Towanda Braxton, 50, has been diagnosed with alopecia. The actress plans to share her journey with viewers on The Braxtons, which will air on We TV. Before then, Braxton shared thoughts about her alopecia journey during the show’s premiere, which took place at West Cultural Arts Center on August 8th.
“I have alopecia and I’m just wearing it loud and proud. Being bald is amazing,” Braxton said.
“I felt relieved,” the singer reflected, referring to getting an official diagnosis. She also stated that she had a hunch that she had alopecia beforehand. “Because I was like, ‘Okay, I hate being right about that, but I was right about that,’ you know?”
According to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation, around 700,000 people in the U.S. currently have some form of alopecia. It’s an autoimmune skin disease that can cause hair loss on the scalp, face, or other areas of the body.
The Hood Riches 2 actress shared the most significant misconceptions she learned from her alopecia diagnosis during the interview. One was that alopecia isn’t hereditary, although it can sometimes be.
“And then there are so many different types of alopecia,” she added. “And it’s important for you to find out which one you have. So just in case you have children, they’ll know how to treat it.”
Braxton hopes that sharing her story can inspire other people with alopecia. “For everyone else who’s going through the same journey, [I want to tell them] that it’s okay, and your hair does not define who you are,” she explained.
“I always knew that my hair was different. I always knew that it was something. I had a whole bunch of cowlicks growing up my hairline,” she said. “My hairline was like here… and then it would grow back.” Cowlicks are when a section of your hair grows at a different angle or direction from the rest of your hair.
Braxton embraces this part of her journey and hopes others going through similar can, too.
“For me, it’s like it’s letting everybody know you can walk long and strong and walk in your greatness not having hair and that’s okay. And if you want hair you can buy hair,” she said.
