Jean Jacket
NOPE
(NBC News / Today.com)
Gabby Douglas is opening up about all the hair damage she suffered as a result of doing gymnastics.
The Olympic athlete, 24, shared a photo of herself with her natural hair and talked about the emotional journey she’s been on with her hair over the past several years.
“From the heart,” she began her candid Instagram post. “From a very young age i always had to put my hair in a tight ponytail to do gymnastics and due to that my hair became completely damaged. i had bald spots on the back of my head. i was so embarrassed and self-conscious that i put a bunch of clips over the spots to try and cover them up, but it was still noticeable. My hair grew a little, but shortly after, i had to cut all of my hair off because it was so damaged.”
Douglas said she “cried and cried and cried” about her struggles with her hair and also talked about how hard it was when people criticized her hair during the Olympics instead of focusing on her athletic abilities.
“Most days i didn’t even want to go to the gym because i felt so embarrassed that all my hair was gone," she wrote. "i used to think: why can’t i have healthy hair? despite yet another challenge, i kept going. fast forward to the both olympics and my hair was the topic of conversation
.”She finished her post with a message of pride about her natural hair today.
“Now here i am today - no extensions - no clip-ins - no wigs - no chemicals - all me,” she wrote.
During the 2012 Olympics, some online trolls apparently criticized the appearance of Douglas’ hair and said the gold medalist’s strands were “unkept” and “embarrassing.”
Fans in the comments of her recent post were quick to defend Douglas and praised her bravery and vulnerability in talking about what she’s been through.
