Elton John’s Hair Loss Journey: From Transplant to Wig

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Adam Bennett

Last modified March 14, 2024

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The first solo artist who topped the UK’s Top 10 singles across 6 decades, honored with 5 Grammy awards and 2 Academy awards, and is more than a singer but a supreme talent that has given extroverted, energetic, and somewhat impersonal sounds to the world! Indeed – The Rocket Man who never lets the sun go down and for whom sorry seems to be the hardest word when it comes to his success.

Elton John is not just a name but a universe of talent. Sometimes Elton is a Chairman, sometimes he is a pop artist, sometimes he rocks the stage, and sometimes he makes the world proud. Immersing the talent and how!

Well, behind his flamboyant personality lies a man who, like many others, has suffered from hair loss. Adding to that in one of his interviews with BBC News he mentioned: “In one of the films, my mother said that I’ll be bald by 20 – well I wasn’t quite bald by 20 but more or less by 30 it was going, I look like Shrek and I don’t like it”.

Elton John never liked being bald and began to experience a decline in his self-confidence, he tried 2 hair transplant procedures that miserably failed. The “story” does not end here there is much to know about Sir Elton, so stay tuned till the end!

This blog does not end here and will take you into Elton John’s hair journey, from his early experiences with thinning hair to his embrace of Men’s wigs.

Elton John’s hair journey

Image Source: Esquire

Elton John lost his hair to one of the most common causes of hair loss – Male Pattern baldness (androgenetic alopecia), where the hair follicles gradually shrink resulting in permanent hair loss.

Elton John on the other side also blames his unwanted attempts of doing a “bad dye job” for his hair loss, whereas back in the 1970s the rock and roll habits of the singer were no secret where he used to consume drugs and alcohol, one study proves that cocaine affects majorly on hair even if the usage is very less.

A quick tour from 1970 to 2000s:

1970s( Aged 23) - Elton John suffers from hair thinning.
1975 ( Aged 28)- At the temples, Sir Elton developed a M-shaped hairline.
1980s and 1990s - The first experiment with wigs.
Early 2000s - Went through hair transplant procedures.

Did you know that Sir Elton had given up on a hair transplant and wore a hat for the whole decade?

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A post shared by Elton John (@eltonjohn)

The first hair transplant - Thought of changing myself

“Pierre Putot” from Paris was referred to Sir Elton because he used to be very famous then for doing hair transplants. With high hopes and thinking that he would leave the clinic as a completely new man, Elton John went ahead with the procedure.

“It was not a simple procedure at all. It went on for five hours and it hurts like hell – Elton John”.

He also said that the sound of hair being extracted from his head was exactly how a ‘rabbit gnawing its way through a carrot.’

His first move toward hair restoration failed and how.

The second hair transplant - The last hopeful attempt

As a side note – First, it is important to know that when a person has a larger balding area then multiple sessions or transplants are required and by seeing Elton John’s size of baldness in his before photos it is quite evident that why he went with 2nd attempt of hair transplant, which ultimately got failed too.

His experience with the second hair transplant was the same where he felt a hell lot of pain for straight 5 hours. It is said that the singer has gone to Paris for both of his hair transplants and chances are the same person has performed those transplants too.

Now the question is - Does Elton John wear a wig?

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A post shared by Elton John (@eltonjohn)

The answer is Yes! The renowned singer has now taken the yellow brick road and decided not to go back to those painful days!

Gracing pop culture, his performance, and the stage EGOT ( An Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony) by holding the title of “EGOT” proudly. Today, Sir John wears a custom-made wig blond in a color that is made up of human hair by the wig makers of Hollywood.

There were days in the 1970s and 1980s when in one of his concerts for the Freddy Mercury Concert at Wembley, Elton John narrated his first experience of wearing a wig, where he said “I remember the review, it felt like there was a big dead squirrel on my head”, gone are all those days, today!

In fact now Elton John loves wearing a wig, he says “ I’m very happy with my wig now. It looks good, I’m happy with it. Yes, I am bald but I don’t like being bald so I wear a toupee“.

Conclusion

It is obvious to understand the role of hair in one’s life by reading this blog, no matter if that person is a celebrity or a common individual, hair does matter a lot! Having said that Sir John tried his best to get his hair back by using FUE or hair transplant surgeries but failed very badly and at last opted for wigs and today he is rocking in them.

So, if you are the one who is looking for an instant hair loss solution, count on IHS Hair Replacement London where we promise to give you your confidence back.

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Adam Bennett

Adam Bennett is a Certified Trichologist at IHS Hair replacement with over 21 years of Unbeatable experience. Throughout his remarkable career, he has successfully completed an impressive 8000 hair replacement systems. Adam is dedicated to transforming lives and boosting self-confidence so that one can live with all the pride and confidence. Adam Bennett has served over 800 satisfied clients and still-counting, while helping them get their natural appearance and emotions back with all the pride and confidence.