Ricki Lake Shaved Her Head After Revealing 30-Year Struggle With Hair Loss

By Emily Lee

January 2, 2020

On New Year's Day, former talk show host Ricki Lake took to Instagram to share a secret she'd been keeping from fans and followers for nearly 30 years. Along with her announcement, she debuted a brand new look - a completely shaved head.

"Liberated and Free, Me. First things first, I am not sick. (THANK GOD)," Lake began her lengthy Instagram caption. "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. AND I am finally ready to share my secret."

Lake then went on to reveal that she's been battling hair loss for most of her adult life. "It has been debilitating, embarrassing, painful, scary, depressing, lonely, all the things," she wrote of her experience. "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. Not even my therapist/s over the years knew my truth."

View this post on Instagram

Liberated and Free, Me. First things first, 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. AND I am finally ready to share my secret. Deep breath Ricki…. Here goes….. I have been struggling with hair loss for most of my adult life. It has been debilitating, embarrassing, painful, scary, depressing, lonely, all the things. 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. Not even my therapist/s over the years knew my truth. 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. 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. :( 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 DWTS or my talk show, also took its toll on my fine hair. I got used to wearing extensions, really just over the last decade. All different kinds, tried them all, the ones that are glued on, the tape-ins, the clip ins, and then into a total hair system that I hated, and finally to a unique solution that really did work pretty well for me for the last 4 or 5 years. I tried wigs on a few occasions but never could get used to them. It all felt fake and I was super self-conscious and uncomfortable. 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. To read more: please go to my Facebook page. ❤️

A post shared by Ricki Lake (@rickilake) on Jan 1, 2020 at 11:25am PST

The 51-year-old Hairspray actress decided to open up about her hair loss because she hopes someone else struggling with the same issue. "By sharing my truth, I will be striking a chord with so so many women and men," Lake explained. "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."

Lake then went on to discuss the many factors she believes contributed to her condition. "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 two weeks during filming, my hair was never the same. (Yes, that was all my own hair in the film.) From Hairspray to Hairless," the post continued. "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 its toll on my fine hair."

After trying numerous treatments to cure her hair loss, Lake decided to shave her head and be "free" from the stress it caused her.

Photo: Getty