Ricki Lake is getting real.
Over the weekend, the 54-year-old TV host shared a video of the moment she shaved her head several years ago amid her decades-long struggle with hair loss.
“3 years ago today, on the afternoon of New Year’s eve day 2019, I took a brave ass leap of faith and chose to make the drastic decision to shave my head after years and years of struggling in secret w/ my androgenic hair loss,” the “Cry-Baby” actress captioned the Instagram video, which shows a pal helping her buzz off her brunette locks.
“I have never shared this raw video footage before but felt like i wanted to now, for those of you who have followed my story and have been invested in it.”
Continued Lake in her caption, “Some of you know my struggle all too well personally and I want you to know, I truly feel you. In this video, you can see me come to a place of peace, liberation, and most importantly, self-love and self-acceptance.”
The star — who has since regrown her hair and now sports silver strands — went on to thank the “dear friends” who helped her through her “transformation,” and said she’s embracing her new salt-and-pepper look.
“After three years, I can honestly say I appreciate and love my natural gray and sometimes wild unruly head of hair. May all of you struggling with whatever also come to a place of peace and acceptance. Life is too damn short,” Lake concluded, added hashtags including #selflove, #thisis54 and #free.
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“Wow!!! Thank you for sharing this very private piece of you and for your vulnerability. You’re so right about life – it’s too damn short,” one commenter applauded, while several fans opened up about their own struggles with hair loss.
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“Struggling with this now. I can no longer wear my top hair extensions because my loss has gotten worse so I need a wig now and I’m pretty scared,” one wrote, thanking Lake for sharing her story and making her feel “less alone in this journey.”
The “Hairspray” star revealed her shaved head (and hair loss battle) in January 2020, writing on social media that she had been “suffering mostly in silence.”
“It has been debilitating, embarrassing, painful, scary, depressing, lonely, all the things,” Lake wrote at the time. “There have been a few 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.”
Last summer, the Daytime Emmy winner shared that she’d successfully regrown her hair with the help of Harklinikken’s hair care products; she now serves as an ambassador for the Scandinavian brand.
