Lebron James Hair Transplant Analysis
written by Matt Dominance
In this post you will find out:
- How many hair transplant surgeries did Lebron James have until 2020?
- How many grafts did he get? (Estimated)
- Was it FUE or FUT hair transplant?
- Has he already started using Finasteride(Propecia) and Minoxidil prior to his hair transplant? Is he using it now?
Lebron James Hair Loss Progression
Lebron started losing his hair in his early-mid 20’s. At first the hair loss on his corners wasn’t very obvious but in 2007-2008 it started to become very hard for him to mask his ongoing male pattern baldness progression.
He likely didn’t use the anti hair loss medication Finasteride during his 20’s as it used to be banned from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) as a potential “masking agent” for some performance-enhancing steroids.
Lebron James hair loss in his early 20´s
- 20-23 years old
- NW 1 – NW 2 transition pattern with diffuse hair loss on the frontal hairline
- Hairline starts losing its definition
- Likely not using Finasteride , because it has been banned from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) as a potential “masking agent” for some performance-enhancing steroids. As of 2018 WADA doesn´t list Finasteride on its prohibited list.
- Likely tried Minoxidil (Rogaine) but the consistency of use is unkown
Lebron James Hair Falls Out further in his mid - late 20´s
His ongoing hair loss progression between 2010 and 2014 just proves that he probably still wasn’t on any anti hair loss medication.
- An established NW4 hair loss pattern by his late 20´s
- Diffuse hair loss all over his whole frontal third and partially also mid-scalp region
- Temporal hair loss not as aggressive compared to his receding hairline
- Very likely he´s still not on any hair loss prevention by this time
- Hair loss is ongoing and slowly but steadily transitioning into a NW5 stage
Lebron James used fake hair known as hair fibers/concealer
Hair fibers/concealers give the hair an illusion of thicker and fuller hair.
The difference between somebody wearing hair fibers vs no hair fibers, however, is very easy to tell – especially by short hair.
Lebron James wears hair fibers/concealer in his movies (Trainwreck 2015), but also during his games and some of his Instagram stories.
During his post-match interviews it is more obvious how the hair fibers washed off because of sweating during the game.
Are hair fibers the whole story though? No, there is more to Lebron’s hair comeback!
Lebron James Hair Piece or a Hair Transplant?
Although many people can argue why Lebron might have been actually using a hair system/hair piece instead of getting a hair transplant. My opinion is different.
He is a professional athlete who is physically very active and keeps his hair rather short.
It is very unlikely that he had been wearing any type of hair system/hair piece. By looking at the photo below we can definitely see that his hair transformation likely happened as a result of a hair transplant and additional use of hair fibers instead of a hair system.
But let me bring more proofs to the table as to why it was in fact a hair transplant!
Did Lebron get FUE or FUT Hair Transplant?
First of all, yes it was a hair transplant and not a hair piece/hair system. How can we know that? Well, you only need to take a look at the photo below which shows some obvious signs of scarring.
Having such type of scarring at the back of the scalp (donor area) is very similar to patients who have had hair transplants in the past.
We can actually spot 2 types of hair transplant scars in this photo.
The red arrow shows a potential FUT strip scar or another random scar from some type of head injury.
If it actually was FUT procedure, the positioning of the scar is rather unusual because it is outside of the safe donor region.
The black arrow shows the area where hair follicles had been harvested via FUE.
Both scars (from FUE and FUT) will be visible once you decide to shave the areas where the scars are located at.
Scalp-micropigmentation is advised in such cases to mask the appearance of scarred tissue.
By growing the hair longer in these areas, the scars can be covered up with hair more easily.
Gradual hairline thickening after his hair transplant!
- 2014 – 2015
- Previously receding is gaining back definition and hair density after his 1st hair transplant
- Diffuse hair loss is still ongoing on his mid-scalp area and crown of the head
- No hair transplant has been performed on his temporal regions
- Hair loss is ongoing and slowly but steadily transitioning into a NW5 stage
Hair Loss will still continue after Lebron's Hair Transplant
Everyone who has already done a hair transplant without simultaneously being on anti hair loss medication like Finasteride knows that his hair will otherwise keep on receding further.
I know it myself, because I had to learn it the hard way at first. After my 1st hair transplant I decided not to take any medication but this strategy on kept my hair good looking for about 2 years before it started to thin out further.
Lebron James would have been a diffusely thinning NW5 if he hadn´t done a hair transplant
How many hairs did Lebron James have transplanted? (Approximation)
- Estimation based on the area transplanted is 1600-2000 grafts (hair units)
- Each graft produces 1-4 hairs (2 hairs on average)
- Lebron James could have gotten 3200-4000 hairs transplanted to his frontal hairline
- Transplanted hair looks natural but hair fibers are often used to enhance its thickness and mask mid-scalp and crown area hair loss
- Unnaturalness on the hairline is hard to evaluate by patients with Afro hair because its curly property restricts us from seeing how the hair is growing from the scalp. Neither we can tell whether the hairline looks pluggy or not.
- Transplanted hair seems to blend flawlessly with the native hair in the frontal third
- No obvious color difference between the transplanted and non-transplanted hair
- The APEX point (crossing between transplanted hairline and non-transplanted temple) shows great naturalness
Does Lebron James have enough donor hair to cover up his future hair loss?
- His donor area is already partially depleted by previous FUE and FUT surgery
- He likely won´t be able to sufficiently cover up his future hair loss (NW6 scenario is likely)
- Lebron James has will have to rely on using hair fibers in the future the way he does it currently
- Additional scalp-micropigmentation is advisable to cover up scarring on his donor area but also for additional coverage on the mid-scalp and crown
- Finasteride doesn´t seem to be prohibited by WADA anymore and it would be advisable in Lebron´s case to help him maintain the hair he still has
- As far as further hair loss prevention, Minoxidil and micro-needling with the derma roller 1.5mm (once per week) or 1.5mm derma-pen (once per week) could be utilized next to Finasteride use
- He´s likely to get another hair transplant in the future as his hair loss keeps progressing
Using Beard Hair for another FUE hair transplant?
- Beard follicles from underneath the chin can be additionally used for crown area and mid-scalp coverage by people with limited donor area in the occipital region
- Transplanting beard hair on the scalp is a recent strategy FUE surgeons learned to implement by patients who have already (are likely to) reach advanced Norwood stage (NW6 – NW7)
- Beard hair has been found to have the most similar properties to scalp hair as opposed to chest hair, leg, arms, pubic, back hair etc.
- Beard follicles only produce 1 hair on average, which is considered to be a slight disadvantage compared to scalp hair (producing 2 hairs on average)