Hairspray actress Ricki Lake, known best for her role as Tracy Turnblad, has given an update on her hair transformation after battling alopecia.
Ricki Lake resorted to shaving her head after years of traumatic hair loss.
But now, she looks better than ever in her recent Instagram updates!
Scroll on to take a look for yourself…
For those of you who aren’t familiar with Lake, the actress is best known for her role as Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray in 1988.
She even received a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead for her part.
After her success, Lake went on to host her very own talk show, Ricki Lake…
It was an instant hit, with the show being broadcast internationally from 1993 until 2004.
Lake was just twenty-four when she began and was credited as being the youngest person to ever host a syndicated talk show.
She gained a lot of traction in the entertainment industry, for her work and won a whole host of other gigs.
Lake has appeared in dozens of movies over the years.
Starring alongside some of our favorite Hollywood stars.
Lake famously appeared in Cry-Baby with Johnny Depp and Susan Tyrrell.
She has also starred in red in Mrs. Winterbourne with Shirley MacLaine and Brendan Fraser, Cabin Boy, Last Exit to Brooklyn, Cookie, and Inside Monkey Zetterland, just to name a few.
However, her most notable movie has to be Hairspray.
The iconic movie follows teenager Tracy Turnblad as she pursues her dream of becoming a dancer on TV, and fights against racial segregation in America.
The movie quickly gained a cult following, and it’s easy to see why.
But despite the incredible opportunity it gave Lake, she has revealed something devastating about the role.
Lake has suffered from androgenetic alopecia for years.
And attributes her hair loss to her iconic role.
Opening up about her struggles in an Instagram post in 2020, Lake said: “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.”
She continued: “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.”
She made the brave decision to shave her head and has been following a hair care plan since she made the chop.
It has now been a year since her original post, and Lake as since shared an update on her hair.
And it’s never looked better!
Sharing a side-by-side photo of her hair before and after, Lake captioned her Instagram post: “For those of you who don’t know or don’t remember my personal journey. These side by sides show the dramatic success I’ve had using @harklinikken products.”
She continued: “I’ve been following their simple and easy protocol for over 2 years now. People ask all the time, I use their shampoo, condition daily and their extract at night.”
“I could not be happier with my results and to finally be at peace with my hair loss struggles.”
“Pictures are taken just over a year apart,” with the first one being on December 31, 2019, and the second on January 27, 2021.
“2 years ago today I took a leap of faith. I finally surrendered and came out about my decades-long struggle with hair loss (and shaved my head),” the actress said.
“It was so scary and so liberating. The journey since has been such a gift. Self-love and acceptance has been the great takeaway. And 2 years later, I sit in total gratitude for the journey.”
You can see her post here.