Sylvester Stallone has been in the public eye for decades. Like many celebrities, his appearance is an important part of his career and something he’s willing to invest in.
When Stallone’s hairline changed in the early 2000s, it prompted fans to wonder whether he had a hair transplant. If he did, he wouldn’t be alone — 34.7% of elective hair transplant procedures are undertaken by people looking for an edge in their career [1]. In this article, we will explore:
Sylvester Stallone was born on July 6, 1946, in Hell’s Kitchen, New York City. He’s a world-famous actor, screenwriter, director, and producer, best known for his starring role in Rocky (1976), a film he also wrote.
He played John Rambo in the Rambo series and received a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor for Creed (2015). Stallone received a facial nerve injury at birth, leading to his slurred speech and drooping lower lip. He embraced how these differences made him unique, and they ultimately became a defining part of his persona and the characters he played.
Sylvester Stallone has never publicly confirmed or denied having a hair transplant. If he did have one, it was likely around the year 2000, when hair transplants were much less common than they are today.
A couple of years later, in 2002, he may have also had forehead reduction surgery [2]. This is a procedure to surgically lower the hairline, making your forehead appear smaller.
Stallone’s hairline went through some major changes in the early 2000s, but has stayed the same since then. Here, we’ll look at the possible reasons behind those changes.
As a young man, Stallone often grew his hair long and it was difficult to see his hairline. However, he appeared to have a normal, healthy hairline as a child and a young man.
However, by 1995, at age 29, Stallone was already showing signs of male pattern baldness. Here, you can see some mild temple hair loss and the beginnings of a M-shaped hairline.
Over the next few years, Stallone kept his hair long around his hairline and temples. This disguised any further early signs of thinning and balding until everything changed in the year 2000.
In 2000, Stallone appeared with a completely different hairline. His previously thinning hairline was significantly thicker and although his hair was still long around the temples, later photos show that his temple hair loss disappeared around this time. It’s likely that Stallone had a hair transplant to achieve these changes.
In 2002, Stallone’s hairline changed again. His forehead appears smaller and he’s grown his hair longer around his hairline.
It’s likely that he had a forehead reduction and brow lift in 2002 — a procedure that lowered his hairline while raising his eyebrows [2]. This leaves a scar at the hairline and although it’s not possible to see it in this image, photos of Stallone over the years show a faint scar.
Today, Stallone retains his straight hairline and a thick head of hair. This image from 2018 clearly shows his areas of temple hair loss from 1995 have been filled in and his hairline is lower than it was in his late 20s. If you look closely, you’ll see a faint white line at his hairline — this is likely his scar from forehead reduction surgery in 2002.
Stallone had a type of alopecia called male pattern baldness, or androgenetic alopecia. It’s the most common type of hair loss in men, and causes hair shedding in a predictable pattern.
The Norwood scale shows the typical stages of male pattern baldness. This condition affects men at different rates. Some never progress beyond a Norwood stage 2, while others become completely bald.
For men with androgenetic alopecia, some hair follicles are genetically sensitive to the hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT). DHT causes these follicles to shrink over time, gradually producing shorter, thinner hairs. Eventually, they may stop producing hair altogether.
Sylvester Stallone likely had a follicular unit transplantation (FUT) hair transplant in 2000. This is because the other main type of hair transplant used today, follicular unit extraction (FUE), was very rare in those days.
Both types of transplants involve moving healthy hair follicles from a safe donor area to areas of hair loss. However, FUE and FUT differ in the process used to harvest hair follicles.
FUE uses a micro-punch tool to remove individual hair follicles, leaving minimal scarring. FUT, on the other hand, involves removing a strip of skin from the donor area (usually the back or sides of the head). Follicles are then harvested from this strip and transplanted to areas of desired growth.
FUT allows more follicles to be moved in one go, but leaves a long, thin hair transplant scar on the donor area.
Why have we never seen Stallone’s scar? There are two possible reasons: either he kept his hair long enough to conceal the scar throughout his life, or he had a minor FUE procedure to cover the scar up several years later.
Stallone likely had around 1000-1200 grafts [2] during his FUT hair transplant. This is a relatively small procedure, but as a celebrity, it’s understandable if he wanted to quickly wipe out any signs of thinning or balding before they became too visible.
As well as his hair transplant, Stallone also likely had a forehead reduction in 2002. Forehead reduction surgery is a cosmetic procedure to lower your hairline and reduce the appearance of a large forehead. It’s also referred to as hairline lowering surgery, forehead lowering, hairline advancement, or foreheadplasty.
Forehead reduction surgery involves removing the forehead skin between your current hairline and where you’d like your new hairline to be. The scalp skin is then brought down to create your new hairline.
This procedure instantly creates a lower hairline, and Stallone likely combined it with a brow lift, which raises his eyebrows. These two procedures work well together, because a surgeon can achieve a lower hairline and higher eyebrows with a single incision.
If you’re experiencing signs of male pattern baldness like a receding hairline, temple hair loss, or a bald spot on the crown, you may be a good candidate for a hair transplant. A hair transplant isn’t right for everyone, but our trichologists are experts at identifying the reason your hair is falling out and the best treatments to reverse it.
A hair transplant isn’t the only option — other treatments they may recommend include:
However, a hair transplant is the only permanent solution to male pattern baldness. If you are a candidate for a natural-looking hair transplant, you’ll have access to some of the best hair transplant surgeons in the UK at the Wimpole Clinic.
These surgeons create such natural results that it’s possible to get a hair transplant without anyone knowing. If you’d like thick, healthy hair again, book a consultation at your nearest clinic location to learn how we can help.
There’s no evidence to suggest Brad Pitt ever had a hair transplant. His youthful-looking hairline is likely down to a combination of great genetics, clever styling, and possibly the use of hair loss medications or products like hair thickening spray.
George Clooney has never confirmed or denied having a hair transplant. If he did have one, it was very subtle and performed by a skilled surgeon. However, it’s just as likely that Clooney uses non-permanent treatments to maintain his hairline or makes good use of his hair stylist to disguise any thinning areas.
Celebrity hair transplants are very common. These stars are constantly in the public eye, and a hair transplant can be a huge boost for their career. Celebrity hair transplants include:
A hair transplant offers permanent results and many people still enjoy the results of their hair transplant after 10 years, or even longer. Some people have follow-up procedures if they decide they’d like greater hair density, or if they continue to lose hair around the transplanted follicles.
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