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How to Get Away with Hair Loss: Viola Davis Shares Her Story
by Gregory S
Hair Loss is not limited to men. Just ask critically acclaimed actress Viola Davis. The first rate performer and first class individual may have caused waves in the entertainment industry by walking down the 2012 Oscar red carpet with her natural hair but it was a long time coming for Davis.
In an exclusive one on one report with Vulture magazine, Davis revealed she has been wearing and relying on wigs since age 28, when she realized she had lost nearly 50 percent of all her hair.
Hair Loss in Her 20s
Hair loss can be a major shock to one’s sense of self esteem, especially for a young woman in her 20s. Davis said she was in her late 20s when she was diagnosed with alopecia areata , a specific medical condition that causes hair to fall out in circular patches on the scalp of the head.
“I woke up one day and it looked like I had a Mohawk. Big splash of bald on the top of my head,” Davis confessed to Vulture. “I was like, what is this? Until I found out it was stress-related.”
Wigs and Acceptance
Wigs helped Davis regain her confidence after her extensive hair loss shattered it. She now jokes about that period in her life, saying she had a hair piece or wig for every occasion imaginable, “for around the house, to the gym, to red carpet events and even one for when she was in the Jacuzzi.”
Eventually, Davis learned to accept herself for herself and become comfortable in her own skin. She came to the emotional epiphany that she was beautiful inside and out, in spite of her hair loss.
“The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.. I have spent so much of my life not feeling comfortable in my skin and being desperate for people to think I’m beautiful. I am just so not there anymore,” Davis told Vulture.
Dealing with Criticism
This same self-confidence has allowed Davis a foundation of courage to combat criticism and lingering contempt for women of color in Hollywood. One recent newspaper columnist described her as a “less classically beautiful actress than Scandal’s Kerry Washington.”
To her credit, Viola Davis has learned to take such needless denigration in stride.
“We need to use the same adjectives as we use for any woman,” Davis commented to Vulture. “Which could be dangerous, too, but I’ll accept that. Any day.”
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