Joe Rogan Hair Transplant Failure! Here’s what went wrong!

Leave a Comment / Hair Transplant / By mattdominance

Joe Rogan Hair Transplant Failure! Here's what went wrong!

written by Matt Dominance

In this post you will find out about Joe Rogan and:

His hair loss story which made him get a hair transplant in his 20’s!
The secrets behind his FUT hair transplant and why it didn’t go as expected!?
Why did he end up totally bald despite having a hair transplant done and using Minoxidil in the past!?

Joe Rogan Hair Loss Story

Joe Rogan started losing his hair already in his early 20’s.

From this picture, you still can’t see any visible signs of hair loss because he already learned how to camouflage the receding corners.

His hairline started to recede irregularly – more on the right side and less on the left side.

By the time of 27 years old we can already see an obvious hairline recession.

Joe Rogan's experience with Minoxidil (Rogaine)

“I saved my hair with Minoxidil and then Minoxidil was hanging in there. After a while the hair was still falling out!”

Back in 1995 Minoxidil (Rogaine) was the only FDA approved treatment for male pattern baldness.

It is known that Joe had used Rogaine for slowing down his androgenetic alopecia progression but unfortunately it didn’t seem to benefit him very well as he admitted in one of his clips on YouTube.

Unfortunately Finasteride (Propecia) hasn’t been FDA approved for hair loss until 1997.

Had Joe started using Finasteride earlier on, he could have potentially slowed down his hair loss more effectively than with using Minoxidil (Rogaine).

Relying on Minoxidil as a monotherapy for treating hair loss hasn’t been shown as the best strategy as there is an increasing number of studies which prove the limitation of Minoxidil treatment for hair loss

2 Minoxidil (Rogaine) Limitations

LIMITATION 1 – lack of dht blocking properties

It only stimulates new hair growth by prolonging the anagen (growing) phase of the hair follicle but does nothing to stop further hair loss. Minoxidil doesn’t target the underlying cause of hair loss – androgen sensitivity of the hair follicles to DHT and TESTOSTERONE.

If the hair follicle sensitivity to androgens is greater than stimulation effects of Minoxidil, the follicle will miniaturize regardless.

Limitation 2 – suboptimal response rates to the treatment

For Minoxidil to be effective in stimulating new hair growth, it has to be first metabolized onto Minoxidil Sulfate. This process happens in the liver and on the scalp (by topical Minoxidil 5% application).

Thus, the effectiveness of Minoxidil relies predominantly on the individual ability of each patient to metabolize Minoxidil active ingredient into Minoxidil Sulfate on the scalp.

Recent studies have shown that only 40% of patients treated with Minoxidil in fact respond favorably to this treatment.

In this article on Minoxidil vs Minoxidil Shampoo I also talked about 3 scientifically proven ways on how to Boost Minoxidil Effectiveness for Non-Responders!

Joe Rogan gets his 1st Hair Transplant at 26/28 years old

Although we don’t have much information about his 1st, 2nd or 3rd hair transplant, we know, they were all FUT (follicular unit transplantation). This type of hair transplantation requires excision of the skin tissue from the back of the scalp (occipital region).

This skin tissue further contains the hair follicles which will be later dissected from the excised skin tissue and transplanted on the bald scalp.

In one of his clips, Joe admitted he had his hair transplant done when he was 28 years old while in the video below, he said his 1st hair transplant was at the age of 26.

Despite him having 2 hair transplant done in his mid-late 20’s, it never seemed like his hairline ever recovered or improved. In fact, It seems as if his hairline kept on receding further despite having 3 hair transplants done. He likely had 2 minor and 1 major one done.

Where is the big hairline comeback!?

If you look at any videos and photos of Joe Rogan between 1995 and 2005, it is very hard to spot any “boost” in his hairline. It just seems as if nothing really happened! So what went wrong with his hair transplants then?

On the photo above we can see that the scar on the back of his head. The length of the scar suggests that it wasn’t just a little procedure. Scars of similar length can easily yield from 2500-3000 hair follicles as it was the case with Machine Gun Kelly.

Such a high number of follicles would be very hard to overlook on the transplanted area unless the follicles didn’t grow back!!!

In the red rectangle you can see the rest of Joe’s thinning hair. Some of that hair is very likely transplanted, but there is not a lot of it after all.

After Joe decided to buzz his hair short and own the shaved head look, we could almost count every single wispy hair on his scalp. It’s quite odd, when his scar suggests at least 2500 hair follicles transplanted…

If the hair on the top is the transplanted hair only, it had been transplanted in a very low density initially.

Although it is also quite usual that not 100% of the transplanted hair grows back, but it always should be at 90% and higher. Unfortunately in Joe’s case, it seems like less than 10% of the transplanted hair grew back.

In on of his YouTube clips from 2018 he explained that his hair transplant didn’t work because his hair was way too thing and thus the end result didn’t look so good. But even then, we would at least be able to see way more hair follicles sprouting on top of his head.

This brings us to the following conclusion:

1. The hair after Joe’s hair transplants didn’t grow back as expected (likely less than 10% of the hair grew back)

2. The hair grew back initially but after some time it started to miniaturize as a result of Joe not taking Finasteride. On top of that he might have been also experimenting with anabolic steroids, Testosterone, etc.

With continuous use of performance enhancing drugs and no anti-hair loss treatments even the transplanted hair can miniaturize.

Surprisingly low FUT scar positioning could also explain why Joe’s transplanted hair thinned out over time.

In the ideal scenario the FUT scar would be positioned at least 1 cm higher compared to where Joe has it.

The positioning of his scar is risky because the hair which such excision yields has higher thinning potential as opposed to the hair from the “safe donor area.”

Why Shaving the head was the best decision for Joe Rogan?

After one unsuccessful hair transplant, it is normally common to get a repair surgery to correct what the 1st hair transplant didn’t provide and thus meet the patient’s expectations, in Joe Rogan’s case it wasn’t possible.

Joe Rogan was destined to become a NW6 – NW7 on the Hamilton-Norwood scale. In such case, even hair transplants come short. Trying to pursue another hair transplant in his case would have been twice as hard, because he already had his donor area depleted once with the first FUT.

And no matter if the hair transplant turns successful or not at the end, once the hair has been extracted from the donor area via FUT or FUE, this region becomes temporarily depleted.

The depletion level then depends on how many hair follicles have been extracted in total.

It’s great that he decided to just shave it, because any additional hair restoration attempts would have just delay the inevitable.

Even if his 1st major hair transplant turned successful (the one which resulted in the long scar), he still wouldn’t likely be able to cover up future baldness with his donor hair follicles which were left untouched.

In order to avoid causing more and more damage to the donor area with future hair transplants in exchange for a very little cosmetic improvement, he rather decided to shave his head.

It is always important to have a realistic outlook as a hair transplant patient. One should be aware of his limited donor hair supply and the future hair loss progression.

