The Oscar slap that overshadowed the Academy Awards ceremony was sparked by a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s lack of hair – with husband Will Smith objecting violently to comedian Chris Rock mocking the actress’s shaved head. Away from the recriminations over what could be perceived as a mean-spirited jibe and a disproportionate response, many people will sympathize with Pinkett Smith. As millions of women in the U.S. will attest, hair loss is no laughing matter. The Conversation asked dermatologist Danita Peoples of Wayne State University’s School of Medicine about alopecia and why certain forms of it can disproportionately affect Black women. 1. What Is Alopecia? Alopecia is a medical word that refers to hair loss generally. And there are descriptors added which can refer to where the hair loss is occurring, or to the cause of it. Traction alopecia, for example, is hair loss from trauma or chronic inflammatory changes …