Ashley Tisdale Reveals Alopecia Diagnosis & Hair Loss Struggles On Instagram

Since High School Musical alum Ashley Tisdale launched her wellness blog Frenshe in 2020, she’s become a trusted voice in the wellness sphere, sharing her own experiences with reproductive health awareness as well as her struggles with mental health. On her site, she pens personal essays and publishes expert-backed advice on beauty, interiors, and anxiety, among others.

On Jan. 11, the Disney star penned another personal essay, this time detailing her journey with alopecia (or hair loss) and how she’s been keeping the autoimmune disease at bay. She also took to Instagram that same day to share why she’s speaking up about the condition now despite having had it since her “young 20s.”

“Alopecia and hair loss are fairly common, but a lot of people feel embarrassed to talk about these issues,” she wrote on Instagram. “Any type of hair loss can affect your self-esteem, especially if you feel like you’re the only one going through it. That’s why I want to talk about it openly—because it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Sometimes it’s connected to hormones, other times to heredity, and for me, it’s connected to stress overload.”

While alopecia generally refers to hair loss and can be hereditary, there’s a type of alopecia that’s triggered by an autoimmune condition. According to Yale Medicine, “Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease that affects about two out of 100 people, causing hair loss that may wax and wane over a patient’s lifetime.” In these cases, “immune cells attack hair follicles, which results in the hairs in those follicles falling out. As long as the immune system is fighting the follicles, new hair will not grow.”

In the Instagram video, Tisdale shared getting her initial diagnosis from her dermatologist after noticing a bald spot in her early 20s. “A lot of it’s triggered by stress and I was going through a really stressful time,” the 37-year-old recalled. She then shared her tips for “stress management,” listing meditation, yoga, and therapy as her go-tos. Tisdale also recommended trying the autoimmune paleo diet.

The “He Said She Said” singer also opened up about undergoing platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections, recounting how her hair grew back pretty quickly after the treatment. It’s a treatment she had come back to now that her alopecia is triggered again.

“I recently did [PRP] again in the spot that I’m having it in, which is behind my ear,” the actor shared. “I’m hoping the same thing, that it grows back pretty fast.” She ended the video with words of encouragement: “Know that if you struggle with it, you are not alone.”

The video was met with an outpour of gratitude and support. A follower commented, “Thank you for opening up about this. So many women struggle with this and it’s not talked about enough!”