Because sooner or later, there will be a time when the donor area isn’t able to “keep up” with the patterned baldness and patients are then going to be left with partial hair coverage and depleted donor areas.

How Joe Biden got his hair transplant and failed to keep up with his future hair loss!

Joe Biden had his hair transplant done despite being destined for a NW6 – NW7 later on. Had Joe Rogan’s 1st hair transplant succeeded, his hair would have likely ended up like Joe Biden’s.

In Joe Biden’s case the transplanted hair actually grew back on his hairline but unfortunately he wasn’t able to save his native hair from falling out and thus ended up with only partial hair coverage on the front. This appearance is also known as the “Island of hairs” among hair transplant patients.

You can read my whole Hair Transplant Breakdown of Joe Biden here!

That’s why it is crucial to take hair loss prevention seriously and start with an effective treatment as soon as possible.

Maintaining as much of one’s native hair as possible can drastically diminish the demands for transplanted hair follicles. This allows you to utilize hair restoration as a long term hair preservation method without running out of the donor hair supply.

You can check out my article on “The Big 3 of Hair Loss Prevention” which shows you how to avoid future hair loss the most effective and science-based way!

Remember: The transplanted hair can only look great as long as the hair round it looks great!

Check out the Celebrity Hair Transplant Section on this site for more hair transplant breakdowns!

Considering a Hair Transplant?

Joe Biden Hair Plugs

Leave a Comment / Hair Transplant / By mattdominance

Joe Biden Hair Plugs

written by Matt Dominance

In this post you will find out about Joe Biden and:

The secrets behind his old hair plugs and hairline transformation!
Norwood stage before his hair transplant!
Whether he is or isn’t likely to be using Finasteride(Propecia) to prevent future hair loss?
Why did he end up half bald despite having hair transplant done in the past!?

Joe Biden before getting Hair Plugs

Joe Biden didn’t seem to exhibit any signs of male pattern baldness until his late 20’s.

In his early 30’s we can already see him with receding hairline.

Unfortunately back in the 1970’s – 1980’s there was no effective treatment for male pattern baldness like Minoxidil or Finasteride (Propecia). These treatments hadn’t been approved by the FDA until 1990’s.

If he started using Finasteride back in the early stages of his hair loss, the progression of his hairline recession would had likely progressed much slower.

How Joe Biden got his Hair Plugs

Although the exact year of his hair transplant procedure is not clear, it is very likely that he had done hair plugs in his late 30’s – probably by the age of 38-39.

In the video interview on CNN from 1981 we can already spot him with the transplanted hair.

By the time he decided to get his hair transplant, his hair loss already progressed to a NW 6 on the Hamilton-Norwood scale.

Thus, the hair plugs had to be implanted strategically on the frontal third of his scalp to make him look like he wasn’t losing hair on the front.

Unfortunately the density wasn’t very high and that’s why he had to comb the newly implanted hair over his scalp to achieve a better coverage.

His hairline seemed to match his hair loss progression at that time, but as the years went by and his hair loss on the mid-scalp and crown kept on progressing, he was eventually unable to keep up with the male pattern baldness progression.

This unfortunately led to the “island of hairs” which many hair transplant patients can experience with time.

What does “Island of hairs” mean?

Island of hairs can occur, when transplanted hair looks almost as if it would be separated from the rest of the scalp hair.

This happens due to the ongoing androgenic alopecia progression and further hair miniaturization on the mid-scalp and crown area.

Key thing to understand before undergoing a hair transplant!

The transplanted hair can only look great as long as the hair round it looks great!

In case your native hair loses its thickness or reaches advanced stages of shaft miniaturization, you risk a very unnatural appearance!

This unnaturalness is created as a result of an obvious contrast between the robust-looking transplanted hair vs thinned out native hair.

For some reason Joe Biden decided not to have another hair transplant or he was advised not to have it because of his potential donor area limitations.

How did Joe Biden's Transplanted Hairline change over time?

Even transplanted hair can change its thickness, color and texture over time. The same has also happened to Joe Biden’s transplanted hairline.

At first, the implanted hair used to look more pluggy and robust, but over time it turned out more and more natural? How is it possible?

Lower skin-hair contrast

As people age, the number of pigment-containing cells (melanocytes) in the skin may decrease. Simultaneously hair medulla produces less and less pigment which causes the hair shafts turn white.

Eventually, a very low contrast environment between the skin shade and hair shade is created, which makes the hairline look that much softer.

Transplanted hair thinning

Transplanted hair can also miniaturize with time – especially if no anti-hair loss treatment is being utilized. The implanted hair follicles usually don’t fall out entirely, even if patients are not on any treatment e.g. Minoxidil and Finasteride.

Even though transplanted hair miniaturization is considered a bad thing. In case the miniaturization is only minor though, it can actually make the previously robust-looking hairline more softer and more natural-looking.

Since it doesn’t seem like Joe Biden has been using Finasteride, it is likely that his transplanted hair has suffered from some degree of miniaturization.

Additional hair transplant (hairline correction surgery)

It’s also likely, that Joe Biden might have done additional hair transplant correction surgery over the years to soften his hairline, and add some more density to it. This could explain why his hairline looks softer and more natural today.

Consequences of Ongoing Hair Loss + Juvenile Transplanted Hairline

Patients who are predisposed for becoming a NW6 – NW7 on the Hamilton-Norwood scale in the future, should think twice before deciding how to have their transplanted hairline positioned.

Although there is nothing wrong with getting a hair transplant as somebody with further hair loss potential in the future, it is important to minimize the future hair loss progression with treatments first, and then consider a hair transplant.

In such case, a more conservative approach towards hairline design should be prioritized.

Check out the Celebrity Hair Transplant Section on this site for more hair transplant breakdowns!

Considering a Hair Transplant?

Tory Lanez New Hairline

1 Comment / Hair Transplant / By mattdominance

Tory Lanez Hair Transplant Analysis

written by Matt Dominance

In this post you will find out about Tory Lanez and:

The secrets behind his hairline transformation!
His hair doctor, price for his FUE hair transplant!
Norwood stage before his hair transplant!
Whether he is or isn’t likely to be using Finasteride(Propecia) or not?
Why is he still losing more hair!?
FUE vs FUT for Afro-textured hair – which one is better!?

Tory Lanez Hair Loss before his Hair Transplant

His hair loss started at a relatively young age (as it was the case with Xherdan Shaqiri). On the photo below we can see how Tory’s corners are vividly thinning. He was about 23-24 years old in this photo.

Tory’s mistake was not taking anti-hair loss medication seriously and thus letting his hair loss progress.

You can check out my article on “The Big 3 of Hair Loss Prevention”

Most of the men who develop advanced hair loss (Norwood 6 or Norwood 7) over the course of their lifetime, are usually also the men who start also experiencing hair loss early on.

In order to minimize the chance of becoming completely bald later on, one should start exploring the proven ways of combating hair loss as soon as first signs of male pattern hair loss appear.

