What is alopecia?

Rep. Ayanna Pressley bravely opened up about her alopecia, a condition that affects 7 million Americans but that many hide.

Transcript

00:00I'm ready now because I want to be freed from the secret.

00:30There are many different types of hair loss or alopecia.

00:35In dermatology, we look at them and classify them into either scarring,

00:42which means that you've lost some hair follicles,

00:45and there's damage to the scalp so the hair doesn't usually grow back.

00:49Or you can have non-scarring alopecia,

00:52where the hair is either thinned with time or you're getting too much shedding.

01:00The most common form of hair loss is purely cosmetic,

01:12and we call that traction alopecia.

01:15It occurs because of a combination of hairstyles that are too tight,

01:20as well as hairstyles that are too tight that are done on hair

01:23that has already been chemically weakened by straightening.

02:00And then just handfuls of hair, just in my hands,

02:04and I was just like, oh my God, am I going bald?