This patient is in his mid 40s and is thrilled with his results from taking Propecia daily for a little over a year. The corners of his hairline appear to be a little bit stronger and certainly there is noticeable regrowth in the crown area.
No surgery was performed on this patient, and I must note that the lines you see drawn in the before photos were where a hairline might’ve been placed if he elected to have surgery. Click the photos to enlarge.
AFTER PROPECIA (no surgery):
BEFORE PROPECIA:
You called it, doc! John Travolta was on vacation without his piece!
Link: E! News
John Travolta was in Hawaii celebrating his birthday and the paparazzi caught him in what appears to be his natural balding state. One of Hollywood’s worst kept secrets, I’m not sure that I can or want to take credit for calling it. In fact, there was a photo taken years ago of what was likely his real hairline, so I don’t know why the entertainment reporters are making a big deal out of this. And we did point out the hairpiece years before that. At any rate, I got a few emails about this “late-breaking” news already, some of which sent a variety of photos. Here’s one:
Hello Dr. Rassman,
How did the holidays treat you and your staff?
I had a question about keeping up with hair loss. Have you ever had a young or middle aged patient run out of donor hair? I saw this picture of Nicholas Cage and shuddered. I don’t mean to pile on the Cage/Hair issue but I think it helps illustrate what poor planning can lead to. He had some work done and now, despite his fame and fortune, he is a prisoner in his own body.
Will the equipment that NHI uses to calculate future hair loss (miniaturization mapping, hair bulk analyzer) pick up on advanced patterns like this one?
Thanks and enjoy your day!
There’s been rumors circulating for years in the gossip rags that Nicolas Cage had a hair transplant, but until he comes out and says one way or the other, it’s just speculation. I honestly don’t know when his loss started, how it progressed, or what his goals are/were. Actors will commonly have high end hairpieces/wigs used in their movies (depending on what the role calls for), so creating a timeline to note his hair loss progression is sketchy.
It may seem to you or others that his hair restoration process was due to poor planning, but to others and (himself) it may be what he wanted. Without good pictures, it is impossible to tell just where is hair loss is and what he had done. You also don’t realize maybe he may continue on with another hair transplant to seek more fullness. I do not know! It is all speculation.
Looking at the photo at right (full size here), his hairline is high… too high for a normal look. It should be located in the mature position, and if it were so located, it would not look transplanted.
As for the miniaturization mapping or bulk analyzer tool, neither will predict the future, but both do help us keep track of hair loss and the treatment progress. They’re just tools we use to come up with our Master Plan for each individual.
And to answer your first question… the holiday season was nice. Thanks for writing!
Is there any difference in visual or physical characteristics between a balding hairline and a maturing one? Does one do something different than the other? Or will early balding look exactly like hairline maturation and vice versa?
Most men who ask this question are in their teens and twenties who see slight recession of their frontal hairline. Yes, it may be a sign of early balding, but each and every patient is different and only time will tell. Sorry. The difference between early hairline thinning and hairline maturing can be difficult to spot just by looking. Read through this older post about juvenile and mature hairlines (with photos), as it could provide some help.
You can also follow up with your doctor for miniaturization study and/of hair bulk measurement if he/she has the HairCheck tool available.
Hi Doctor, I was wondering if you think actor Neil Patrick Harris is balding or not…
I had the same rounded hairline as he had as a child (when he played doogie howser)and dont know many people who had that shape. Now he has a very high receded hairline, his temples have moved back and he has recessed corners. I seem to be moving in that direction as well but probably beyond it. If my recession stops where his is i would be thrilled but i’m not holding my breath since i seem to see miniaturization. anyways, let me know what you think!
I used Google Image Search to try to find some recent photos, but his hairline is not clearly shown in his current hairstyle (at least not that I could find). I suspect that his hairline has moved upward beyond maturing. Here’s photos of Neil Patrick Harris as an adult and as a child. The hairline seen in the childhood photo is a fairly typical juvenile hairline.
The best way to determine your hairline location is to measure the center from the highest crease of your wrinkled brow. If the height is more than one finger breadth above that crease, then your hairline is moving back. You might find a picture that shows what I am talking about or ask Doogie yourself.