Tory Lanez Hairline after his FUE Hair Transplant

After his FUE hair transplant with Dr. Ziering in LA, Tory ended up with roughly 2000 hair follicles transplanted. The follicles come from the back of his head (donor area).

The removal of the hair follicles also leaves tiny circle-like scars which should never be concentrated way too close to one another. Otherwise the hair on the donor area will grow in patches after the hair transplant.

The price he paid for his hair transplant was abut 15$ per graft (hair follicle). You can also check out my whole video, where he was discussing the details about his hair doctor, price and overall hair transplant experience.

He also admitted in one of his interviews about hair, that Tyga has recommended him Dr. Ziering and his clinic for the transplantation.

Although Tyga and Tory both have gotten awesome results from the FUE hair transplant despite having curly Afro-textured hair, there are is a little warning for all the patients with curly hair interested in FUE.

Transplanted area

Below you can see the approximation for the transplanted area. The final number of hair follicles transplanted in this case is somewhere around 2000. Tory also mentioned in this video he paid around 30.000$ in total for his procedure. We already know that the price per extracted hair follicle is 15$.

Hair transplant naturalness

This screenshot has been taken from the interview, where Tory mentioned having his FUE hair transplant done 8 months ago.

You can still spot slight difference in color between the transplanted hair on the temple vs the hair on his sides. The transplanted hair on his hairline, however, already blends pretty well with the rest of his hair.

FUE Hair Transplant with Afro/Curly Hair - WARNING!

Hair follicle transection

Transection of the hair follicle causes irreversible damage to the hair in many cases. Depending on the location of where the transection occurred, the hair may or may not grow again.

If the transection occurs above the hair bulge area (hair stem-cell producing area), the hair may in fact grow again. Transections lower than that usually cause irreversible damage to the hair.

This results in total disruption of the communication between the stem cells and dermal papilla.

Why the graft transection is especially high with Afro hair?

On the picture below you can see why straight hair is the easiest to extract with a punching device used during FUE hair transplants and why Afro hair is the most challenging to extract without damaging it.

How can be graft transection avoided?

Whether an Afro-textured–haired patient is a good candidate for FUE is never 100% sure. That’s why some FUE hair doctors conduct a small initial test in which the surgeon takes out about 100 hair follicles from the donor area and then evaluates how many of them were accidentally transected.

If the transection rate is less than 10%, the patient may consider getting FUE hair transplant with good results.

Best punching tool for minimizing the transection rate by Afro haired patients

The most ideal punching tool based on this study on 17 patients with Afro hair is a curved nonrotary punch. Furthermore, it has been shown that dull rotary punches were safer to use in patients with Afro-textured hair compared to sharp rotary punches.

Why FUT Hair Transplant might be more suitable for Afro-textured hair?

FUT hair transplant used to be the nr. 1 choice for transplanting large number of hair follicles of any texture. With the latest improvements in the FUE as well as FUE physicians sharpening their skills more and more, it is now possible to achieve very low transection rates with follicular unit extraction also.

Why the transection rate with FUT is still lower than with FUE by patients with Afro hair?

Every hair transplant doctor knows, that Afro hair is very unpredictable in terms of the curl underneath the skin. This makes it especially challenging to properly encompass the hair follicle with a punching tool.

On top of that, the hair follicles tend to have different angles of growth based on a particular region of the scalp. For example on the temples, the hair grows at a very acute (sharp) angles while on the crown area, the angles are less acute.

Similar differences in the angle of hair growth has been observed on the donor area.

FUT hair transplant successfully bypasses both of these challenges.

Excision of a strip of skin tissue from the back of the head with hair follicles in it allows the hair transplant doctor to minimize the hair follicle transection.

By looking at the excised strip under a stereo microscope, it is possible to see the curl of the hair follicle underneath the skin. This will make it easier to successfully dissect the hair follicles with least possible transection rate.

Tory Lanez used PRP treatment for hair loss! Was it a good idea?

Tory admitted he has done “PRP shots” in conjunction with his recent hair transplant. Although many doctors like to include PRP after the hair transplant to promote faster hair regrowth and healing post-op, the efficacy of PRP for long term androgenetic alopecia management is still not as rock solid as we might hope.

Since PRP (platelet rich plasma) does not suppress the hormonal component of androgenetic alopecia, many doctors started to doubt its efficacy.

Another disadvantage of PRP is no standardized protocol of preparing platelet derived plasma as well as optimal frequency of the treatment.

Studies on PRP deliver mixed results and although most of them yield positive results, they often times don’t have large enough sample size for better statistical significance.

Why is Tory Lanez losing more hair despite his hair plugs!?

Yes, hair transplant can get you some of your hair back, but it can’t make the rest of your native hair resistant to further hair loss.

This is unfortunately what many guys (who are not on any anti hair loss treatments) experience after their hair transplant.

Further hair loss on Tory’s mid-scalp and vertex

On the photo below you can see how his hair loss keeps on progressing on the rest of his head. This is a clear indication of not being on any potent anti hair loss treatment. In cases like this, PRP only can never suffice as a monotherapy.

During the interview on the “Breakfast Club” I immediately noticed that Tory Lanez is not on the FDA approved treatments like Minoxidil or Finasteride.

Otherwise his hair loss on the mid-scalp and crown area wouldn’t have been so severe.

If we look at his older photos from 2015 or 2016, his hair loss in these regions wasn’t that bad.

However, if he decides to keep going without any proven treatment, he will have to rely on more hair transplants in the future, scalp micro-pigmentation or hair fibers.

This may of course result in depleting his donor area or inability to successfully cover his future baldness with the limited number of hair follicles still available on the back and sides of his scalp.

2021 Update: Tory Lanez no Finasteride - Conesquences!

The whole internet seemed to roast Tory Lanez about his sudden hair loss behind his previously transplanted area.

Well, was it really that sudden?

Likely not. He just kept his hair fairly short on the scalp so the diffuse thinning on the mid-scalp and vertex area didn’t attract much attention. However, once he decided to grew his hair out, the contrast between transplanted hair density vs native hair density is mind-boggling.

Some people thing his hair transplant fail, but did it really?

No. In this post we have already seen that his transplanted hair on the hairline and temples grew in just fine. The problem was his careless approach towards his existing hair. Although it seems he did some PRP (platelet rich plasma) injections in the past to preserve his native hair, it wasn’t enough. It certainly wasn’t the best he could have done!

Check out the Celebrity Hair Transplant Section on this site for more hair transplant breakdowns!

Considering a Hair Transplant?

Matthew McConaughey – Hair Loss Secrets Revealed!

1 Comment / Hair Transplant / By mattdominance

Matthew McConaughey Hair Loss Secrets Revealed!

written by Matt Dominance

Matthew McConaughey Hair Transplant or Not?

