Louis Theroux has shared a candid update on his ongoing battle with hair loss condition alopecia, admitting he will soon be forced to shave his head bald.

The documentarian, 54, took to Instagram on Monday after his trip to the barbers and posted a glimpse of his ‘patchy AF’ hair, saying he had opted to cut it short in a bid to make the condition less obvious. 

Louis admitted that he was preparing himself for the overhaul before quipping that his new look will also see him undergo a body makeover to resemble fellow bald stars Dwayne Johnson, as well as pair of bigger specs to be like Stanley Tucci. 

He also shared posted a throwback snap from 1994 when his hair was much darker but admitted the condition had ‘always been an issue’ for him.

Louis wrote: ‘Latest from Alopecia-land. I’ve cut the hair short because I realised the longer it was the worse it looked. But it’s patchy AF and I’m basically preparing the way for a full head shave some time in the next 12 months’. 

‘Big glasses a la Tucci, big muscles a la Dwayne Johnson, plus a year round tan. That’s the formula’. 

Louis Theroux has shared a candid update on his ongoing battle with hair loss condition alopecia, admitting he will soon be forced to shave his head bald

Louis said that he’s preparing himself for the overhaul before quipping that his new look will also see him undergo a body makeover to resemble fellow Dwayne Johnson (pictured)

The documentarian, 54, took to Instagram on Monday after his trip to the barbers and posted a glimpse of his ‘patchy AF’ hair (L) Dwayne Johnson pictured (R)

Before adding: I’ve included a last photo from 1994 that I stumbled on yesterday as a reminder that the hair was always a problem, which I will have to worry about less and less as it disappears. It’s like when your house burns down. “At least I don’t have to hoover!”.

Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disorder that causes hair to fall out, often in clumps the size and shape of a 50p coin.

The amount of hair loss can vary, some lose it in a small areas while others have large patches of baldness. The hair can grow back but sometimes falls out again. 

In July Louis revealed that his alopecia had ‘slightly improved’ as he finally shared a snap of one of the ‘scalp lesions’.

He took to Instagram to reveal that after shaving off his eyebrows in March 2024, hair on his scalp had slowly begun to grow back.

Joking that he’d ‘found a solution to the problem of neck wrinkles,’ Louis showed in one snap that he was using a clothes peg to tighten his skin.

And after previously refusing to share an image of his ‘scalp lesions,’ the broadcaster revealed a glimpse of one such patch, right at the front of his head.

Sharing four snaps of his improving hairline, Louis captioned his post: ‘Not only is my Alopecia maybe slightly improving – I have also found a solution to the problem of neck wrinkles. See if you can guess what it is!!! 

Louis said he had opted to cut it short in a bid to make the condition less obvious

He also shared posted a throwback snap from 1994 when his hair was much darker but admitted the condition had ‘always been an issue’ for him

Louis wrote: ‘Latest from Alopecia-land. I’ve cut the hair short because I realised the longer it was the worse it looked. But it’s patchy AF and I’m basically preparing the way for a full head shave some time in the next 12 months’

He said: ‘Big glasses a la Tucci, big muscles a la Dwayne Johnson , plus a year round tan. That’s the formula’ (Stanley Tucci pictured) 

‘In picture four I’ve shared a glimpse of one of my Alopecia patches – at the front of my scalp. The medical term is lesions. 

‘Not gonna lie – the goth in me is slightly enjoying the sudden appearance of patches and stripes of grey and white hair in my barnet. Google ”Marie Antoinette Syndrome” for more on the lineage of this.’ 

Louis had previously revealed he’d had his eyebrows tattooed on after shaving them off during his battle with the condition.

In his caption, Louis detailed his choice to undergo the treatment, writing: ‘I realise there are much bigger things to worry about in the world but… a while ago I shared that my eyebrows had basically disappeared due to alopecia…

‘I received a lot of nice messages, some suggesting I try “microblading”, a form of temporary tattoo. So that’s what I did! It took two sessions of a couple of hours…

‘I’m happy to have my old face back. The new brows are neater and more shapely than my “real” ones were. But there are a couple of wisps of my remaining hair in there which help make them look more natural.’

He then shed light on how his scalp is transforming and confessed some of the alopecia is ‘weird and depressing’, so he is yet to share images. 

In July Louis revealed that his alopecia had ‘slightly improved’ as he finally shared a snap of one of the ‘scalp lesions’  

He also announced he’d had his eyebrows tattooed on after shaving them off during his battle with the condition  

Louis continued: ‘Meanwhile more gaps – or “lesions” to use the technical term – have appeared on my scalp. I have photos of those which I may share at some point or I may not – they are a bit weird and depressing to look at tbh…

‘Life goes on. I am happy and healthy in every other way and I feel very grateful.’

After shaving off his eyebrows he took to Instagram with a slew of selfies showing off his transformation including a video depicting the moment he opted to remove the facial hair, having previously been candid about his battle with the condition.

He had previously shared with fans he was considering having his expressive eyebrows tattooed to save his career – and even debated microblading – a semi-permanent form of cosmetic tattooing.

The acclaimed journalist took the first step as he completely shaved off his eyebrows, showing the changing look in different angles in the three selfies.

He added a caption reading: ‘Can you tell what’s different? I’ve shaved off my eyebrows! I’m also thinking about getting micro blading soon. In the meanwhile I figure no eyebrows is better than patchy eyebrows. Do you agree?’