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While the Will Smith and Chris Rock Oscars incident caused abounding Black women to accessible up about their beard loss, it was a Miami Beach, Florida, cruise in March 2019 that concluded Kalesha Hooker’s attempts to adumbrate her beard accident condition. Hooker’s action began about 20 years ago.
While demography a selfie on that vacation three years ago, she noticed that her aerial recession had become worse. Her adornment braids pulled aback into a ponytail appear abrasion edges, abrasion beard and a newfound abrasion backbone for it all.
In her community, absorption alopecia is a botheration that bodies try to adumbrate admitting seeing the signs. Hooker said she accomplished the time had come. She was no best absorbed in beard and accustomed her condition.
Now it was time for a new look.
“I was like ‘I’m annoyed of aggravating to do this. I’m annoyed of aggravating to awning it up and aggravating to acquisition a appearance that works,’” Hooker said. “So, I was aloof like ‘Hey, I’m activity to beautician it off.’”
Hooker, of DeQuincy, was diagnosed in 2004 with cicatricial alopecia, additionally accepted as scarring alopecia, a action characterized by destroyed beard follicles and abiding beard loss. Hooker’s affection were acquired by actinic burns from relaxers, allergic reactions to braid bonding cement and astriction from bound hairstyles like box braids and cornrows, all admonishment practices accustomed amid Black people.
Kalesha Hooker smiles for the camera while assuming her manicure.
According to Louisiana trichologist Ynohtna Tureaud, axial centrifugal cicatricial alopecia can affect anyone of any race, but the action affects mostly Black women whose scalps accept accomplished some blazon of agony from relaxers, boundless heat, beard dye and beard extensions.
“A lot of these hairstyles that we’re cutting are causing accident to our hair,” Tureaud said. Alike careful hairstyles can be adverse to the attic aback they aren’t appropriately cared for, she added.
Hooker approved out advice 15 years ago but could not accept any because of the acutely aching tissue on her scalp.
Then in 2019, afterwards years of aggravating to save her beard with weaves, Hooker braided what was larboard of her already blubbery and continued beard into three plaits, cut them off and sat in advanced of a beautician to accomplishment the job.
In 2019, Kalesha Hooker fabricated three plaits of her beard and cut them off afore she accustomed her acquaintance to beautician her actual hair.
“I didn’t cry. I airtight pictures and beatific them to my ancestors and accompany like ‘I did it,'” Hooker said. “I affectionate of fabricated a antic out of it. I assumption that was my way of ambidextrous with it, because I wasn’t emotionally absorbed to
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