Matthew McConaughey is another celebrity from the Celebrity Hair Transplant section on this site!

Enjoy the read!

In this post you will find out:

Did Matthew have a hair transplant or is he wearing a wig/hair system?
Hair loss analysis of Matthew McConaughey!
Matthew’s Norwood stage before getting his hair back and now!
Has he already started using Finasteride(Propecia) in his early days of losing hair?

Before His Hair Transformation

Hair Situation in his early 30´

30 – 32 years old
Visible signs of male pattern baldness
Norwood 3 Class established with diffuse thinning on the hairline (see Norwood Scale)
Corners are noticeably receded by this time
Mid-frontal point on the hairline seems to be diffusely thinning as well
No visible loss in hair density on the mid-scalp and crown
Finasteride has been FDA approved in 1997 when Matthew was 28 years old. Later on in this post I will explain why Matt is probably a long-term Finasteride user

The road to Matthew McConaughey's New Hair! 1999 vs 2003

Hair Transplant or a Wig?

From 2003 on, Matthew’s hairline looks fuller, more straight, and dense
His hair loss went from a NW3 to a NW1
New hairline as a result of being only on a hair loss treatment like Finasteride is unlikely
Finasteride is almost never able to give a NW3 hairline its full thickness and density and thus make it a NW1 again
Hair Transplant or wig are equally possible by this time and it’s hard to rule out either of them by now

Why no Hair Transplant for McConaughey?

On the photos below we can notice a huge difference in the hairline shape and density between 2014 and 2015.

Assuming Matthew had a hair transplant until 2014, why would his hairline look soo receded just 1 year later? Did his transplanted hair fall out out of the sudden?

It’s very unlikely. Although transplanted hair can become thinner with time (if patients are not on medication e.g Finasteride), it can never fall out completely. Especially not in a matter of 1 year from looking amazing in 2014 to completely receded in 2015.

Matt’s hairline shows quite of an inconsistency in November 2015 as he was spot on his YouTube channel (photo on the left)
His hair is buzzed short and shows signs of at least a NW2 – NW3 with diffuse thinning on the mid-scalp while his hair looked perfect at the 2014 Oscars
McConaughey’s hairline in 2020 looks exactly as in 2014 (see photo below)

Matthew McConaughey Hair System Proof in 2015?

In 2015 things start looking pretty inconsistent with Matthew’s hairline and we can spot him on multiple different photos with similar type of hair loss pattern.

Out of the sudden, it seems like his NW1 hairline from 2003 -2014 doesn’t seem to be the same and we keep getting more and more confirmations as to why he could be actually wearing a hair system/wig during his movies, red carpet appearances and TV interviews.

By zooming in onto the photos below (taken in 2015) we can see an obvious hair loss recession on his both corners as well as diffuse thinning in the mid-scalp section.

If he had a hair transplant back in 2003 on his receding corners we shouldn’t be able to see them receded in 2015.

Although further hair loss on his mid-scalp would be acceptable and could be explained as progressive hair loss with his age, the corners should look much more denser (assuming he has done a hair transplant in 2003).

Way more likely than a hair transplant, the photos and video footage from 2015 suggest that he is in fact wearing a (partial) hair system, which we can see in all of his movies, interviews, TV appearances and red carpet events.

When his hair is buzzed, it’s obvious that the frontal hairline is lacking the density (especially on the corners).

The diffuse thinning on his mid-scalp can rarely be seen in his movies. It’s simply because he is covering it with a partial hair system/wig.

It’s not 100% sure whether he is using a partial wig or a full head wig for the entire top of his scalp. It’s likely that he has both types of wigs.

Can wigs look so natural as McConaughey hairline does?

Let’s compare a few hair system types to Matthew’s hairline between 2003 and 2020 and see if it would be possible to make it look so natural also with a hair system or a partial wig.

The wig examples come from hairsay514 who is a talented wig maker from Canada.

Soft feather-like start of the hairline due to soft single hair unit placement in the hair system unit on the left but also on the right in Matthew’s hairline
The hair density in both cases looks similar

Many people think, that McConaughey had a hair transplant 100% but as you have seen, even hair systems (partial or entire ones) can look pretty undetectable on the hairline.

Even if the hair is slicked back and the hairline is exposed completely, it is very hard to tell whether somebody is or isn’t wearing a wig.

Highly customized wigs are even less detectable because of precise measurements and perfect adjustment between the skin-hair contrast.

Matthew has definitely a wide range of different custom-made hair systems of different lengths and colors.

Matthew McConaughey Long Hair in Surfer Dude (2008) and Magic Mike (2012)

How could Matt have such a long natural-looking hair in some of his movies like Magic Mike, Surfer Dude or Mud?

By taking a look at the photos below comparing Matt’s blonde hairline vs a hair system we can see that it wouldn’t be totally insane to claim that he actually wore a blonde wig in all of these movies.

Short Hair System during Interstellar (2014) and 2014 Oscars

In 2014 we can see Matt with a relatively short haircut compared to previous years and what you can see on the photos below is likely to be a result of his natural hair in combination with a partial wig.

He likely uses it especially for his frontal third, where his original hair is the most receded.

100% Hair System Proof in the "Beach Bum" Movie (2019)

In 2019 Matthew starred in several movies: Beach Bum, The Gentlemen, and The Serenity.

In the movie “Beach Bum” his hair is very long and dyed blond while in the 2 other movies from 2019 his hair is shorter and has a dark brown color.

On top of that, he was spot with this long hair dyed blond nowhere besides the actual movie Beach Bum.

By looking at his TV appearances from 2019, he was spot having the hair as in the movies “The Gentlemen” or “The Serenity.”

Matthew McConaughey Hair Loss in 2017

During the same year Matthew has been interviewed by American Masters where his hair thinning pattern from 2015 is obvious again. You can watch it in this YouTube video.

During his movies appearances between 2016 and 2018 though, we see him with much better and denser looking hairlines.

This creates another inconsistency with his hair loss progression and makes us question his hair transplant more and more.

Matthew McConaughey in 2020

Seeing Matthew with NW1 hairline in 2020 with full hair density on the corners just confirms the wig scenario more than the hair transplant scenario.

Even though he probably didn’t have a major hair transplant, it’s likely he has still been using hair loss treatments for a long time because otherwise his thinning hair in 2017 would look much worse than it used to back in 1999.

Matthew McConaughey is probably the nr.1 celebrity who was able to pull out hair systems in the most natural and undetectable way unlike John Travolta or Jude Law, who used to wear wigs as well but in a more obvious fashion.

Check out the Celebrity Hair Transplant Section on this site for more hair transplant breakdowns!

Considering a Hair Transplant?

