"I am not alone in this."

Ricki Lake has detailed her struggle with hair loss due to a series of factors including stress, weight fluctuation, and pregnancy. The presenter and actor revealed this week that she had been "suffering in silence" on and off for 30 years, and that many of those closest to her didn't know the extent of her struggle. "It has been debilitating, embarrassing, painful, scary, depressing, lonely, all the things," she said. "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. "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." Lake said that ever since she played Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray - a role which required her hair to be triple processed and teased every two weeks during filming - her hair has "never been the same." The movie, said Lake, as well as other factors such as hormonal birth control, pregnancy, and stress took its toll on her natural hair, leaving her with no choice but to wear extensions constantly. "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," she said. "So of late, after 2 months of bliss ‘working’ in London and after my last extreme diet where I lost 20 lbs in 6 weeks, my hair started shedding again, big time. "This time, I say no more. I have to be set free." Lake said that she made the decision to shave her head to feel "liberated," "free," "brave," and "beautiful." Up to 25 percent of women in America are said to have thinned or lost hair. 95 percent of hair loss in woman is androgenetic, meaning that it is a direct result of hormonal changes caused by pregnancy or menopause.