Matthew McConaughey Addresses 'Hair Transplant' Allegations With No-Nonsense Answer
Matthew McConaughey appeared to be going bald during the late 1990s, but at the turn of the century, his hair suddenly started growing back. Many have suspected he used hair transplants to revive his hair, but in a new interview late last month, he insisted that's not the case. He challenged anyone who doesn't believe him to run their fingers through his hair.
McConaughey, 52, heard that shaving his hair to give his scalp a fresh start might help, or even exposing his head to moonlight, the Dallas Buyers Club star told LADBible on Feb. 26. However, what really did the trick turned out to be a "tropical ointment" he rubbed into his scalp once a day for 10 minutes. "I was fully committed, I was fully committed to it – no Propecia, no nothing, it was just manual labor," the Greenlights author said. "All I can tell you is it came back. I have more hair now than I had in 1999."
McConaughey noted that it looked like he was "losing" his hair around the time he made The Wedding Planner (2001). "I got a picture, turn of the millennium party in 2000 in Jamaica, I was looking down laughing and there was a baseball-sized bald spot on the top of my head," he said, referring to a picture he included in Greenlights.
Later, McConaughey learned that a doctor was taking credit for giving the actor a hair transplant, even though he never got one. He met a Beverly Hills doctor who said there was one surgeon who took credit for his hair growth during annual transplant conventions. So, the Beverly Hills doctor asked McConaughey if he could run his hands through his hair.
"He goes, 'Can I just look at your hair? Can I just feel it and see?'" McConaughey recalled. "I said 'Yeah man,' he goes 'You don't have transplants,' I said 'That's what I said, of course, I don't.'" The doctor said he couldn't wait to "bust this guy's nut next year when he raises his hand."
The Magic Mike star is still using the topical ointment. "The same thing I was rubbing it down with I still do today," he told LADBible. "I'm not gonna quit to see if like, 'Oh, do I need to do it anymore?' I'm not taking that chance."
Back in 2001, McConaughey told David Letterman the hair ointment he used is called Regenix. Over the weekend, Regenix CEO Bill Edwards told TMZ that McConaughey's endorsement helped the company suddenly attract customers from all over the world. After the coronavirus pandemic began and Regenix was forced to close its clinic in Los Angeles, the company expanded its mail-order program. Edwards thanked McConaughey for his continued support and for helping his company survive the pandemic.