# Scientists Explain Mona Lisa's Missing Eyebrows

> Italian dermatologist claims Mona Lisa had rare hair loss condition.
- Title: Scientists Explain Mona Lisa's Missing Eyebrows · VICE
- Summary: Italian dermatologist claims Mona Lisa had rare hair loss condition. Italian dermatologist Luigi Laino says Mona Lisa's subject had alopecia areata…
- Keywords: mona lisa, aloepecia areata, luigi laino, leonardo da vinci, lis a gherardini, skin condition, news, culture, Scientists, Explain, Mona, Lisa's
- Source: VICE — https://vice.com/en/article/scientists-think-theyve-discovered-why-the-mona-lisa-has-no-eyebrows
- Author: Ashley Fike
- Published: 2026-10-28T14:38:24+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: mona lisa, aloepecia areata, luigi laino, leonardo da vinci, lis a gherardini, skin condition, news, culture
## Mona Lisa's Missing Eyebrows
Italian dermatologist Luigi Laino claims the Mona Lisa's subject had alopecia areata universalis, a rare autoimmune condition causing hair loss across the body.
## Four Key Signs
Laino points to missing eyebrows, absent eyelashes, an abrupt hairline, and smooth skin without scarring as evidence of alopecia.
## Lisa Gherardini's Life
Lisa Gherardini, the woman believed to have posed for the painting, married young, had six children, and faced personal loss during plague and political unrest.
## Other Medical Theories
Doctors previously suggested high cholesterol, hypothyroidism, and frontal fibrosing alopecia as possible causes for the Mona Lisa's features.
## Alternative Explanation
French engineer Pascal Cotte found evidence of an eyebrow hair in 2007, suggesting Leonardo originally painted brows that faded over time.
## Key takeaway

Italian dermatologist Luigi Laino says Mona Lisa's subject had alopecia areata universalis, a rare autoimmune condition causing hair loss across the body.