Unchecked insecurities can be very damaging. The Parkers actress Countess Vaughn has been open and honest about her struggles with insecurity in the past and how she’s overcome its horrific effects. One experience that stemmed from self-doubt brought on what would be many a woman’s nightmares: long-lasting damage to their hair.
TV One recently dedicated an episode of their docu-series Life After to Countess Vaughn. The episode highlighted much of the actress’s life following her stint as “Kim Parker” on The Parkers. Within the show, Vaughn highlighted a difficult period that, at the time, brought damage to her. In 2007, the actress became a contestant on the short-lived MTV reality show Celebrity Rap Superstar. However, Vaughn had to leave the show under doctors’ orders due to an illness. Because they advised her against performing for two weeks, Vaughn suffered from elimination on the series’s fifth week.
Sadly, the illness was caused by a toxic reaction from the glue used to attach a lace front wig, causing her skin to peel off. Vaughn was quickly hospitalized, and they discovered “lacerations on her head,” as told by entertainment and life expert S. Tia Brown. According to Countess Vaughn, she had been “taking things too far, using different products on my face, on my head.” The actress also admitted to “trying to be this perfect girl.” In addition, she adds that there was “no way to cover” the damages up. The turbulent event led Vaughn to do the work within herself to discover where the insecurities were coming from. Getting “to the core of Countess” took time, but she soon realized that all of the superficial things did not matter. “I just had to take it all off,” she exclaimed.
The actress previously spoke on the dangers of wearing lace front wigs and weaves on a 2014 episode of CBS’s The Doctors. Vaughn explained that due to her extensive work in the entertainment industry, she was accustomed to wearing wigs to achieve different looks. But in 2004, things changed when the hairstylist she was working with at the time introduced her to lace front wigs. “I fell in love with them immediately,” Vaughn said while confessing that she “wore them 24/7.”
Vaughn claimed that she began to experience “oozing” from her ears, forehead, and nape of her head five years later. Soon, she encountered pus, which brought pain and a “horrible smell.” Shockingly, the actress allowed it to continue for six months. Vaughn then shared that the glue used to apply the hair to the scalp caused the reaction.
The Hollywood Divas reality star claimed that she acted had disbelief that her wigs caused her to be sick. Unfortunately, visiting a dermatologist did not help her either, as they did not inform her of “long-lasting” effects. Because of the toxic reaction, Vaughn shared that she suffers from discoloration in the skin, which led people to assume that she had vitiligo. In order to cover the blemishes, Vaughn stated that she would apply makeup to the affected areas, including using eyeliner to create the illusion of a hairline. Unfortunately, the glue also affected the skin underneath her eyes and ears, which began to peel off. The ordeal caused “embarrassment” to Vaughn, causing her to stay home and “be bald.” An emotional Countess Vaughn then shared her lesson from the encounter. “I had to go through this in order to teach my little one (her daughter) that you’ve got to love yourself before anybody else will,” she said.
