Ricki Lake started talking about his decades-old hair loss battle after shaving his head last year.
The actress and former talk show host, 52, revealed on Instagram in July 2020 that she made the difficult decision to shave her head after fighting hair loss for over 30 years.
“Here you go … I have struggled with hair loss for most of my adult life,” said Lake at the time. “It’s been debilitating, embarrassing, painful, scary, depressing, lonely, all things. There have been times when I even felt suicidal about it.”
Now, after a year of growth, Lake debuted her full of hair on “Good Morning America” Wednesday and discussed the “liberating” journey she has been on.
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Ricki Lake opened up about his hair loss journey.
(Getty Images)
“It was a great right of way last year to take the leap of faith to shave my head, and my hair, thankfully, has grown back,” she said. “And I learned a lot from the process of really giving up something that really bothered me for decades.”
Not only has her hair grown back, but the star says she is more excited about the fact that she no longer needs to hide her battle against hair loss, noting that she hopes her story will help others to relieve themselves as well.
“There are things in life where you keep them a secret,” she explained. “I was molested as a child. I was quiet for many, many years and, once you admit it happened to you, the secret doesn’t look like that weight on your shoulders. And for me, it’s been a beautiful gift to be able to confess something that I was so ashamed of. “
The star is even thinking of writing a book about her fight against hair loss and the decision to shave her head.
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Later in the interview, she added: “Countless people came to me wanting to applaud and also say, ‘Where did you find the courage?'” Said Lake. “And if I can help a woman by sharing my story, it’s worth it.”
She also noted that she started to adopt her natural gray hair color, adding that women often hear that they should not adopt aging.
Last year, Lake explained that she believes her hair loss started in 1988, when she played Tracy Turnblad in the original “Hairspray”.
“They tripled and touched my virgin hair, so healthy, every 2 weeks during the shoot,” she explained on Instagram. “My hair was never the same. (Yes, it was all my hair in the movie.) From Hairspray to Hairless.”
However, Lake listed a number of other factors that she believes contributed to the problem.
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“In my case, I believe my hair loss was due to many factors, yo-yo diet, hormonal birth control, radical weight fluctuations over the years, my pregnancy, genetics, stress and hair dyes and extensions,” she wrote . “Working as a talent on various shows and films, whether on DWTS or on my talk show, also affected my thin hair.”
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Lake revealed that he tried dozens of solutions, including extensions of all types and wigs that left her “embarrassed and uncomfortable”. She also revealed that she had taken supplements and had failed steroid injections.
Melissa Roberto, from Fox News, contributed to this report.