The news that Louis Theroux is considering tattooing his eyebrows has struck a nerve with fans. Theroux suffers from alopecia, but the fact that he’s considering a cosmetic procedure has unsettled many. There’s a feeling that if a serious journalist, who hasn’t traded up his specs for contacts in all the years he’s been in front of the camera, is now open to needle interventions then we’re in new territory. And we’re not sure we like it.
Women have been pushing men to take more care of themselves, appearance included, for the best part of two decades. Nasal hair and Denis Healey eyebrows died with the 20th century. Back waxing, something Sean Connery would have been appalled by, is a normal procedure for the very hairy man, while hair transplants (hilarious five years ago) are as unremarkable as gym memberships. You don’t have to be a metrosexual to keep your nails clipped. You don’t have to be Rylan to get your teeth whitened. But as much as we celebrate the cleaner, tidier sort of midlife man, we have an unspoken line in…
