Jada Pinkett Smith sparks praise and support after debuting shaved head amid hair loss: ‘So beautiful’

Actress says daughter Willow ‘made me do it’

Jada Pinkett Smith has earned praise from fans after debuting a new buzz cut hairstyle because it was “time to let go” amid a battle with hair loss.

The Red Table Talk host’s new haircut was first revealed by her daughter Willow Smith, 20, who shared a photo of herself and her mother on her Instagram along with the caption: “A gift is pure when it is given from the heart to the right person at the right time and at the right place, and when we expect nothing in return.”

Pinkett Smith, who has previously opened up about living with alopecia, then posted about the new style on her own Instagram, where she uploaded a short video of herself posing against a backdrop of flowers and revealed that her daughter had been the one to encourage her to cut off her hair.

“Willow made me do it because it was time to let go BUT … my 50s are bout to be Divinely lit with this shed,” the 49-year-old captioned the video.

The post has since been met with an outpouring of supportive comments, with many applauding Pinkett Smith for embracing the hairstyle and using her platform to open up about her battle with alopecia.

“Absolutely beautiful. I am struggling with hair loss as well,” one person commented, while another said: “I suffer from alopecia in the same spots… turned 50 last year. You have given me strength to do the same!”

Someone else wrote: “I’ve always wanted to do this. You must feel so free.”

Pinkett Smith’s new hairstyle was also praised by fellow celebrities, including Debra Messing, who wrote: “So beautiful Jada,” and Beyonce’s mother Tina Knowles, who added: “Beautiful. It just shows that beautiful face and soulful eyes more prominently.”

The Girls Trip actress first reflected on her experience with alopecia during a 2018 episode of Red Table Talk, where she revealed that the sudden hair loss was “terrifying” and that she had first realised something was wrong when she had begun losing handfuls of hair in the shower.

“And I’ll tell you it was terrifying when it first started. I was in the shower one day and then just handfuls of hair, just in my hands, and I was like: ‘oh my God am I going bald?’” Pinkett Smith recalled. “It was one of those times in my life when I was literally shaking with fear.”

During the episode of the Facebook Watch series, which saw Pinkett Smith speaking to her mother Adrienne and Willow, the actress had also explained at the time that her hair loss was the reason that she had started wearing turbans, and that they made her feel “like a queen”.

Alopecia, or hair loss, can be caused by a number of reasons, according to the Mayo Clinic, which notes that it “can be the result of heredity, hormonal changes, medical conditions or a normal part of aging”.

Pinkett Smith previously revealed that the cause of her own alopecia had not been identified by doctors, but that she believed it may be stress-related.