Jada Pinkett Smith’s Hair Hack Keeps Her Braids Super Fresh

Jada Pinkett Smith is known for her youthful glow and her iconic style. The 49-year-old has not aged since she first burst onto the scene in the 1990s on the hit TV show, A Different World.

Over the years, Pinkett Smith has been very candid about her health and wellness regime, including some issues she’s been having with her hair. The Gotham alum ever revealed a hair hack that keeps her braids super fresh.

Why does Jada Pinkett Smith wear turbans?

Fans noticed in recent years that Pinkett Smith had begun wearing wraps and turbans on her head. While many people assumed that it was a styling choice, the Red Table Talk host got candid about why her hair was constantly covered. It turns out she has been dealing with alopecia.

“I’ve been getting a lot of questions about why I’ve been wearing this turban,” she said on Red Table Talk. “I have been having issues with hair loss, and I’m going to tell you it was terrifying when it first started.” 

Pinkett Smith recalled the terrifying day she first realized that something was wrong. “I was in the shower one day, and just handfuls of hair [was] just in my hands,” she said. “I was just like, ‘oh my God, am I going bald?’ It was one of those times in my life that I was literally shaking with fear.”

Jada Pinkett Smith wears a lot of protective styles

Alopecia develops when the immune system attacks the hair follicles, and it’s not curable. However, there are ways to combat it, including medicine and protective styling. Pinkett Smith decided to cut her hair very short.

“I had a lot of hair,” she shared. “People always thought I had weaves. I have gotten every kind of test there is to have. They don’t know why. People say stress. ‘You do have alopecia.’” 

She also detailed getting steroid injections in her scalp to stop the hair loss. “I’m getting my little steroid injections, and they seem to be helping, but not curing, but they seem to be helping, but I’m open to other ideas,” she explained.

Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair hack keeps her braids super fresh

One of Pinkett Smith’s go-to protective styles is braids. The low-maintenance style is beloved by Black women in particular because it requires minimal styling. Pinkett Smith also keeps the sides of her hair shaved low so no braids are pulling or tugging at her edges.

During a family vacation in the summer of 2019, the Set If Off star revealed a hair hack to keep her braids fresh and moisturized. On Instagram, she revealed that she uses Aragon oil and a little bit of tea tree oil to keep her scalp healthy and dirt-free.

In the now-deleted video via, ESSENCE, Willow Smith could be seen rubbing the oil in her mother’s scalp, before tending to her own braids.