The Basics Behind Biden’s Balding
Months of speculation ended in October of this year as Joe Biden announced he will not run for president in 2016. Biden’s decision to not run ends the question of whether the Democrats would support him or Hillary Clinton next year.
However, there is one Joe Biden question that has not been answered:
What is wrong with his hair transplant???
Supply and Demand Mismatch of Hair
Some time ago, I wrote an article about Joe Biden’s hair transplant and why it was not very well executed. The article was inspired by a conversation with a patient in his 30s who insisted on having a very low and juvenile hairline. As always, I performed a close evaluation of his hair loss, his family history of hair loss pattern and also did a microscopic examination of his scalp and hair. The results showed a significant miniaturization throughout his top and crown area. This was a warning sign that he was on his way to class VI or VII hair loss that would result in nothing more than a rim of hair around the scalp. This was also confirmed by his family history. I explained to the patient that designing a hairline needs to take into account the progress of hair loss over a period of time.
“The Biden Phenomenon”
Mr. Biden is a good example of needing to plan for a higher hairline in younger adults. Many younger patients hope for a lower hairline. The lower hairline is possible when there is not much evidence of advanced hair loss. A significant family history of high-grade baldness requires a more conservative approach in order to avoid donor/recipient mismatch OR “Joe Biden phenomenon”.
Here is a good example of the problems with Mr. Biden’s hair transplant. The photo above shows thin hair on a large area on the top of his head despite having almost a juvenile hairline.
A List of Biden’s Hair Transplant Troubles
Vice President Biden’s hair transplant troubles are numerous and have not changed much over the years. They still include:
- Poor initial designing as well as poorly executed long term planning
- His hairline is too low on the head for someone with advanced hair loss
- His hairline is way too broad for the stage of hair loss he is currently in
- There is a lack of sufficient donor hair to restore the crown
- He has a large balding area that really needs coverage
- Biden does not have nearly enough donor grafts to cover the crown
To put it simply, keeping the hairline higher and executing the appearance of a corner recession helps to create and keep a natural look on a patient. This is especially helpful for patients that lose their crown and have no great desire to restore it. A higher hairline works naturally with a balding crown and doesn’t give the patient an unnatural look
Joe Biden phenomenon should be avoided if possible. However, we can help patients who already have this condition.
FUE to Create a Balance
One way to help is to use FUE method to extract more hair from the donor area. The hair could be used to restore the balding patch on the crown while reducing the density of donor hair to help create a more balanced look.
Beard to Scalp Hair Transplant
We have successfully utilized Facial to Scalp Hair Transplant (FSHT) in the last few years for people who are in a high stage of hair loss. This source of hair that has been available to us only in the last few years thanks to the new techniques of FUE transplant could fill the areas that don’t have adequate density or even restore the areas that are completely bald. Having beard to scalp hair transplant technology available has allowed me to be a little bit more aggressive with my hairlines and to bring them lower when needed if the patient is open to using his beard hair in the future.
