Suffering from alopecia, how did Édouard Philippe regain his hair?

Two years ago, the physical metamorphosis of Édouard Philippe, former prime minister of Emmanuel Macron, was spectacular: of his beard and his slightly balding salt-and-pepper hair on the top of his head, not much remained . A white spot appears on his beard which spreads over the years, then it is the turn of the hair to become powdered white while the beard begins its evanescence. A year later, there is no longer any beard or eyebrows, and a few rare white hairs on the back of his head. The cause, says the politician in 2021, is vitiligo, an autoimmune disease which causes the skin or hair to turn white.

The story could have ended there. But in recent weeks, the physical appearance of the current mayor of Le Havre has once again intrigued some observers, based on the person’s televised appearances. The hair that some thought was gone forever has reappeared – brown, at that.

I experienced having this illness which was neither dangerous, nor contagious, nor painful, but visible. Very visible.

Édouard Philippe

To explain this strange change…