Bradley Cooper hair transplant before and after

Bradley Cooper Hair Transplant Analysis

Leave a Comment / Hair Transplant / By mattdominance

Bradley Cooper Hair Transplant Analysis

written by Matt Dominance

Bradley Cooper Hair Transplant

In this post you will find out:

How many hair transplant surgeries did Bradley Cooper have?
How many grafts did he get? (Estimated)
Was it FUE or FUT hair transplant?
The Norwood stage before getting his hair transplant?
Has he already started using Finasteride(Propecia) prior to his hair transplant? Is he using it now?

Hair Transformation Timeline

Bradley Cooper’s hair loss started looking obvious in his early 30’s. Good example for his first signs of male pattern hair loss is the movie “Wedding Crashers” from 2005.

Below you can see some photos of him being a NW2 – NW3.

Hair Situation in his early-mid 30´s

30 – 34 years old
Visible signs of male pattern baldness
Norwood 2 Class established with further progression to Norwood 3 (see Norwood Scale)
Corners are noticeably balding by this time
Mid-frontal point on the hairline seems to be preserved on some photos with longer hair
However the hairline seems to be diffusely thinning on photos with short hair
No visible loss in hair density on the mid-scalp and crown
Likely not on any hair loss treatments e.g Finasteride due to continuous hair loss worsening until his early 30’s

The road to Bradley Cooper's New Hair!

Bradley’s hairline massively improved between the movies “Yes Man” with Jim Carrey in 2008 and the first part of the trilogy “The Hangover” in 2009.

In case you might think it was a hair system/wig, keep reading further as I am going to discuss it also.

HAIRLINE RESTORATION

Frontal hairline has been rebuilt on the corners without obvious lowering
Estimated hair density on the new hairline and previous balding corners: 45-50 grafts per square cm (graft= hair unit containing 1 or more hairs)
Low see-through effect in the transplanted hairline
Possible hair restoration on temples (upper region of the temple)
High density of single hairs in the hairline with very high level of naturalness
By looking at his hairline in 2005 vs 2008 it seems like he hasn’t lost much hair in-between which potentially suggests Finasteride use

Bradley Cooper Hair Hangover (2009)

During Hangover Movie (2009) we were able to see Bradley with his typical long hair he had throughout the whole Hangover trilogy.

This was one of his first big movies where he already had some work done on his hairline and corners.

When did Bradley have his hair transplant?

He most likely had his hair transplant done in 2008. By looking at his hairline in the movie “Yes Man” in 2008 it is obvious that it still looks receded. In the movie “Hangover” from 2009 though, his hairline looks much fuller already.

Check it out on the photo below.

Bradley Cooper Hair Transplant: How many hair follicles did he get? (Approximation)

One graft/hair follicle contains 2 hairs on average. It always contains at least 1 hair and some grafts can carry up to 4-5 hairs. Having high hair per graft average is one of the signs of being a great hair transplant candidate!

The final number of grafts which Bradley likely had transplanted can be estimated based on his hair loss pattern prior to the hair transplant.

His classification was a NW2 – NW3 transition. Normally, patients with a similar hair loss progression get at least 1500 grafts transplanted.

1500 is most likely the lower range and it would suffice to fill out his receding corners. In case the doctor decided to transplant new follicles into his frontal forelock (with plenty of native hair growing), the final number could be around 2000.

White marks demonstrate the areas which were likely transplanted
Estimation of 1500-2000 grafts is based on the previously receding area (hairline and corners on both sides)
Estimated hair per graft average (average number of hairs growing from each graft/hair unit) = 2 – 2.4
Estimated number of hairs transplanted could be at least 3000 up to 4800 hairs

Did Bradley Cooper get FUE or FUT Hair Transplant?

The easiest way how to tell if someone had FUT or FUE hair transplant is to look at the donor area (back and sides of the scalp).

In Bradley Cooper’s case it´s hard to see the FUE/FUT proof on the back of his head as it was the case with Machine Gun Kelly or Lebron James.

Bradley always kept his hair long since his hair transplant in 2008.

Maybe we´ll be able to tell it with 100% assurance in the future, once Bradley cuts his sides and back very short (5mm or less).

For now, I´d say FUE until I don´t see any strong FUT proof like a linear scar on the donor area.

Bradley Cooper Long Hair vs Short Hair

Below you can see a photo of Bradley Cooper’s transplanted hair while it’s long vs short. How detectable and natural does his hair transplant look in both situations?

Bradley Cooper’s restored hairline doesn´t start with a very high hair density but it does look natural because of single hair follicle placement in his hairline and corners.

During the first hair transplant one should always focus on ending up with a natural looking hairline instead of obsessing about density.

High dense-packing of hair follicles is technically possible with the hair transplant, but in many cases the survival of the implanted hair follicles can be compromised due to insufficient blood supply in the recipient (transplanted) area.

On the photo below (short buzz cut hairstyle), we can notice how his hair looks more sparse in the frontal forelock area.

When men want to end up with a dense-looking buzzcut after a hair transplant while perfectly blending the transplanted hair with the native hair, hair fibers or concealers are almost a necessity to make it look the best!

Transplanted hair tends to look the best in a certain length. Only then its coverage property can be properly utilized.

For some people it means letting the transplanted hair grow at least 5cm, while for other it might be 8cm or more.

Besides the decreased hair density on the buzz cut photo, the naturalness and transplanted hair direction are spot on.

Why is Bradley not wearing a wig/hair system?

Bradley Cooper’s series of short haircuts in his movies between 2012 and 2015 shows a high consistency of the same hairline, hairline shape and same hair density.

His hairline seems to perfectly match the rest of his hair. For it to be a hair system, we would have definitely found some inconsistencies in his hairlines between 2008 and 2020.

There is no such proof which would suggest the use of a wig or a hair system in his case unlike in case of Matthew McConaughey.

Despite McConaughey’s seemingly dense-looking hairline from 2003 – 2020, I was able to find many inconsistencies which eventually lead to my final decision of: Matthew McConaughey has been a wig user for many years!

Bradley Cooper doesn’t seem to go the same road and his hair loss reversal came as a result of one or more hair transplants by this time + being on anti hair loss medication.

Bradley Cooper "A Star Is Born" Hair (2018)

In this movie, Bradley’s hair transplant is probably the least obvious. His hair is either slicked back or the strands are slicked onto the left and right corners.

Wearing long hair after the hair transplant always takes a little bit off of the hair transplant detectability.

Long hair can be used to camouflage improper hair follicle placement in the hairline or lagging density.

Had I seen Bradley in this movie for the first time in my life, I would have never guessed he had a hair transplant!

Is Bradley Cooper on Finasteride?

Yes is likely to be the answer. My guess would be, that he actually took Finasteride back in 2005 and kept taking it until his hair transplant in 2008.

It is also likely that the 5 alpha reductase inhibitor he uses doesn’t have to be exactly Finasteride but also Dutasteride.

Dutasteride is not FDA approved for treating male pattern baldness but it can be used instead of Finasteride. In fact celebrities like Ashton Kutcher has admitted Dutasteride use for his hair loss since his mid 20’s.

