about their hair loss, including what caused it and how it made them feel, with some celebs even sharing some tips on what they did to help their hair grow back.
Jada Pinkett Smith
We knew about Jada Pinkett Smith's battle with hair loss long before that infamous Chris Rock Oscars comment, as the Girls Trip actress has been very open about it with her fans over the past few years. She first broke the news on an episode of Red Table Talk back in 2018, saying: "It was terrifying when it first started. I was in the shower one day and had just handfuls of hair in my hands and I was just like, 'Oh my god, am I going bald?'"
Following husband Will Smith's Oscars slap, the actress went into more detail about alopecia on another episode of Red Table Talk, and wanted to make a point of sharing people’s stories on it. "There's so many people walking around who have alopecia that we don't even know," she said. "So I felt like it was so important to just allow the alopecia community, our brothers and sisters, to tell their story."
Khloé Kardashian
Some might think that things like constantly bleaching your hair and having hair extensions (both of which Khloé is guilty of) can contribute to hair loss. And while that's technically true, Khloé actually revealed that her hair loss came following her Covid-19 diagnosis in 2020!
(According to a study from the Indiana University School of Medicine, hair loss can affect roughly 33% of people who test positive for Covid. And Khloé wasn’t alone in experiencing this side effect, as Drake and Alyssa Milano also confessed to suffering with temporary hair loss after catching Covid.)
Telling Refinery29 about "chunks" of her hair coming out after Covid, Khloé said: "I actually lost a great deal of my hair. I was really bummed – you don't feel good about yourself." The Good American founder ended on a more positive note, and revealed some of the steps she took to help her hair grow back, including collagen powder from New Zealand-based brand Dose & Co, for which she is a global spokesperson, and DIY mayo hair masks.
Viola Davis
Stress-related alopecia is very common, and the Oscar-winning actress confessed to experiencing it first hand when she was in her late twenties! "I woke up one day and it looked like I had a Mohawk," she said in an interview with Vulture. "Big splash of bald on the top of my head," she added.
Although it might seem like Viola is full of confidence, she confessed to not always feeling that way, saying she wore wigs all the time in the beginning, including when in the jacuzzi and just chilling out at home. The Fences actress has since grown more confident with her natural hair, revealing it is now "an option… when it used to never be an option. I had something to hide."
Tyra Banks
The America's Next Top Model host is another A-lister who has suffered with stress-related alopecia, and recalled experiencing hair loss when she was under a lot of stress while writing her book Modelland back in 2011.
"How can I say this without tearing up? I got a little alopecia from the stress," she told the Wall Street Journal.
Christina Aguilera
Christina has been platinum blonde for most of her career, but as that isn’t her natural hair color, it had a detrimental effect on her locks! Back in 2003, an insider told the Daily Star that the "Dirrty" singer had bald patches (traction alopecia) due to constant hair dye and hair extensions, which led her to wear wigs to disguise it.
"Christina’s had to wear wigs for a while because she lost so much hair," the source said at the time. "Obviously it’s important that she hangs on to her glamorous image. No one likes a bald pop star. That long, thick hair – in particular, the black mane she has at the moment – is a wig."
Kristin Davis
There were lots of things to envy about Sex and the City's Charlotte York-Goldenblatt; and her perma-shiny locks were up there along with her fabulous wardrobe! However, the SATC actress revealed that she started experiencing hair loss after the show wrapped, telling Women’s Wear Daily: "My hair just was not what it used to be. It was very fine, like it had gone away, there just was hardly any hair there."
"I hadn't been worrying about it – I have my daughter – but when I tried to do something or had to go somewhere I was like, 'Where is my hair?'" she recalled, before saying that she now swears by hair volumizing products from Volaire, a brand of which she became an ambassador.
Davis also said that the SATC show and movies are a far cry from reality, as even when she had more hair, it wasn’t always the effortlessly glamorous and manageable mane that it looked on TV. "My hair was always very difficult, which no one believes when I tell them," she added. "It's always been not quite that easy, but because I had a lot of hair the professionals could help me make it look nice."
