Elon Musk’s Hair Transformation Journey

Before: In the mid-90s, Musk had a receding hairline with good growth on the back and sides. Our experts place him at the Norwood 4 stage of male pattern baldness. Without intervention, the businessman would be at Norwood 6 or completely bald by today.

After: In recent pictures and media appearances, it’s clear that Elon Musk has undergone a hair transplant procedure to restore the thickness of his hair. Today, his hair looks fuller at the top with a natural hairline which we can class as a Norwood 2 or 3.

Elon Musk’s hair loss journey can be easily charted from the mid-90s or late-2000s when he started making appearances in the media. Back then, Musk was only in his late 20s but sported a receding hairline corresponding to male pattern baldness.

More than 80% of men and 20% women are afflicted with genetic hair loss. Musk, despite being a multibillionaire, could not escape the inevitable. It’s easy to surmise that the businessman had an advanced case of male pattern baldness.

According to our experts, Musk would be at a Norwood 4 before his hair restoration efforts. This is marked by a rapidly receding hairline and decent hair growth on the sides and back of the head. Naturally, his good donor region made Musk the ideal candidate for a hair transplant procedure.

Fast forward to the early 2010s and you will find Elon Musk flaunting a fuller hairstyle with a restored hairline. Since male pattern baldness progressively gets worse instead of reversing, Musk’s transformation indicates one or more hair transplants.

Today, Elon Musk boasts a Norwood 2 or Norwood 3 with a spectacular and natural-looking hairline that suits his face. Judging from the end results, Musk’s hair transformation journey has been a successful one. But which procedures did the billionaire go through to get such incredible results? Let’s find out.

Before we delve into which method Elon Musk utilized for his hair transplantation, let’s take a look at the top contenders. The two most cutting-edge methods of hair transplant are Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) and Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE).

Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT)
FUT begins by removing a strip of the candidate’s scalp from a region that has a healthy growth of hair. This is usually the sides and back of the head. After stitching up the area, the doctor creates thousands of grafts from the strip, isolating the hair follicles. These grafts are then implanted into the incisions created on the scalp.

Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE)
FUE is a less invasive technique that involves harvesting individual hair follicles from healthy regions to transplant them into the bald areas. Each follicle is then placed into the incisions created on the scalp.

FUE VS. FUT: Which One Did Elon Musk Use?
Both FUE and FUT have their own advantages and pitfalls. FUT is often considered to be more invasive as it leaves you with a permanent scar. Meanwhile, FUE does not leave any visible scarring on the donor area.

The best hair transplant method ultimately depends upon the health of the hair, the number of grafts required, and the thickness of the hair.
Most candidates who require a large number of grafts are better suited for FUT. Whereas candidates who require a lower number of grafts, a painless surgery, and a shorter recovery time should go for FUE.

So, which one did Elon Musk go for?
FUE is often considered to be the best method out there as it’s painless, has a quick recovery time, and leaves no scarring. While the FUE technique was invented in the 80s, it wasn’t readily practiced before 2010 when Musk had his hair transplant.

Back then, FUT was the major hair transplantation method practiced by most surgeons. Hence, it’s highly likely judging from the timeline that Musk went through a FUT procedure to restore his hairline.

Hair transplantation is a cosmetic procedure that requires a lot of finesse. Each case is wholly unique as patients have different requirements and aesthetic needs.

The hairline needs to be crafted to perfection according to the candidate’s face shape, level of baldness, and other considerations. That’s why bad hair transplant jobs are easy to spot from a mile away.

Elon Musk may not have been the richest person in the world back in 2010, but he was certainly successful enough to afford the best hair surgeons in the world. And the results speak for themselves! Judging from his natural but flattering hairline, it’s clear that an experienced team took care of Musk’s hair transplant. According to rumors he did his hair transplant in the US or in Canada.

Being a successful businessman and entrepreneur has its perks and Musk certainly made use of them when it comes to his hair transplant journey. Considering how advanced his baldness was, we can estimate that Musk got approximately 4000 grafts to achieve the current results.

There’s a lot of speculation about the hair transplant cost of his evidently successful hair transplant procedure. Experts believe that the number lies way above $10,000. It can be estimated that Musk paid around $20,000 to $30,000 for the procedure. Clearly, the investment has paid off and Musk looks better than ever with his new hairline!

Apart from hair transplantation, there are also drug treatment options including finasteride and minoxidil. If used over an extended period of time, these drugs can slow down hair loss and even reverse it in some cases.

Minoxidil: A vasodilator that increases blood flow by widening the blood vessels. This increased blood flow is said to contribute to hair growth and slows down the hair loss process. Minoxidil comes in many different types of products, from serums to shampoos.

Finasteride: This over the counter drug lowers DHT to curb genetic hair loss and baldness. It’s considered to be more clinically effective than minoxidil. Besides a oral variant there is also a topical finasteride solution avaiable.

While it’s possible that Elon Musk consumed either minoxidil or finasteride, his results indicate that he must have had a hair transplant. Such drugs are mostly good for slowing hair loss and that too, over a long period of time.

It’s clear that Elon Musk’s drastic transformation could not have been from the drugs alone as they’re not capable of restoring the hairline and thickness of hair to this extent.

Elon Musk is an excellent case study for a successful hair transplant that resulted in a more natural but youthful appearance for the businessman. The wonders of medical science have served him well on his hair loss journey, proving that hair transplants can be life-changing if done right.