About Header Image
New York Post

Dr. Bernstein was quoted in a New York Post article on the growing popularity of surgical hair restoration. In the article, Dr. Bernstein explained how celebrity hair transplants have become a driving factor behind the fading of the decades-long stigma of hair transplants.

“Soccer players, football players — they’re admitting they’ve had the surgery. Patients bring in pictures of [George] Clooney, Brad Pitt. The stigma of the old plugs is fading,” [said Dr. Bernstein.]

While celebs aren’t writing signed confessions, there’s plenty of speculation about which high-profile men may have gotten procedures — such as LeBron James, Kevin Costner, John Travolta and Jeremy Piven.

Advancement in hair transplant technology may also be lending a hand. Follicular Unit Transplant (FUT) surgery and newer techniques, such as Robotic FUE, have all but eliminated the old corn-row style “hair plugs” that were commonplace twenty years ago.

The article discusses how the hair restoration industry saw a 27% increase in hair transplant procedures worldwide since 2012. The newest data released by the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) values the global surgical hair restoration market at nearly $2.5 billion.

Posted by

GQ - November 2010GQ Magazine includes a quotation by Dr. Bernstein in their November 2010 issue. In the magazine’s “Manual” section, which outlines the latest style trends for men, there is a two-page article on hair transplant surgery. Dr. Bernstein’s help was recruited in discussing old hair transplant techniques where multiple follicular units were transplanted in “plugs.”

“In the old days, up until the early ’90s, they used to transplant multiple follicular units at once,” says Robert Bernstein, M.D., clinical professor of dermatology at Columbia University, “so what you got were those plugs, which look completely unnatural and gave the surgery a bad reputation.”

The article’s main protagonist is 27 year-old New Yorker, and hair transplant patient, Jordan Blackmore, but it also drops a few celebrity hair transplant names (Marc Jacobs, Ted Danson, Kevin Costner, and Matthew McConaughey). To read the article you’ll have to find the November 2010 issue at your local newsstand.

Posted by

by J. F. Fotrell

Celebrities – especially the men – are getting comfortable with the idea of surgical hair restoration and we are seeing more famous men embracing the concept every day. The truth is that the majority of men will eventually lose hair, so this is nothing to be embarrassed about. But most men don’t have to depend on their appearance to pay their mortgage bill, or to ensure that their career continues. Celebrities find themselves in a unique position in this respect, especially when the world is watching them grow up or grow old.

Celebrity Hair Transplants - Kevin Costner

Celebrity hair loss is becoming an increasingly hot topic in the media. The continuing demands on celebrities to keep their good looks, seems to be of great interest to the tabloids. This is evidenced by the recent interest in the hairlines of stars like John Cleese, Mel Gibson, John Travolta, Kevin Costner, Dennis Miller, Tom Arnold, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, David Beckham and many others.

For example, a Google search for “Mel Gibson hair loss” has almost 50,000 entries. This attests to the amount of attention the media – and the public – are paying to celebrity hair restoration.

Many celebrities don’t mind their hair loss when it comes to their own personal life, but they realize that appearance is paramount in the entertainment industry. Celebs worry that their looks are important to the fans, and they seem to be right.

Celebrity Hair Transplants - Mel Gibson

Chat rooms and fan sites are abuzz with the hair lines of the stars, not to mention the TV, magazines and newspapers which seem to always know when to get a picture at the right (or the wrong) time.

Often celebrities have hair transplant surgery only to satisfy the demands of their careers. Soap Opera stars for instance, need those wonderfully youthful hairlines, something that would not be in such demand with the general aging public. The hair transplant design required by someone in this profession, however, might not be appropriate for the average person.

Celebrity Hair Transplants - John Travolta

As a result, actors sometimes need to make some compromises on long-term results in order to achieve short-term career goals.

In order to create the illusion that time has simply stood still for people in the public eye, secrecy is paramount. Cosmetic surgeons for the stars are very meticulous about maintaining privacy, and understanding the special needs of their celebrity patients.

“Though the public tends to perceive celebrities as temperamental and demanding, I have not found that to be the case. Celebrities recognize the importance of cosmetic surgery to their careers and are very pragmatic about having it done – for most it simply goes with their job.” says Robert M. Bernstein M.D., Clinical Professor of Dermatology at Columbia University in New York and founder of Bernstein Medical – Center for Hair Restoration in Manhattan.

Interest in celebrity hair transplants is not just reserved for film and TV stars, but for all kinds of professions in the public eye. Sports celebrities like Tom Brady, politicians, fashion designers, musicians, and now even top business executives recognize the importance of hair to their image.

Celebrity Hair Transplants - David Beckham

Busy celebrities often have their PR people or handlers try to discover what their treatment options may be, but often the proper research is not done. After all, PR people are influenced by the media just like the rest of us. The far better route is the more time consuming one, where academic credentials and hospital affiliations are checked and medical publications are reviewed. Without this level of research, the search for a hair transplant surgeon can lead to some pretty bad results.

According to Dr. Robert Bernstein of the Bernstein Medical – Center for Hair Restoration in Manhattan, “Most Celebrities aren’t as concerned with how the process is done; they simply want it to be taken care of. One high profile patient of ours, however, was so curious about the process, that he actually left the surgical chair during his procedure so that he could watch how the graft dissection was done.”

In this very competitive society, youth and beauty are highly coveted bargaining chips.

Celebrity Hair Transplants - Matt Lauer

One without the other can seem to be a considerable handicap. However, in the world of the rich and famous, where ones livelihood depends on physical image the stakes are even higher.

Fortunately, with modern medical breakthroughs, the image that is conveyed by a full, healthy head of hair is something that can be achieved, even by people who are not so genetically fortunate.

View before & after hair transplant photos of our patients

Read about hair transplant procedures

Read about medical hair restoration

Posted by



Browse Hair Restoration Answers by topic:








212-826-2400
Scroll to Top