He most likely wasn´t taking it prior to his 30’s but after his hair transplant in 2009 he probably gave it a try to maintain his hair transplant together with his naturally thinning hair all around.

Without getting a hair transplant and without finasteride he could have already been at least a NW4 by now.

Considering a Hair Transplant?

Where is the crown of the head?

Leave a Comment / Hair Transplant / By mattdominance

Hair Plugs vs Hair Transplant

written by Matt Dominance

In this post you will find out:

What are hair plugs?
How did hair transplants change from 1930 until 2020?
Older Plugs vs Modern Hair Transplant Techniques – How to spot a difference?

What are Hair Plugs?

Hair plugs can be explained as bundles of grafts (follicular units), which contain up to 20-30 hairs.

One graft (follicular unit) contains 1-5 hairs, but on average only 2. Such follicular unit is less than 1mm in size.

On the other hand, hair plugs can range from 1mm 5mm in size, which makes them look very obvious when implanted on the frontal hairline for example.

Their robust look is created mainly due to grouping of several multiple follicular units (units containing 2-4 grafts) and implanting them way too far from each other. This increases the see-through effect and unnaturalness.

Hair Plugs in the 1950´s - 1990´s

Plugs were spaced out way too far from each other
Hairlines looked unnatural due to grafting the plugs on the front of the hairline
Each plug contained from 10-30 hairs per unit
Hair plugs have been punched out from the back side of the scalp (donor area)
The size of the plugs ranged from 2-5mm
They left obvious scarring on the donor area
Nowadays hair transplant doctors still occasionally repair hairlines of patients who got hair plugs years ago

History of Hair Plugs

Hair plugs were first introduced back in the 1950´s by Dr. Norman Orentreich, who utilized the hair plug experiment in his office. His goal was to find out whether the hair plugs (extracted from the occipital region of the scalp) could survive once they are implanted on the balding front.

After the grafted hair successfully grew back on previously bald area, more and more doctors started utilizing this hair transplantation method until the late 1980´s.

In the late 1980´s Dr. Limmer introduced stereo microscope to dissect a single donor strip into small micro-grafts (micro follicular units).

These micro-grafts were much smaller in size and also contained way few hairs per graft compared to the ancient plugs.

Joe Biden's Hair Transplant with Plugs

Joe Biden had plugs done back in the 1980´s. Since then, he has done several hair transplants incl. small hair transplant repair surgeries using modern hair transplant techniques like FUE to make his hairline more refined and softer-looking.

You can check out my Hair Transplant Analysis of Joe Biden on YouTube if you want to know more about his hair transplant journey.

Joe Biden's Hair Transplant Breakdown on YouTube

Modern Hair Transplant Techniques

After the introduction of stereo microscope in the late 1980´s, FUT/FUSS (follicular unit strip surgery) started to take off. Simultaneously, there was Dr. Ray Woods in Australia performing the very first FUE (follicular unit extraction) as we know it today.

FUT and FUE are two most widespread types of hair transplants while FUE being the younger one.

Both – FUT and FUE have achieved a significant state of art over the last 30 years, in fact there are doctors out there nowadays who can perform the one or the other with almost no detectability.

Low detectability of hair transplant results comes usually as a result of surgeon´s skill and experience, use of stereo microscope to refine and trim more robust-looking follicles, as well as using very thin follicles from the nape area for temporal and hairline hair restoration.

BHT (body hair transplant) is another form of FUE hair transplant which allows surgeons to successfully extract the body hair follicles from the chin, beard, chest, back and armpit areas.

Such hair follicles can be additionally utilized for scalp coverage in cases when the person doesn´t have enough donor hair in the donor area (back side of the scalp).

DHI (direct hair implantation) is also sometimes falsely classified as a hair transplant technique, but in reality it´s just a different graft placement technique.

DHI can be utilized during FUE or FUT. This placement technique allows the surgeon to place the hair follicle into the recipient area without needing to create a channel in it first.

Hair Plugs vs Modern Hair Transplants

Hair plugs initially proved that the extracted hair follicles from the donor area (back side of the scalp) can successfully grow on the recipient area (balding area of the scalp). Dr. Orientreich in 1950´s.

It doesn´t mean though, that hair plugs should be utilized for hair restoration for ever. Because of their robust look and unnaturalness (if placed on the hairline) many people know them as “Doll hair.”

With the introduction of the FUE, FUT in combination with stereo microscope use, hair restoration became modernized.

Nowadays, hair plugs are not being performed anymore because of the two superior hair transplant techniques – FUE and FUT.

The constant development of these modern hair transplant techniques allows patients to achieve sometimes even undetectable hair transplant outcomes. Outcomes, which are so natural-looking it is hard to distinguish them from non-transplanted hairlines.

Hair plugs were also known for leaving large rounded scars on the donor area (sometimes 2-5 mm broad) due to using a punching tool with a large diameter. With the modern FUE though, the surgeons use punches of 0.6 – 1mm which do leave much smaller rounded scars.

The difference in punch size by hair plugs vs FUE is obvious. In case you´re interested how the donor area from the photo below looks like several weeks/months later, make sure you check out my post-op progress after my 2nd hair transplant.

Hair Plugs vs Hair Transplant

Leave a Comment / Hair Transplant / By mattdominance

Hair Plugs vs Hair Transplant

written by Matt Dominance

In this post you will find out:

What are hair plugs?
How did hair transplants change from 1930 until 2020?
Older Plugs vs Modern Hair Transplant Techniques – How to spot a difference?

What are Hair Plugs?

Hair plugs can be explained as bundles of grafts (follicular units), which contain up to 20-30 hairs.

One graft (follicular unit) contains 1-5 hairs, but on average only 2. Such follicular unit is less than 1mm in size.

On the other hand, hair plugs can range from 1mm 5mm in size, which makes them look very obvious when implanted on the frontal hairline for example.

Hair Plugs in the 1950´s - 1990´s

Plugs were spaced out way too far from each other
Hairlines looked unnatural due to grafting the plugs on the front of the hairline
Each plug contained from 10-30 hairs per unit
Hair plugs have been punched out from the back side of the scalp (donor area)
The size of the plugs ranged from 2-5mm
They left obvious scarring on the donor area
Nowadays hair transplant doctors still occasionally repair hairlines of patients who got hair plugs years ago

History of Hair Plugs

After the grafted hair successfully grew back on previously bald area, more and more doctors started utilizing this hair transplantation method until the late 1980´s.

In the late 1980´s Dr. Limmer introduced stereo microscope to dissect a single donor strip into small micro-grafts (micro follicular units).

These micro-grafts were much smaller in size and also contained way few hairs per graft compared to the ancient plugs.

Joe Biden's Hair Transplant with Plugs

You can check out my Hair Transplant Analysis of Joe Biden on YouTube if you want to know more about his hair transplant journey.

