Last Updated on May 9, 2020 by Robert Price

So every time a bald or balding celebrity turns out to be a deviant or perve of the unacceptable variety, I’m thinking I should do a short post regarding their hair loss. And, I suppose maybe I’ll throw in a brief rant about the said celebrity/public figure while I’m at it.

Matt Lauer’s the latest casualty of the great Hollywood Purge of 2017 and the subject of this post.

He’s been balding since before some of you balding teenagers were even born.

These days, he rocks the shaved style with swag and sophistication.

Well, today, maybe not so much. The former “Today Show” host’s reputation is shot and he’s unlikely to ever be a prominent figure in the American journalism/morning show world. It seems that like Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Mark Halperin, and others, Lauer is a bit kinky and twisted and he liked to use his position of power at NBC to sexually and professionally intimidate his subordinates.

He grabbed Katie Couric’s ass, and complimented Meridith Viera’s.

Is complimenting a woman’s ass not even okay anymore?

I guess not!

Such behavior was considered kosher in 1985 — hell, even 2005! — but it’s not today. So be careful out there, gentlemen!

Back to Lauer’s Balding

He’s been balding since ’97 when he landed the “Today Show” gig, easy — and the process probably started when he was in his early 30s. So he was sort of a late bloomer on the MPB front, given the fact that he’s probably a solid Norwood 5 or so at this point.

Below is a picture from one of Lauer’s early tv gigs at CBS Boston, from 1988, when he was about 30 years old.

Lots of jet black hair there, clearly! Low-quality pic but I see no evidence of balding.

His hairline kind of jumped around a little bit during his tenure at NBC. This was likely just due to stylistic and/or product changes, as his hair thinned progressively each and every year. Some have reported he used hair fiber products — and their old-school equivalents, like that ridiculous hair-in-a-can stuff they used to advertise. Others believe he rocked a wig.

I’m not convinced, personally. Like Larry David, who famously never flirted with a toupee, I believe Lauer just let his locks thin naturally — the manly way, some would argue.

Photo Credit: NBC/Youtube. Here’s a screen shot from Matt’s first today show. He’s about 39 years old. Obvious thinning in the front, but nothing out of the ordinary for a middle-aged man.

Here’s a shot of Matt from around the same time, with what appears to be considerably denser hair. Again, some may see this as wig evidence, but I think the more plausible explanation is that he’s just wearing some hair concealers, or just found a better hairstyle that hid his thinning hair more effectively.

Bald spot forming. The MPB isn’t getting better, as shown here in 2005 with President Bush. Speaking of Bush. You may be interested in checking out my post: The Bush Family and Balding Genetics – A Case Study.

His final resting place, follicularly and figuratively, as far as his career goes. About a 5 on the proverbial Norwood scale.

Could He Have Saved His Hair?

Propecia, the popular, effective, and controversial hair loss drug, became available in the US in 1997, before Matt’s hairline reached the point of no return. In fact, he still had decent coverage at that point. So yeah, if Matt took Propecia from the get go, I’d say there’s a good chance he’d have a full or relatively full head of hair to this day.

Minoxil and laser therapy would be options as well. And of course, good hair transplants are totally undetectable to the naked eye.

Can He Save His Career?

Never say never. This is America, a Christian nation and the land of second chances. We believe in forgiveness here, do we not?!

Actually, F It. Lauer is toast! Don’t sexually harass people in 2017, kids. The more you know.

Robert Price

Robert Price is a writer, consumer advocate, and hair loss researcher with thousands of hours of experience in the field. His goal is to keep you out of the hair loss rabbit hole, underworld, or whatever you want to call it. He founded Hair Loss Daily, the unbiased hair loss blog, in 2016. You can learn more about Robert in the my story section of this website.