Elton John is one of the world’s most famous musicians, having been performing for decades. Does he wear a wig?
Elton John used to wear wigs, owing to his hair thinning from a young age, but had a hair transplant procedure. This ultimately removed the real need for him to wear any wigs at all. In his earlier rockstar days, he was known for donning exuberant and extravagant wigs and outfits.
Read on to learn more about Elton John and his deeply unique sense of fashion and style.
Fighting The Inevitable
From a young age, Elton John was facing impending baldness. His hair began thinning very early on in life, to his dismay. He was a rock and pop icon, taking center stage on the regular, and he was losing his hair. What was he to do?
In an effort to recoup his ever-decreasing head of hair, he sought out treatment. Primarily, he looked for a reliable hair transplant procedure. This was in the 1970s, and the medical processes available were fledgling, but they did exist.
However, they were far from perfect. In an interview with British newspaper, The Mirror, Elton John explained his struggles. He underwent a hair transplant procedure that resulted in terrible pain. In the article, he’s quoted as saying, “I left the clinic reeling in agony.” It was also not set to last.
Within weeks, it became apparent that the hair transplant had failed. In the above article, Elton John surmised that it was due to the copious amounts of drugs he was consuming. Regardless of the reason, the matter of fact was it didn’t work, and he had to resort to using wigs. He became deeply self-conscious of his baldness and went to lengths to hide it.
In an interview in the Metro, another British newspaper, John opened up about his wigs. He explained that the early ones he wore were absolutely terrible, and resembled dead animals. He said, “First wig I had was so bad, I remember the review when I came out for the Freddie Mercury concert at Wembley. It said I came out with a dead squirrel on my head.”
You can see Elton John performing – wig included – in the video below.
He dabbled with anti-hairloss medicines, but they were only a temporary fix. In truth, the only thing that was likely to fix Elton John’s baldness was a successful hair transplant. Therefore, he sought to have another procedure done in later life after the medical processes had improved.
Although it came more than forty years after his baldness started, the transplant was successful. The massively expensive procedure was performed by world-class surgeons, and Elton John once again boasted a full head of hair. An article in Ultimate Classic Rock explores the procedures at length, detailing just how much they cost.
Not Alone In The Loss
Of course, Elton John isn’t the only celebrity to don hairpieces. There are many more out there who regularly make use of wigs and toupees to cover up baldness or a weak head of hair. This list doesn’t just include male performers, either. There are plenty of female entertainers who supplement their hair. Quite often, celebrities will wear wigs simply because they want a new style.
An article published on a website called Mayvenn discusses this area. It reveals a list of top-tier actors and musicians who wear wigs, for one reason or another. The list itself opens with Keira Knightley, who explains that she experienced hair loss early in her career from constantly dying it. She resorted to wigs, and never looked back.
Also mentioned in the article is iconic blonde, Gwen Stefani. She was quoted as saying, “Everything is fake, I haven’t seen my real hair since 9th grade.” Fellow songstress Katy Perry also owned up to wearing wigs for style purposes. She gravitated more towards colorful wigs but has also been known to wear them extensively.
There are plenty of male celebrities who wear hairpieces to cover baldness. Among the list are the likes of Charlie Sheen, Ben Affleck, Matthew McConaughey, Robert Pattinson, and Jude Law. An article published on Ranker discusses all these men and more and provides some revealing images.
Regardless of his hair situation, Elton John remains one of the most legendary entertainers in history. His career has spanned over 55 years. He’s achieved an incredible amount, including being knighted, and boasts a net worth of over half a billion dollars.