Joe Biden's Hair Transplant Breakdown on YouTube

Modern Hair Transplant Techniques

FUT and FUE are two most widespread types of hair transplants while FUE being the younger one.

Both – FUT and FUE have achieved a significant state of art over the last 30 years, in fact there are doctors out there nowadays who can perform the one or the other with almost no detectability.

BHT (body hair transplant) is another form of FUE hair transplant which allows surgeons to successfully extract the body hair follicles from the chin, beard, chest, back and armpit areas.

Such hair follicles can be additionally utilized for scalp coverage in cases when the person doesn´t have enough donor hair in the donor area (back side of the scalp).

DHI (direct hair implantation) is also sometimes falsely classified as a hair transplant technique, but in reality it´s just a different graft placement technique.

DHI can be utilized during FUE or FUT. This placement technique allows the surgeon to place the hair follicle into the recipient area without needing to create a channel in it first.

Hair Plugs vs Modern Hair Transplants

With the introduction of the FUE, FUT in combination with stereo microscope use, hair restoration became modernized.

Nowadays, hair plugs are not being performed anymore because of the two superior hair transplant techniques – FUE and FUT.

Are you interested in a hair transplant but don´t know where to start?

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Hair Transplant in Turkey – The Truth

16 Comments / Hair Transplant / By mattdominance

machine gun kelly hair transplant before and after

Machine Gun Kelly Hair Transplant Analysis

Leave a Comment / Hair Transplant / By mattdominance

Machine Gun Kelly Hair Transplant Analysis

written by Matt Dominance

In this post you’ll find out:

How many hair transplant surgeries did Machine Gun Kelly have?
How many grafts did he get? (Estimated)
Was it FUE or FUT hair transplant?
The Norwood stage before getting his hair transplant?
Has he already started using Finasteride(Propecia) and Minoxidil prior to his hair transplant? Is he using it now?

MGK Before Hair Transplant

MGK started losing his hair already in his early 20’s. By the time he turned 24-25, he was already seriously balding.

His loss progression back then could be described on a Norwood scale between NW2 and NW3.

With high probability MGK hasn’t been taking any hair loss preventative medication during his early 20’s.

This unfortunately turned him into a Norwood 3 quite fast!

It’s crucial to focus on slowing down/stopping your hair loss progression in order to end up in a similar situation as MGK did in his early-mid 20’s!

Also read “The Big 3 of Hair Loss Prevention” to help you keep your hair loss under control instantly!

MGK Hair Loss in his early 20´s

23 – 24 years old
Visible signs of male pattern baldness
Norwood 3 Class established (see Norwood Scale)
Well-preserved mid-frontal point on the hairline but the corners are noticeably receded
No visible loss in hair density on the mid-scalp and crown

The road to Machine Gun Kelly's New Hair! 2012 vs 2015

HAIRLINE RESTORATION

Frontal hairline has been rebuilt completely with a rather rounded shape
Estimated hair density on the hairline: 50-55 grafts per square cm (graft= hair unit containing 1 or more hairs)
Low see-through effect
High level of naturalness on the hairline
No noticeable hair restoration on temples (hairline only)
High density of single hairs in the hairline with very high level of naturalness

How many hairs did Machine Gun Kelly get transplanted? (Approximation)

FUT (follicular unit strip surgery) has been used in MGK´s case.

Strip surgeries are easy to spot once the person cuts the hair on the back of the head short.

The FUT scar seems to be 15cm – 20cm long.

The current width of the strip scar doesn´t equal to the width of the original strip, which had been removed from MGK´s donor area on the day of his hair transplant.

FUT scars always become more narrow with time due to skin laxity, but they almost never shorten in length.

My estimation of 2200-2500 grafts is based on: 1 the size of the transplanted area and 2. the size of the FUT scar (discussed below)
The estimated hair per graft average (average number of hairs growing from each graft/hair unit) = 2 – 2.5
Expected number of hairs transplanted could be at least 4600 up to 7000
Red marks on the photo above show the zone which has been transplanted 100%
The white marks define the zone behind the hairline (frontal tuft) which might/might not have been transplanted due to plenty of existing hair still growing there

Did Machine Gun Kelly get FUE or FUT Hair Transplant?

Estimating the hair transplant surgery type in MGK’s case is very easy. On the photo below you can see a 100% proof of FUT (follicular unit transplantation).

This type of hair restoration is performed by excision of a skin tissue containing hair follicles on the back of the head (donor area).

The scar is pretty narrow but visible to the human eye. In some cases doctors utilize so called trichophytic closure which allows the hair on both sides of the scar to grow through the scar tissue.

This type of closure make the hair surrounding the scar grow directly through the scarred skin. In MGK’s case it doesn’t seem like this type of closure has been utilized though.

FUT (follicular unit strip surgery) has been used in MGK´s case.

Strip surgeries are easy to spot once the person cuts the hair on the back of the head short.

The FUT scar seems to be 15cm – 20cm long.

The current width of the strip scar doesn´t equal to the width of the original strip, which had been removed from MGK´s donor area on the day of his hair transplant.

FUT scars always become more narrow with time due to skin laxity, but they almost never shorten in length.

Why did MGK choose FUT hair transplant instead of FUE?

During the time Machine Gun Kelly had his hair transplant, he was likely to be only 22-23 years old.

For patients in their early-mid 20’s hair transplant doctors almost never suggest FUE hair transplant, unless it is going to be only a very small session e.g 1000 +/- grafts.

MGK obviously needed way more than 1000 and that’s why FUT made more sense for him at the time.

All in all, he made the right decision as far as choosing between FUE and FUT. Why? Simply because having had FUT done first only affected only a small portion of his donor region.

Later on, he can still get another FUT or even multiple FUE’s. Combining FUE and FUT over the long term has always shown the best utilization of the donor area.

In other words, patients combining both methods were able to have more hair follicles extracted from the donor area compared to patients who went with FUE only for many procedures in a row.

When did MGK had his hair transplant done?

Estimated year of his hair transplant is 2012-2013. It´s very likely he had it done in the USA.

MGK long hair vs short hair after his hair transplant - which does look more natural?

On the photo below I decided to compare MGK’s short hair vs long hair after his hair transplant. The goal of this comparison is to find out whether the naturalness of his new hairline is the same – even if the hair is kept very short.

Normally, if hair transplant hasn’t been done 100% natural, we can spot the “mistakes” much more easily when the transplanted hair is cut shorter.

On the other hand, letting the transplanted hair grow longer usually camouflages the possible imperfections in the hairline e.g low density or unnatural graft placement.

Both haircuts of MGK after his hair transplant (disconnected undercut on top and shorter buzz cut below)show great naturalness.

When the hair is slicked back after hair transplant, the see-through effect on the hairline is usually the highest.

In order to end up with an undetectable transplanted hairline, the see-through effect should be minimized.

In order to minimize the see-though effect, the doctor has to place prevalently single grafts (hair units producing 1 single hair only) on the hairline in a good density (45-55 grafts per square cm) or sometimes even more.

