John Travolta’s appearance at the Oscars as a presenter in an impeccable, dense head of hair that revealed a somewhat unnatural, receding full hairline led us to examine Travolta more closely. It appears that Travolta has been wearing a hair system (aka hairpiece, toupee, hair wig) to mask some of his receding hairline or balding areas. Unfortunately for Travolta, the actor’s hair system mesh was detected on a high-zoom camera lens, confirming suspicions that the actor is wearing a hair system. As one can see in the photos below (click on photos to see maximum size), there is a visible hair mesh that is protruding from the right temple of Travolta, indicating a sophisticated hair system is at work.
Read rest of article below photos (top two photos from 2006; bottom photo from 2007).
Click to enlarge and see hair piece mesh.
Hair systems such as the one that Travolta seems to be wearing are made with a fine mesh material to which hairs are put together meticulously one hair strand at a time. The hair system is supposed to have the hair attached in a way that does not show the mesh at all. Travolta’s hair system is likely to be expensive, but the hair did not perfectly conceal the mesh. Below the mesh, a transparent plastic material is used to attach the hair system to the skin.Hair systems such as the one that Travolta seems to be wearing are made with a fine mesh material to which hairs are put together meticulously one hair strand at a time. The hair system is supposed to have the hair attached in a way that does not show the mesh at all. Travolta’s hair system is likely to be expensive, but the hair did not perfectly conceal the mesh. Below the mesh, a transparent plastic material is used to attach the hair system to the skin.
Dr. William Rassman, a leading hair transplant specialist commented on these photos in his blog “If these photos are his, unfortunately for John Travolta, an aggressive photographer caught this view of what appears to be a hair system. From any reasonable distance, a good hair system looks like a normal head of hair and I complement the folks that made this system.”
This is not the first time that Travolta has a wardrobe malfunction, and gives a peak of his hair mesh to the unsuspecting camera. As recently as several weeks ago (January 14, 2007) at a G’Day USA Event, John Travolta was captured on camera again with the mesh seen on the edge of his temple.Compared to a real transplant, the advantages of a hair system is that you can have the exact density of hair that you wish whereas a hair transplant limits you to the amount of natural donor hair area that can then be used in the transplant. The problem with hair systems is that they often turn the wearer into an addict because the hair system leads to hair loss because the natural hair is constantly pulled down by the hair system and the glue used to attach the system to the scalp provides pressure on the hair. As a result, the wearer often develops extensive bald areas under the hair system and is thus unable to go out in public without the hair system due to the vastly different hairline that is under the mesh. As a result, it is quite possible that for Travolta there is extensive balding or a dramatic receding hairline underneath the hair mesh.
Hair systems are very expensive and require substantial maintenance to keep them clean and perfectly attached to one’s scalp. Maintenance includes the need to get the hair system washed and rid of flakes of skin that accumulate under the hair system. Additionally, one needs to see an expert frequently to reposition and reattach the hair system to the underlying natural hair that grows out. This type of maintenance process takes 3-4 times a month and can cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars a month or more, or a total of $3000 and up per year to maintain it.
