Louis Theroux has provided an update to followers on a medical ailment, after earlier claiming that nature had played a “cruel joke” on him.
After experiencing hair loss in his beard earlier this year, the famous documentary filmmaker warned his admirers that he ‘probably’ had alopecia.
The 53-year-old subsequently made light of the issue, admitting that he could only grow a ‘strange little Hitler moustache’ after three days of not shaving owing to facial hair loss.
Louis revealed last month that his alopecia had begun to impact his brows, and in his most recent post, he revealed that he had begun to detect ‘bald spots’ on top of his head.
The TV personality posted a photo on Instagram, revealing the light grey hair he’d managed to grow in his beard.
‘Alopecia update (try to remain calm!),’ he began in his message to his fans.
View this post on Instagram
‘New bald patches are appearing in my “top hair” (the hair on top of my head) BUT I can now grow a weird straggly and rather sparse white beard. So that’s something.’
Louis went on to say that he’d discovered ‘small spots of regrowth’ on his brow, before detailing the vitamins he’d been taking in the hope that they might aid in his hair development.
‘FWIW [for what it’s worth] I’ve been taking vitamin D, iron, and something called biotin. Is it helping? Who knows?’ he asked.
The NHS explains that while hair loss is ‘not usually anything to be worried about’, it can sometimes ‘be a sign of a medical condition’.
There are different forms of alopecia, one of them being alopecia areata, which is ‘thought to be an autoimmune condition’, Alopecia UK outlines.
According to the organisation, this frequently begins with “isolated patches of hair loss, generally in one or more coin-sized (usually round or oval) patches on the head and/or over the body including the beard, eyebrows, eyelashes, or body hair, including pubic hair.”
‘In Alopecia Areata, cells from the immune system (a specific type of T cell, known as NKG2D+ T cells) gather around the hair follicles. These cells attack the follicle, stopping it from producing more hair. The exact way in which this happens is not yet understood.’
In response to Louis’ latest post, stunt performer Johnny Knoxville commented: ‘I’ve had that before. My barber found a bald spot in the back of my head about the size of a half dollar coin. It was as smooth as glass. My dermatologist injected a corticosteroid into my scalp and it slowly grew back. Good luck.’
Alopecia UK also wrote: ‘Thanks for sharing your updates Louis. We are sure you are helping others with your posts 💙.’