In Machine Gun Kelly´s case, the see-through effect is fairly low and people who never knew him would have likely never notice that he had a hair transplant.

On the photo below (short buzz cut hairstyle), we can notice great naturalness and correct angulation of the transplanted hair.

The hair density, however, seems to be slightly lower on the photo below because the density of the transplanted hair doesn’t equal the density of the original hair (usually 50% less dense compared to the natural hair). Such lack of density can be spot by the human eye the most, when the hair is cut shorter as it was the case with Bradley Cooper’s hair transplant.

This is another reason, why transplanted hair usually looks better longer. It´s simply because we can rely on its coverage property better. Short hair on the other hand, doesn´t provide much coverage because the surface of a short hair is very small compared to a long hair.

Nonetheless, the hair transplant of Machine Gun Kelly is on a boarder of being almost undetectable

Will Machine Gun Kelly need another hair transplant in the future?

Yes. It is very likely that somebody who has already done a hair transplant with 22, will need at least 1 more hair transplant in the future!

Always be aware of the permanency of male pattern baldness.

Once you have it, your condition is ongoing regardless of getting a hair transplant or not.

The progression of male patter baldness can be slowed down or stopped by anti-hair loss treatments like Finasteride (Propecia) and Minoxidil (Rogaine).

Ending up as a NW 3 with 22-23 years old – like Machine Gun Kelly suggests, that a higher Norwood hair loss progression is likely to occur in the future (if no treatments will be implemented).

Once you start experiencing first signs of male pattern hair loss e.g hairline/temporal recession, make sure you also keep track of your hair thickness on the mid-scalp and crown.

These areas are often times ignored by guys, who think they´re only going bald on the front.

Balding signs on the mid-scalp and crown however, can often times suggest a higher Norwood stage scenario happening in the future.

Getting on the right anti-hair loss treatment as soon as possible gives you the best odds against combating male pattern hair loss and getting it under control.

Is Machine Gun Kelly on Finasteride?

Yes is a very likely answer.

I don´t exclude more than 1 hair transplant by now either.

Since his hair looks full and “bushy” without almost any signs of hair loss, my guess would be that he´s probably taking medication to prevent further hair loss.

Getting a hair transplant as a 22-23 years old NW3 who doesn´t go on any hair loss preventative treatment afterwards would result in at least 1 more hair transplant by the age of 30.

In case you are about to get your hair transplant in your early 20´s, you have to get on medication as well with almost no exceptions.

Check out the Celebrity Hair Transplant Section on this site for more hair transplant breakdowns!

Considering a Hair Transplant?

james franco hair transplant before and after

James Franco Hair Transplant Analysis

Leave a Comment / Hair Transplant / By mattdominance

James Franco's Hair Transplant Analysis

written by Matt Dominance

James Franco's Hair Transplant - In this post you will find out:

How many hair transplant surgeries did James Franco have?
How many grafts did he get? (Estimated)
Was it FUE or FUT hair transplant?
The Norwood stage before getting his hair transplant?
Has he already started using Finasteride(Propecia) and Minoxidil prior to his hair transplant? Is he using it now?

James Franco's Hair Transformation Timeline

Hair Situation in his early 20´s

22 – 23 years old
No visible signs of male pattern baldness by this time
Well-preserved frontal hairline with temples
No visible loss in hair density on the frontal hairline or temples
No visible beginnings of a NW 2 (Norwood Scale)

First signs of male pattern hair loss

Hair Situation in his late 30´s

38 years old
Ongoing NW 2 hair loss pattern
Visible hairline regression compared to his hair line in the early-mid 20´s
Temporal hair loss doesn´t seem to be kicking in yet

Receding hairline is more obvious when the hair is short

Hairline corners start losing density noticeably
No obvious hair loss on the mid-scalp or crown
Temples still preserve their original shape
Great candidate for a treatment (Finasteride + Minoxidil) to prevent further thinning of the hairline, corners and temples

The road to James Franco's New Hair! 2016 vs 2018

HAIRLINE RESTORATION

Frontal hairline has been rebuilt in a more straight shape by lowering the receding corners
Estimated hair density on the hairline: 50-55 grafts per square cm (graft= hair unit containing 1 or more hairs)
Low see-through effect
High level of naturalness on the hairline
Forehead looks more narrow from the top and sides, because of hairline and temple reconstruction

TEMPORAL HAIR RESTORATION

Temporal regions have been reconstructed
Hair on temples has been moved forward in 1-2 cm
Single grafts (hair units producing one single hair) only have been used for rebuilding the temporal regions

Natural vs Unnatural Temporal Hair Restoration

Restoring hair on the temporal regions can be tricky. Unfortunately, there are still many hair transplant doctors out there, who can´t restore hair on the temporal regions naturally.

It´s crucial to do a proper research and go to the right hair transplant doctor who also specializes and has great experience in temporal hair restoration.

How many hairs did James Franco get transplanted?

Estimation based on the area transplanted is 1000-1400 grafts (hair units)
James Franco’s case is similar to this patient
Estimated hair per graft average (average number of hairs growing from each graft/hair unit) = 2 – 2.5
Estimated number of hairs transplanted could be at least 2000 up to 3500
Red marks on the photo above show the transition zone on the hairline and temporal regions which has likely been completely restored with hair.
White marks show the areas behind the hairline which might or might not have been completely restored as there was still some existing growing
The dense packing in the red zone was likely much higher compared to the white zone

Did James Franco get FUE or FUT Hair Transplant?

FUE is a more likely scenario – considering it was only a small session of around 1400 grafts. Small FUT session can´t be completely excluded either, but it´s less likely.

Seeing James Franco with very short hair on sides and back since his hair transplant would help in a more detailed assessment, which could speak for FUE or FUT.

What are good FUE/FUT indications?

If you have already read my Hair Transplant Analysis on Lebron James, you can already easily spot FUE or FUT hair transplant scars.

These scars usually occur on the occipital region of the scalp and sometimes spread across the sides of the scalp as well.

Since James Franco´s hair seems thick and wavy, it is very hard to notice any scarring on his occipital region. Especially not, if his hair is longer.

From NW 2 back to NW 1 with a Hair Transplant?

In patients with less aggressive hair loss – like James Franco had, it is sometimes possible to restore hair almost in the same shape as it used to be before hair loss even occurred.

It´s only possible, however, if patients start with hair loss treatments prior to their hair transplant and continue with treating their hair loss after the hair transplant.

This is the only way to successfully maintain a low Norwood hairline and temples, which frame the face rather aggressively.

Hairline Analysis

The hair on the newly restored temples shows exceptional hair density – very close to natural density of non-balding temples
Hairline has nice micro irregularities in it which make it look really undetectable
No obvious color difference between the transplanted and non-transplanted hair
The APEX point (transition between transplanted hairline and transplanted temple) shows great naturalness