The Real Slim Shady is a certified platinum artist many times over. In fact, he’s right up there with Michael Jackson and The Eagles among the top-selling music-makers ever.
But if anyone knows that image makes a difference in music, it’s Marshall Mathers, better known as Eminem. He was one of the first artists to capitalize on the music video craze of the 90s fully and brought hip hop further into the mainstream as a result.
Eminem had the look, the songs, and the attitude. But curiously, he also always had a clean-shaven face throughout his career — until now.
Eminem’s “new” beard has been a controversial subject in recent years, drawing speculation from fans, haters, and professionals alike. The rapper had a youthful look at the peak of his fame, and while he’s still in the public spotlight, his look is more mature, with a full beard to boot.
Is Eminem’s beard as natural as his ability to rhyme and entertain? Many suggest that he had a beard transplant to achieve this look, while others claim it was just a matter of time.
In this article, let’s get the real answer and see what lessons we can learn from the rapper’s experience of getting a full beard once and for all.
To get to the bottom of this mystery, it makes sense to start from the beginning. Let’s walk through Eminem’s look throughout his career and see if we can put the puzzle pieces together.
Eminem’s origin story reveals that he started rapping in his teenage years, a time when growing a full beard was not possible for the majority of young men.
As he competed in rap battles in his hometown of Detroit, the young Marshall Mathers likely kept the smooth, clean look simply because he wasn’t capable of growing a full beard. This was likely a decision made out of necessity rather than personal style.
Besides, if we look at all the major celebrities of the 1990s, very few of them sported a full beard, especially in the hip-hop scene. Pop musicians, rock-and-rollers, and even athletes and actors did not opt for the bearded look at this time, save for a few country-western stars.
Therefore, it’s no surprise that the young Slim Shady was never seen with more than a bit of facial hair in a few pictures from this era. It’s almost impossible to find a pic of Eminem sporting any scruff from his early career, suggesting that he may not be genetically inclined to grow a beard at all.
Eminem finally had his big break in the late 90s and started making millions by the turn of the millennium. He toured relentlessly and was highly productive in the studio.
But still, despite all his appearances in music videos, on stage, and at awards shows, there’s a lack of evidence to show that Eminem ever grew out his facial hair at the height of his fame. The answer may be that the star simply wanted to keep the look that made him famous and stay clean-cut by shaving daily.
It’s also possible that Eminem, who reached age 30 in 2002, just couldn’t yet develop a full, natural beard at this age, which is the case for a certain portion of men. We can uncover pictures of Eminem with a subtle chin-strap beard from this era, but that’s about all.
After becoming world-famous in the early 2000s, Eminem was under a lot of pressure and decided to step away. It was a turbulent time for the artist when he didn’t tour, make music, and barely appeared in public.
Thankfully, Eminem made a major comeback just a few years later and shared his experience, revealing that he struggled with personal issues at the time. Because we don’t have much photo documentation of the artist during this period, we’re unsure whether he was growing facial hair while he was out of the spotlight.
It wasn’t until 2017 that the public finally got a glance at what a fully-bearded Marshall Mathers looks like. A famous photo was taken at an award show, picturing the artist with a complete beard, with dense coverage that no one had seen before. The internet responded with surprise and enthusiasm, with everyone throwing out their opinions on social media.
The one clue we have is a Tweet from Eminem a few years earlier in which he expressed “beard envy” regarding actor Jake Gyllenhal. It’s possible that Eminem simply wanted to catch up with the modern pop culture trend of having a complete beard and took steps to make that goal a reality in the following years.
Eminem never discussed his decision to grow a beard or revealed how he did it, but we can speculate a few possibilities. Here’s how Eminem may have attained his beard and whether a beard transplant was part of the protocol.
When it comes to facial hair growth, genetics is the main factor we need to consider. The DNA we inherit from our parents determines when facial hair grows and to what extent, the color of the hair, and other traits.
Knowing this, we can safely guess that Eminem was capable of growing some facial hair early on, but he chose to keep a clean-shaven look for personal reasons or the fact that his beard did not grow in full.
It’s common for Caucasian men in their 20s to lack facial hair growth, especially in areas like the cheeks and the connecting areas of the beard in the goatee area. This explains why Eminem may have grown some scruff back in the 90s but never went for the full-bearded look.
In other words, Eminem may have just let time do its work and waited until he could grow a beard to show it off in a way that matched his image.
There’s no doubt that Eminem has resources at his disposal that he may have used to accelerate and increase his beard growth in the period between 2015 and 2017.
Non-surgical methods are now more common for facial hair development, including therapies like microchanneling and low-level infrared light therapy.
It’s also possible that Eminem sought out experimental treatments like plasma or stem cell injections to promote beard growth in a shorter time frame since these methods were starting to grow in popularity around this time.
We should also account for Eminem’s lifestyle during this period, in which he focused on healthy living and exercise. In the early years, this was not his focus, so his lifestyle overhauls likely helped him get in great shape and achieve some beard growth as a bonus.
As with all things in celebrity culture, the widespread assumption was that Eminem skipped the natural methods for facial hair growth and jumped straight to a beard transplant to attain the full coverage we see in recent photos.
While we can’t be 100% certain, there are a few factors that suggest Eminem did indeed have a beard transplant to get his mature new look:
Keep in mind that beard transplants vary widely in their scope and objective, and Eminem may have just had a minor procedure to fill in gaps in his genetic limitations.
Most beard transplants are done with fewer than 1000 grafts, meaning that Eminem’s surgeon could pick and choose the best possible donor hair to transplant onto his beard.
Eminem likely also has the best medical team available and spares no expense when seeking out top-of-the-line treatments, including beard transplants.
We may never uncover the truth about Eminem’s beard or how he achieved his new look, but we can take away a few lessons from observing his experience.
All speculation aside, Eminem’s beard growth may simply be the result of patience and waiting until the right time to grow a beard. The clean-shaven look worked well for him in his career, and he may have just waited until his 40s to adopt the mature, modern look of a groomed beard.
Natural growth is possible, especially with guidance from a hair restoration team pointing him in the right direction. Marshall Mathers may not have taken the surgical route between supplements, medicines, therapies, and other techniques.
If Eminem’s new beard was indeed the result of a transplant, it teaches us that the results of these procedures can be transformative and look great at any age.
We see that Eminem was highly specific in his vision for the new beard and left nothing to chance. His choice of clinic and surgeon also likely made a huge difference in the quality of his results and the fact that he can groom and manipulate his beard to his exact specifications.
The takeaway here is that beard transplants are some of the most highly rated modern cosmetic procedures in terms of client satisfaction, and Eminem may be the perfect showcase.
Whether you want to upgrade your beard in terms of coverage or improve the density of certain areas on the face, you can customize your transplant strategy to get exactly what you want with permanent results.
Eminem chose the perfect point in his career to take his beard to the next level, and he executed his plan with precision.
Whether it was a mix of time, genetics, natural means, or a transplant, we applaud Eminem for his efforts and for showing us that anything is possible when achieving your ideal look.
If you’re hoping for natural, full-looking facial hair, look no further. Dr. Jae Pak M.D. can help you achieve real results that last!
Sources:
Beard and Mustache Transplant | ISHRS
Facial Hair Transplantation | ISHRS
DNA Determines Your Appearance! | Center for Nanoscale Science
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