Many celebrities in the public eye decide to change their appearance from time to time. With hair being such an important feature, it’s no surprise how common hair transplants are, especially for men who often experience male pattern baldness.
Not every celebrity is entirely open about the work they’ve done, though, and that includes Elon Musk. He might be open about his quest to colonise Mars, but he’s pretty quiet about the potential that he had a hair transplant.
Who is Elon Musk?
Most people know who Elon Musk is at this point. He’s not exactly best known for his locks – instead, he’s known for his billionaire status as a smart investor and businessman. He is the CEO of Tesla Motors and SpaceX and, more recently, the owner of the social media platform X (known as Twitter before 2023).
The South Africa-born entrepreneur realised just how much potential the internet had early on, which led to early success. In the mid-1990s, he founded the company Zip2 before selling it. He was also the founder of PayPal (known as X back then), which he sold to eBay in 2002 for an incredible $1.5 billion [1], solidifying himself as a billionaire by 29. His sights later turned from the internet to the cosmos, with his mission as the founder and CEO of SpaceX to be for humans to explore outer space and get humans to Mars – sooner rather than later.
Elon Musk: A Good Candidate for Hair Transplants
With how forward-thinking Elon Musk is – with how much he believes in futuristic developments and technologies – it’s no surprise that he was the type of person to put his faith in a hair transplant to help him restore his locks. Plus, not only is he a billionaire, but he is also currently the richest person on the planet (as of 2023) [5]. With all that money behind him, why wouldn’t he invest some of it into his hair?
Elon Musk was also a good candidate for a hair transplant because he still had a healthy amount of hair on the back of his head, even when his hair loss was most evident in the 90s and early 2000s. That meant that the surgeon had a good donor area to extract hair follicles from. As a result, Musk was able to enjoy a full head of hair post-surgery.
Did Elon Musk Get a Hair Transplant?
No one can say for definite that Elon Musk had a hair transplant, as he hasn’t come out to confirm it. However, when you look at pictures of Elon Musk before and after his potential hair transplant, you can see how much more hair growth he has now. Before his hair transplant, Elon Musk had a lot of balding at the top of his head, whereas today, he can be seen sporting a straight, lower-down hairline. Most men don’t experience that level of hair regrowth after anything other than hair transplant surgery.
What Type of Hair Transplant Did Elon Musk Get?
Elon Musk’s hair transplant isn’t openly spoken about, so nobody (other than perhaps a few people in Elon’s life) knows what type of hair transplant he got. It’s easy to make an educated guess, though. Looking at how natural the results are, it’s possible that Elon took the FUE hair transplant to combat his male hair loss. With the FUE (follicular unit extraction) transplant, patients experience the most natural results thanks to the harvesting and implanting of individual hair follicles.
Was Elon Musk Bald?
Looking at pictures of Elon Musk’s hair, it’s clear he was never bald. It certainly looked as though he was balding at one stage of his life, though. Let’s take a closer look at a timeline of his hair to see what changes it went through.
Elon Musk’s Hairline: A Timeline
Elon Musk’s hairline has certainly shifted over the years – there’s no doubt about that when you look at a timeline of his hair.
Teenage Years
As a teenager, Elon Musk had brown hair with a slight fringe. It’s hard to see his hairline at this point because of the fringe, which indicates hair loss may have been an issue for him from a very early age. Even as a teen, his hair is relatively thin but still healthy.
Early Adulthood (90s and early 2000s)
It’s in early adulthood (during the 90s) when he was working on Zip2 and later X (PayPal) that you can see just how much hair loss Elon Musk experienced. At this stage, Elon Musk’s balding head is evident, as you can see a lot of his forehead with his hairline far back on his head.
Late 2000s
It’s when Elon Musk reached his thirties that you can start to see a real improvement in his hairline. He still has little hair at his temples, but there’s much more hair growth at the front of his head.
Nowadays
As of 2023, with Elon Musk in his fifties, his hair looks as dense and full as ever. It also looks extremely natural – you would never have guessed that this man was experiencing balding in his twenties! His receding hairline is no longer there, and he looks as though he’s a man who’s been naturally blessed with good hair genes.
Elon Musk Before and After His Hair Transplant
To get a real perspective of the effectiveness of Elon Musk’s hair transplant, look at Elon Musk before his hair transplant and compare it to today. The difference is stark. It’s clear that Elon Musk experienced male pattern baldness from an early age, which led him to seek hair restoration treatments.
How Common is Male Pattern Baldness?
Male pattern baldness – also commonly known as androgenetic alopecia – is very common, to the point that half of all men experience at least some degree of it by the time they reach 50 years. Of course, Elon Musk had hair loss way before his fifties (and his hair looks great in his fifties, thanks to a hair transplant!). Early hair loss in men isn’t that uncommon, either, with 25% of men experiencing some kind of hair loss before they reach 21 [3].
Are There Celebs Who Are Open About Their Hair Transplants?
Not everyone is as secretive as Elon Musk is regarding their hair! Some have been completely open about it. Take Jimmy Carr as an example – the Channel 4 TV host and comedian was honest about the fact that he’d had one done, which was refreshing considering how many celebs prefer to keep it quiet. James Nesbitt was another who spoke freely about his hair transplant, stating that he visited the clinic because he was worried his hair loss would affect his career [4]. Fortunately, his hair transplant looks great and natural, and his career never stagnated.
Are You Considering a Hair Transplant?
Have you experienced hair loss? Are you inspired by Elon Musk’s hair transplant? If so, you might be considering getting one yourself. It’s definitely a good option for both men and women whose hair growth isn’t what it used to be, providing a permanent and natural solution. With how much hair is tied to a person’s identity, taking a step like this can really transform your life.
Taking time for understanding hair loss to figure out what has caused yours is always a good idea. It’s also essential to figure out if you’re a good candidate. Generally, people who’ve experienced hair loss but still have some healthy hair growth on the back or sides of their heads make promising hair transplant candidates.
You Don’t Need to Be a Billionaire (or a Millionaire) to Get a Hair Transplant
Elon Musk likely spent a lot of money when he invested in a male transplant for his hair. He wouldn’t have spent millions, though – or even close to that. Good hair transplants performed by expert surgeons aren’t cheap, but you don’t need to be rich to enjoy them. In the UK, hair transplants can cost anywhere between £1,000 to £30,000, so the actual price depends on your level of hair loss and how many grafts you need.
If you want to figure out how much a hair transplant might cost you, we have an incredible hair loss app for all our patients. Using this, you can access consultations while keeping track of growth. You can also book a consultation with our friendly, expert team to start your hair restoration journey.
In Summary
As the richest man in the world, it’s hard to imagine Elon Musk ever had to worry about his hairline, but he did. Thanks to the incredible hair transplant technology we have today, he was able to restore his hairline early on in his career. Nowadays, you can’t even imagine Musk with the balding head he had in his younger years. If you’re starting to lose hair, why not join the ranks of Elon Musk and put an end to it, giving yourself a full head of dense, healthy locks?
Sources:
- A Complete Timeline of Elon Musk’s Business Endeavors
- Androgenetic alopecia
- Why Do Men Go Bald and What Can You Do About It?
- Why James Nesbitt’s hair just keeps getting better
- Bloomberg Billionaires Index