Dr. Rassman,
My frontal hairline has been thinning for sometime now and I was doing a bit of research on the internet on frontal hair restoration. And I see a lot of people go through this procedure. Do most people go with this procedure knowing/assuming their frontal hairloss/receding has stabilized or do they stay fully committed to getting more if their hairline recedes further?
Many of my patients have hairline transplants. Actually, the great majority of my patients that have hair transplants have hairline changes! I always caution the young men (under 25 years old) that many hairline changes occur with maturation of the hairline, which is often mistaken for early hair loss.
The most important thing we need to determine (a very important discussion between the patient and doctor) is how far the existing (non transplanted) hairline may recede in the future. We must plan for this and the patient must understand its consequence of possibly needing further surgery. This is what we refer to the Master Plan.
I was born with an irregular hairline. Toward the center it takes a sharp upward turn, almost like a large, reversed widows peak. I think it is due to a large bump on the back of my head due to a cessarian birth. My hair is healthy otherwise, but looks funny unless it is long enough to cover the spot. Is there a way to correct this?
Without examining you I really can’t tell. We have corrected many hairlines and transplanted into scars. If you are in the area you can always schedule a consultation. Our main office is located in Los Angeles.
A hair transplant may be an option, but you won’t really know what can be done until you are examined and seen by a doctor. Otherwise, it’s anybody’s guess.
I am in the very early phases of hair-loss i.e. slight recession at the temples and general shedding. I was wondering whether topical minoxidil may help me.
Regards
Many people confuse the term “temples” with what is actually the corners of the frontal hairline, so I’m going to assume that is what you mean since you said it was an early phase of hair loss.
Minoxidil most likely will not impact the receding hairline, but finasteride (Propecia) can halt the progressive loss in young men and in rare instances show benefits to the hairline. Talk to your doctor about a prescription.
Dear Dr. Rassman
During my full time obsession with male pattern baldness, I have observed the hairline of quite a lot of people. I came to notice that some people have hairlines that give the impression that they wont never recede, e.g.: Maradona; Colin Farrel.These people with this particular hairline appear to be immune to baldness (at least frontal). My brother happens to be a case, when he was a child he had a fuzzy and very low inserted hairline that matured into that particular pattern. My question is could be hair distribution be associated with baldness?
You are doing exactly what Dr. O’Tar Norwood did many years back when he came up with his Norwood classification. You’re observing hairlines.
The pictures you see in the Norwood chart is NOT a scale of hair loss progression, but rather it is observations of how men’s hair can be classified. The thing is, not ALL men go bald. It is roughly estimated that only 50% of men will have some degree of balding. Of those 50%, only a small percentage (around 8% of total male population) will go completely bald. The other 50% will have a full head of hair (maybe like your brother).
So to answer your question more pointedly, hairline placement in youth isn’t an indicator of future hair loss plans.
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Dr Rassman and co.,
Firstly, wonderful job on the blog. The content is balanced, informative and insightful to my research – big props! I am early and my research and considering coming to one of your seminars, as I am located close to your San Jose office.
I was hoping you could first give me some perspective. I believe I am around a stage 2 and wanted to get a confirmation on this. My hair line is almost identical to Joel McHale’s pictured here: photo
I am planning on going the FUE route and I am wondering about how many grafts it would take a patient, such as the one in the picture, to have a better hairline upfront.
Thank you in advance.
The photo you linked to of actor Joel McHale (from the shows “Community” and “The Soup”) might show what appears to be a Norwood class 2 or 3, but we’ve written in the past about his possible hair transplant. Without a close look at his hairline, I can not tell for sure what class he’s at now.
Without seeing you or at least seeing good pictures, I can not give you an opinion about your individual case. Graft needs depend on more than just looking at the size of a bald area. We need to also consider hair character, skin contrast, etc.
I also generally do not advise surgery on Norwood 2 patients or younger patients unless they fully understand they will never have a full hair density they desire. Plus, they need to understand that they may continue to lose hair in the future. In fact, hair transplants may precipitate more hair loss as a direct result of surgery itself.
