Selma Blair has revealed she has shaved her head and undergone a radical procedure to treat her multiple sclerosis.
The 47-year-old actress was diagnosed with the disease last August, after years thinking she was dropping things and tripping up because she was ‘clumsy’, and was soon walking with a cane, then a walking bike.
On Thursday, Blair posted a photo on Instagram from inside a clinic, with a bald head, leaning on her walking bike, with a lengthy caption, including: ‘#newimmunesystem’.
Blair did not stipulate what kind of treatment she received for MS, for which there are many therapies, including injectable, oral, and infusion therapies.
Just a few hours earlier, she posted a photo of her son cutting her hair as she wished him happy birthday, and said it ‘makes tears well’ that she couldn’t spend the day with him – due to, as she later shared, undergoing her final bout of treatment.
On Thursday, Blair posted a photo on Instagram from inside a clinic, with a bald head, leaning on her walking bike, and the words: ‘#newimmunesystem’
Days earlier, she posted a photo of her son cutting her hair, as she wished him happy birthday
Blair alluded to her hair loss and head shaving a month ago, posting then deleting a photo of her son with a razor. In a new interview with PEOPLE, out this week, she confirmed she is suffering hair loss.
While MS does not cause hair loss, it is a common side effect of many MS treatments.
Blair declined to go into detail about the new treatment she has undergone, saying she will ‘when I am ready.’
But she said: ‘Today is a banner day.
‘I am being discharged from the care of an incredible team of nurses and techs and a visionary Dr. who believes in my healing as much as I do. This has been a process. And will continue to be one. I am immunocompromised for next three months at least. So no kisses please. I wanted to make sure all complications here were my private space. And we got through brilliantly.’
She has always been incredibly open about her health, sharing her battle with post-partum hair loss in 2011.
It was no different after her MS diagnosis last summer.
Multiple sclerosis (known as MS) is an incurable, life-long neurological condition in which the immune system attacks the body and causes nerve damage to the brain and spinal cord.
Symptoms can be mild in some, and in others more extreme causing severe disability, particularly in those diagnosed late.
If caught early, a weekly shot or daily pill can keep the condition under control, and often prevent severe disability down the line.
In an interview with PEOPLE this week, Blair said that, once she was diagnosed, her symptoms came on hard and fast.
She has palsy in her face, that impacts her control of her facial muscles, and a condition called spasmodic dysphonia, which makes her voice tremble.
‘It’s constant weakness and fatigue,’ Blair said.
But she credits her resilience and confidence to her son Arthur, who she shares with stylist Jason Bleick, her partner from 2010 to 2012.
Speaking to PEOPLE, Blair said Arthur recently stunned her by saying, ‘I love when you come to school because you make the kids laugh and you answer all their questions.’
‘I had no idea Arthur was proud of that,’ Blair said, explaining that she’s been asked about her voice changing, and described why.
‘I thought “I’m probably an embarrassment,” but to know I’m not was one of my proudest moments.’
Blair has been open about her battle with MS since her diagnosis last August
