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Louis Theroux revealed that he shaved off his eyebrows.
The 53-year-old TV documentarian shared with his Instagram followers that he decided to get rid of them due to experiencing patchiness from alopecia, the medical term defining either hair thinning or temporary or permanent loss of hair, according to the Mayo Clinic.
“Can you tell what’s different?” he asked his one million followers with the hashtags alopecia, no brows, and no brows no problems.
“I’ve shaved off my eyebrows,” the journalist continued. “I’m also thinking about getting microblading soon. In the meanwhile I figure no eyebrows is better than patchy eyebrows. Do you agree?”
Fans and celebrities alike have championed the famous documentary maker since he got candid about his hair loss and many praised him for his new bare-brow look. Bear Grylls commended Theroux: “We are much more than just our silly eyebrows… you’re a true champ.”
“You’re a wonderful human with or without eyebrows,” one fan wrote, while another added: “You’re the man Louis! I’ve had alopecia for a few years and never been able to own it as well as you have.”
“I don’t think you need micro blading to be honest,” someone else commented. “Looks really normal. Except for when you make that weird face. Keep them, looks good! Micro bladed eyebrows would be too harsh methinks.”
Meanwhile, others wrote that Theroux looked ‘fine without’ the brows, and one fan suggested, “Please experiment with drawing on different eyebrow expressions in the meantime! May as well have fun with it hey.”
Since January, Theroux has been documenting his battle with facial alopecia. He told followers that he noticed he was losing his facial hair in July when he noticed gaps in his beard before it “migrated up to my eyebrow.” He later revealed that he was taking ‘vitamin D, iron, and something called Biotin’ in an attempt to combat his hair loss.
In a November post, he shared that a large patch of his eyebrows had disappeared, writing: “I’d like to know how I’m supposed to continue a career based largely on raising and lowering different eyebrows WITHOUT ANY EYEBROWS!!
He added, “#alopecia I’m seriously thinking of getting them tattooed back on but it feels like a big step! Thoughts?”
Scientists believe that alopecia can be caused by genetics, hormonal changes, medical conditions, or the ageing process. Men in particular are reportedly more likely to be affected by alopecia, but women can as well, albeit at a lower rate, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Alopecia areata specifically finds a person’s immune system attacking hair follicles and causing hair loss, often characterised by sudden hair loss with one or two circular bald patches. This condition targets the head on a person’s head and face, and depending on the person, its effects could be either the size of a quarter or much more severe. The National Institute of Health states that people with alopecia are usually otherwise healthy despite the condition.