'Hairspray' actress Ricki Lake flaunts new buzz cut, says she became 'suicidal' after 30 years of hair loss
Ricki Lake is making 2020 her year. She's not letting outward appearances dictate her life going forward, like how it has for a long time.
Taking to Facebook in a tell-all post, the 'Serial Mom' actress opened up about her struggle with hair loss and how the issue grew up to be one that started dictating her life. She also spoke about how she plans to take complete charge this year. "I have been struggling with hair loss for most of my adult life. There have been times where I have even felt suicidal over it," she admitted.
When the actress posted the picture of her new buzz cut, she was careful so as not to invite any speculations about her physical well being and mental health. So when she posted the image, she clarified that "I am not sick. (THANK GOD.)"
"I am not having a mid-life crisis nor am I having a mental breakdown, though I have been suffering. Suffering mostly in silence off and on for almost 30 years." She shared how the chronic hair loss "has been debilitating, embarrassing, painful, scary, depressing, lonely, all the things."
"There have been times where I have even felt suicidal over it. Almost no one in my life knew the level of deep pain and trauma I was experiencing. Not even my therapist/s over the years knew my truth," continued the host of 'The Ricki Lake Show'. "I know that by sharing my truth, I will be striking a chord with so so many women and men. I am not alone in this and my goal is to help others while at the same time unshackle myself from this quiet hell I have been living in."
Revealing how working on 'Hairspray' damaged the condition of her hair, she admitted that she thought there was no returning from there. "Ever since I played Tracy Turnblad in the original 'Hairspray' back in 1988 and they triple-processed and teased my then healthy virgin hair every 2 weeks during filming, my hair was never the same. (Yes, that was all my own hair in the film.) From Hairspray to Hairless."
Looking back today, she also knows the reasons behind the hair loss. "In my case, I believe my hair loss was due to many factors, yo-yo dieting, hormonal birth control, radical weight fluctuations over the years, my pregnancies, genetics, stress, and hair dyes and extensions. Working as talent on various shows and movies, whether 'Dancing With The Stars' or my talk show, also took a toll on my fine hair."
While short term solutions were aplenty (such as hair extensions and wigs), Lake simply never got used to them. "I've been to many doctors, gotten steroid shots in my head, taking all the supplements and then some. My hair would recover and then shed again. It was maddening."
Lake then decided that she had had enough and determined to take matters in her own hands. "This time, I say no more. I have to be set free," she wrote. "Well, it is a new year and a new decade and a new me. With the love and support of some of my dearest friends, John Bonny, Mandy Ingber, Sarah Havana Prats, and Jeff Scult, I buzzed my hair off and it feels so good!"
"I am liberated, I am free. I am releasing and letting go. I am brave. I am beautiful I am love. For 2020 and beyond, I want to be real."