Male pattern baldness is a very common condition, affecting 85% of men at some point in life [1]. Anyone can experience it, including famous musicians, such as Coldplay’s lead singer, Chris Martin. The artist struggled with hair loss throughout his 20s, only to suddenly sport a perfectly straight hairline in his mid-thirties. This led to rumours that he has surgically restored his hair. But did Chris Martin’s hair transplant really happen?
Celebrity hair transplants have become very common in recent years. However, Chris has maintained full discretion regarding the methods used to curb and reverse his hair thinning. But there is evidence of a surgical hair restoration procedure. Keep reading this article to find out all you need to know about whether Chris Martin had a hair transplant, plus:
Chris Martin is the lead singer of the British rock band Coldplay. He was born in England in 1977. He met his other future bandmates in college and started playing together as Big Fat Noises in 1997 when the singer was 20. By 1998, they renamed the group Coldplay, a name which would soon become well-known to music lovers everywhere.
The band skyrocketed to international fame as soon as their first album, Parachutes (2000) hit the market. They went on to release 9 more albums, won numerous music awards and are still touring. Alongside his Coldplay career, Chris also pursued several solo projects in collaboration with other famous artists, such as Nelly Furtado, Avicii, and Jay-Z.
So far, Chris has never publicly discussed the state of his hair or any surgical or non-surgical hair restoration treatments he may have had. So any talk of a hair transplant (or several) is little more than a rumour. However, there is strong evidence to suggest the singer did take steps to correct his hairline on at least one occasion. It is the only way to explain the significant fluctuations in his hairline recession and temple hair loss.
If Chris Martin did have hair restoration surgery, he was very discreet about it and managed to get his hair transplant without anyone knowing. However, he may have used other methods to make his hairline straighter and fuller. These might include anything from hair growth medication, to hair thickening spray or even a high-quality hair system for men.
Early photos of Chris show he was experiencing male pattern baldness from a young age. His hairline was receding and his temples had started to thin out. These are typically the first signs of hair thinning and balding in men who develop androgenetic alopecia [2].
This condition is caused by a genetically increased sensitivity to a male hormone called dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which progresses with age. DHT binds to specific androgen receptors in the hair follicles, causing hair miniaturisation. If left untreated, the follicles shrink to a point where they can no longer produce any hair.
Male pattern baldness is the leading cause of hair loss in men worldwide [3]. The typical pattern involves frontal balding and a bald spot on the crown, due to a higher sensitivity to DHT in these parts of the scalp.
The Coldplay lead singer’s hairline has been a rollercoaster over the years. Here are the transformations Chris’ hair underwent from his early youth to the present day.
Photos of Chris Martin from the beginning of his music career show he has been struggling with hair loss since his early twenties (possibly even from his teenage years). Normally, male pattern baldness starts after 25, but some young men have an early onset form [3]. However, the singer also has a massive advantage which has always helped him manage this problem: his hair texture.
Chris has wavy, thick, voluminous hair which can help him mask his hairline when worn a bit longer. That is why he could be seen in the year 2000 with full, luxurious hair, only to show significant male pattern baldness just a few months later, after getting a buzz cut. It is unlikely that he experienced such severe hair loss in such a short time. But in the 2000 photo, his curls covered his entire frontal area, hiding any thinning spots.
For the best part of his twenties, Chris took full advantage of his textured locks and wore his hair longer. He wore some of the best male hairstyles for a receding hairline which fully disguised his frontal thinning. This effectively hid his male pattern baldness, making it virtually unnoticeable to the public.
However, in 2008, strange things happened to Chris’ hair. In summer, he was suddenly seen with his hair combed back and a perfectly straight hairline. His temples were also well-covered, with no sign of his previous thinning.
Coldplay did not have any significant public appearances in late 2007. The singer may have used this time to fix his uneven hairline surgically. This seems like the most likely way to get such perfect results. However, a different photo from late August 2008, where he sported a buzz cut, shows the same Norwood stage 3-4 pattern baldness he had in his early youth.
While he may have had a failed hair transplant, it is unlikely that all his grafts fell out in only a couple of months, after having grown in perfectly. Normally, when hair transplants go wrong, some of the grafts don’t survive from the start. Or if they do, hair thinning will happen gradually, over the course of a year or two. But it is uncommon for grafts that had survived and healed to shed abruptly as if they had never been implanted.
Moreover, further hairline fluctuations soon followed. In October 2008, Chris appeared live with a short haircut which revealed a straighter hairline than in August, but more uneven than in June. Come December, he still had signs of hair thinning, but nowhere near August levels. He would not have had a chance to get a second hair transplant during this time, as he had multiple public appearances and it would have been noticed.