Rosie O'Donnell
Experiencing hair thinning and hair loss as we age is very common, which is something Rosie addressed on Twitter back in 2016. She shared a picture of herself pointing to the thinning hair on her temple, and captioned it: "Male pattern baldness... aging is fun."
Many women were grateful to Rosie for sharing, and flooded the comments section with supportive comments, many of which reassured her that she wasn’t alone! "That’s mild compared to mine," one fan commented. "I feel your pain RO. That’s how my scalp looks!" exclaimed another. "Women losing hair doesn’t get same attention, but hair loss is not confined to men," stated another.
Selma Blair
The Cruel Intentions alum said she began to notice chunks of her hair falling out in the shower after giving birth to her son Arthur back in 2011. According to the American Pregnancy Association, hair loss is a very common side effect following pregnancy affecting 40-50% of women.
Selma experienced more hair loss in 2018 after undergoing chemotherapy treatments for Multiple Sclerosis, and was very open about it on social media. "I cut my hair short to transition myself and my son for impending baldness. Easy. Baldness came. I didn’t shave head to that end. Of course it fell out. Shiny. Pale dome. Nice enough," she captioned a picture of her hair.
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"It took two months to begin regrowth And it came in fine and pale and very sparse," she continued. "I shaved it. It looked too sad. For me. I let it grow back. It was patchy in color and I felt like dying it brown. Ridiculous! I really only succeeded in dying my scalp. After a week, I buzzed shorter with clippers and a few weeks later, here we are. A thinnish, patchy charcoal head. I will see how a pixie grows in. Or I will buzz again."
"It seems to be too much to have long hair again," she added. "So I will leave it short and grey, something I have never before wanted to do. I equated it with giving up. And maybe giving up long, brown hair, complete with time consuming and expensive highlights and lowlights isn’t necessarily a give up. Give in. Embrace. Sure. I’ll try it. Unless...some fancy pants company with a thick checkbook wants to entice me out of dye retirement. Then I will sing about the glories of processed hair! I certainly will. So, until that wished for day, enjoy the head."
Alyssa Milano
Khloé Kardashian wasn’t the only famous face to speak openly about hair loss following Covid-19. The Charmed alum opened up about her hair loss via an Instagram video, which showed her hair falling out in chunks as she brushed it, and captioned it: "Thought I’d show you what Covid-19 does to your hair. Please take this seriously. One brushing, this is my hair loss."
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In the video, the actress is wearing a blue bathrobe and sporting wet hair, and tells her followers, "Hi everybody. I just wanted to show you the amount of hair that's coming out of my head." Showing off her "favorite detangler brush," she says, "as you can see there is no hair in there," and then proceeds to brush her hair, which is visiby coming out in streaks and chunks. The video ended with Alyssa showing the camera just how much hair she had lost after "one brushing," and then urged her fans to take the virus seriously and wear a mask.
Keira Knightley
The Love Actually alum confessed that she experienced hair loss as a result of coloring it too much – something which is very common. "I have dyed my hair virtually every color imaginable for different films," she told InStyle UK, adding that it "got so bad that my hair literally began to fall out of my head!"
The Pirates of the Caribbean actress said that she was embarrassed by the hair loss and actually wore wigs for about five years to try and hide the fact that she was losing her hair. Wow – we had no idea! "For the past five years I’ve used wigs, which is the greatest thing that’s ever happened to my hair," she explained.
Female Celebrity Hair Loss
Celebrities being open about hair loss makes us regular folk experiencing the same thing feel less alone. Viola Davis is a great example of someone who finally feels confident with their hair, while Khloé Kardashian has proven that hair loss through Covid-19 can get better over time; and Keira Knightley has proven that laying off the hair dye for a few years can restore damaged hair. Did any of the celebrities on this list surprise you?
