Joe Rogan is a man of many talents, managing to succeed in so many different fields. He has made himself a staple in the entertainment industry through his comedy, enthusiastic commentary on the UFC and no holds barred podcast.

Yet, there was a time when he thought all of this would never going to transpire, and the reasoning behind the doubts was all to do with his hair loss.

Now sporting one of the most recognised domes proudly; yet this wasn’t always the case. Joe Rogain’s hair loss story focuses on the sheer panic of losing hair and the great lengths one is willing to go to reverse it.

Who Is Joe Rogan?

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Joe James Rogan is an American jack of all trades. Born in 1967, The New Jersey native has established himself in the entertainment world as a stand-up comedian, podcast and television host, actor and mixed martial arts commentator and a Brazilian jiu jitsu (BJJ) black belt.

Rogan started off his career as a struggling stand-up comedian in Boston before relocating to Los Angeles in 1994. Signing a development deal with Disney.

He got his first big break on the NBC sitcom NewsRadio. He played Joe Garrelli; throughout 1995 to 1999. The loveable idiot; a character heavily influenced by Joey Tribbiani from the popular TV show ‘Friends’.

In 1997, he stepped into the role most associated with him nowadays. As the interviewer and knowledgeable commentator on the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Further increasing his popularity, he became the host of a TV stunt game show ‘Fear Factor’ in 2001. The show had been a success that ran for 5 long years.

Finally in 2009, the launch of the highly successful podcast ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’ was released on YouTube. The podcast gained noriaty for it’s interviewing of comedians, actors and public figures in open discussions. Establishing it’s mark and setting the bar extremely high for all podcasts to follow.

He has spoken openly on his hair loss experience many times on the podcast, offering a real insight into his thought process during the troubling time.

Panic Stations

It was during the beginning of his acting journey that Rogan started to notice that he was balding around his mid-twenties.

“I was freaking out — I was freaking out that my hair was falling out cause I was on TV too and I was making a living as an actor at the time.” Stated Rogain in one of his JRE podcast.

Rogan associated his new found success on his appearance. It was very clear to him that Hollywood had an obsession with image, that he was fully capitalizing on.

Rogan had gone from being a struggling 25 year old comedian, who on a good week was earning $300, to staring on network TV shows earning “fucking shit loads piles of TV money” as he bluntly put it. He had never made that kind of money before.

He felt as though he had found the winning formula and did not want to loosen his grip on it just yet.

The panic of losing his hair was so prevalent in his daily thoughts, that he believed he was going to lose his hair; but it was also going to cost him his career. “I was thinking I wasn’t going to have a career — I’m going to be a bald loser.”

Rogan started losing his hair most likely due to male pattern baldness. He has admitted to taking Human Growth Hormone (HGH) but this is unlikely to have contributed to his hair loss. However, he also takes Testosterone Replacement Theory (TRT) and this may have worsened his hair loss in some manner.

Treatment After Treatment

Rogan admitted that fear had gripped him, he was willing to try everything and anything to simply fix the situation. Looking past the side effects and the potential consequences. If a treatment was on the table he was ready to snap your fingers for it. We see this sort of mentality in so many desperate men who have lost their hair young.

At first he took a cocktail of Minoxidil, Propecia and a mysterious aselic acid that was not even approved by the FDA. Initially it had saved his hair for a couple of years; “the minoxidil was hanging in there.” Nevertheless, his hair was still receding.

He searched for a potential remedy but unfortunately the internet did not contain the amount of resources tackling hair loss as it does nowadays.

Eventually, at the age of 26 he was advised by a doctor that a FUT hair transplant would bring his hair back. He admitted that he was suspicious at first but was shown pictures of successful patients and it had convinced him that there was a light at the end of the tunnel. “Ok this is going to fix it” he believed .

The result was not satisfactory for his liking but he remained determined. One hair transplant quickly lead to two more as he desperately attempted to deal with his insecurities.

Following his three transplants, he concluded that the transplants “didn’t look good.” Ultimately he refers to it being a regrettable mistake in his life. Citing it as one of the dumpiest things he has ever done.

In various podcasts, he often lambastes the ‘giant smile’ of a scar that has been left at the back of his head from the FUT transplants. Furthermore, he believes that hair transplant might work for some men, but that he was always at a disadvantage due to his naturally thin hair. By the time he was hosting on Fear factor he was already a Norwood Type 3.

Just Shave It Bitch

It was whilst viewing himself onscreen hosting the UFC, that a ray of light had bounced through his thinning hair illuminating a shiny bald spot that he decided it was time to shave it off.

He described the remaining hair left as “sick, sad, coughing, dying hair”. Once he shaved it all off, it was nothing short of liberating; “the freedom it gives me” he outlined.

His advice to men going through the same ordeal is to simply man up and “shave it bitch!”. He looks back at the years attempting to cure it as waste of time and energy.

His outlook on hair loss now, is that for all his worries he doesn’t understand why he didn’t just shave his hair when it started receding. He considers that the ‘solution’ of shaving your head when balding was talesys there from the very start and it’s the only logic one.

Rogan now shaves his head every 4 days and is extremely happy rocking the bald dome. So much so that he is adamant that even given the choice via a magically pill right now, he would turn down the opportunity to recover his hair. “I don’t want hair anymore…I look better bald”, he proudly states.

Whether this is all bravado, only Joe will truly know for sure. What is undeniable however, is that he has clearly at peace with his hair loss.

Conclusion

Looking back at Joe Rogan’s hair loss, what stands out the most is the amount of fear and utter confusion occurs when one loses their hair. Rogan himself explains this perfectly, “it is very confusing, you have no control over it”. Leading to so many men willing to undertake any treatment available just to get back their hair back.

Ultimately his hair loss story is extremely relatable. Whether you choose to take up Rogans advice and shave it off, or to continue exerting every possible avenue in search of keeping your hair.