So what could have caused this rollercoaster of sudden transformations? The singer may have taken hair growth medicine, such as Minoxidil, or Finasteride, and it could have worked very well for him for a while, before stopping. However, the results seem too good and too sudden to achieve with medication alone. Moreover, when you stop using Minoxidil or Finasteride, you will indeed lose your progress, but it will normally take longer than a couple of months to fully revert to before-treatment levels.
He may also have sometimes used cosmetic treatments, such as hair thickening spray or a frontal hair piece to make his hairline appear straighter.
By 2009, Chris had reverted to mid-length hairstyles perfect for men with thinning hair. So while his frontal balding was still visible, it became more difficult to tell what was going on with his hairline.
By 2010, the singer’s alopecia was once more back to early 2000s levels. That is why most rumours that Chris had a hair transplant emerged in 2011 when he was again seen with a perfectly straight (albeit higher) hairline. After this moment, his hairline never developed another M-shaped pattern up to the present day.
The most likely cause of this transformation is a successful, permanent hair transplant. If performed properly, one can enjoy the great results of a hair transplant after 10 years or more, so it isn’t surprising that Chris’ hair kept looking very well in the following years.
After his rumoured surgical hair restoration, Chris never had to wear long hair again to cover his frontal hair loss. His hairline remained straight as an arrow throughout his forties.
There were also no further signs of temple thinning, despite the artist foregoing any styling techniques to mask hair loss (such as high fades).
Whatever Chris did to correct his hairline in 2010 has obviously worked perfectly in the long term. Nowadays, Chris is still proudly sporting his full head of hair and has maintained his stylish appearance. Despite wearing short hair most of the time, his frontal area remains flawless and enviable for a man approaching 50.
It is difficult to say with certainty whether Chris had a single hair transplant or if he had any hair restoration surgery at all. However, there are signs pointing to a follicular unit transplantation (FUT) procedure.
On the one hand, it was the gold standard at the time when Chris is rumoured to have had his intervention (around 2010). On the other hand, the singer seems to be sporting a fine and well-concealed scar on the back of his head, typical for this type of surgery.
FUT hair transplants involve harvesting an entire strip of skin from the patient’s donor area (the back or side of his head). This strip is cut up into grafts, which are then implanted in the thinning spots [4]. Regardless of how well the surgery is performed, after suturing the site where the strip was removed, there will be some visible scarring.
Had Chris got a well-executed follicular unit extraction (FUE) procedure instead, it would have left no visible marks. This technique involves extracting each hair graft individually from the donor area before implanting them in the balding parts of the scalp [4]. This leaves virtually no scarring. And despite being longer and more painstaking to perform, FUE surgeries also reduce the patient’s hair transplant recovery time.
In the early 2000s, Chris’ hair loss seemed fairly advanced for his young age. He appeared to be a Norwood stage 3, as he had a deeply M-shaped hairline, but had not yet developed a bald spot on the crown. This is the best time to get a hair transplant: when the hair loss is pronounced, but not overly extensive.
According to the hair graft calculator, Chris likely needed a 2500-graft hair transplant for ideal coverage. However, only a surgeon can correctly assess how many hair grafts are needed for a successful hair restoration surgery. They base this decision on factors such as hair texture, scalp laxity, extent of hair loss and patient coverage expectations.
Since Chris has never confirmed having had hair restoration surgery, it can be tricky to determine his exact hair transplant costs. To do so, we would need to consider the following factors:
Since Chris is British, we can assume he may have had his surgical restoration in the UK. While prices were not the same 15 years ago, when his procedure likely took place, the average cost of a hair transplant in the UK today is £4,820.
However, that estimation is for an approximately 1500-graft hair transplant, while Chris may have needed up to 2500. According to our research, the average cost per hair graft in the UK is £3.25. This means a procedure such as his would have amounted, on average, to about £8,125. And given that Chris is an international superstar, he may have opted for a luxury hair transplant clinic, which could increase the price to over £15,000.
If you are thinking about joining the many musicians, actors or footballers who got hair transplants, it is now easier than ever. Simply book a hair transplant consultation with one of our surgeons. They will determine if you are a good candidate for a hair transplant and work with you to plan for the best possible results.
The Wimpole Clinic has been an industry leader in the field of hair restoration surgery for the past 50 years. So you can rest assured that your hair will be in excellent hands. You don’t need to take our word for it — access our hair transplant photo gallery to see our results. You will understand why we have been awarded the Hair Transplant Clinic of the Year title four times in a row (2021-2024). And you can be confident that we can get you the best possible outcome for your hair.
If you are curious to find out more about other rumoured or confirmed celebrity hair transplants, don’t miss these articles:
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