Louis Theroux, 54, opens up on plans to ‘shave head’ as he delivers candid health update after alopecia diagnosis
Louis Theroux has revealed he plans to fully shave his head within the next 12 months due to his ongoing battle with alopecia.
The 54-year-old documentarian took to Instagram on Monday to share a candid update on his hair loss condition.
Theroux explained he had cut his hair short after realising “the longer it was the worse it looked”.
Despite the shorter style, he admitted his hair remains “patchy AF” and he is now “preparing the way for a full head shave”.
In his humorous post, Theroux outlined his plan for embracing baldness with style, saying: “Big glasses a la Tucci, big muscles a la Dwayne Johnson, plus a year round tan. That’s the formula.”
The broadcaster appears determined to model his new look after bald celebrities Stanley Tucci and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
His light-hearted approach to the condition shows Theroux maintaining his characteristic sense of humour despite the challenges of hair loss.
This isn’t the first major change Theroux has made to address his alopecia. In December 2023, he shaved off his eyebrows after they became patchy.
By March 2024, he revealed he had undergone microblading to tattoo new eyebrows.
“I’m happy to have my old face back,” he said of the procedure, which took “two sessions of a couple of hours.”
In July last year, Theroux shared that his alopecia had “slightly improved” and revealed a glimpse of one of his “scalp lesions” for the first time.
Theroux also shared a throwback photo from 1994, noting it was “a reminder that the hair was always a problem, which I will have to worry about less and less as it disappears.”
He joked about finding a silver lining in his hair loss: “It’s like when your house burns down. ‘At least I don’t have to hoover!'”
While maintaining his humour publicly, Theroux has previously admitted concerns about his appearance, telling the This Past Weekend podcast last July: “I care a bit because I think my wife cares.”
Theroux has been open about his alopecia journey since first revealing his hair had been falling out in 2022.
Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disorder that causes hair to fall out, often in clumps the size and shape of a 50p coin.
The journalist is best known for presenting documentaries including Louis Theroux: Weird Weekends and The Most Hated Family In America.
He also hosts The Louis Theroux Podcast, where he has interviewed celebrity guests including Saltburn actor Barry Keoghan and US film star Armie Hammer.