Donald Trump’s suddenly fuller-looking hair set off a wave of online speculation this week, and now White House officials have offered an explanation for his newly fluffy mane.
Trump appeared at an event at the Red Rock Casino in Las Vegas on Wednesday sporting hair that looked noticeably brighter and more voluminous than his usual carefully arranged style.
“Lighting is everything,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told The Wall Street Journal of the uproar over his appearance, which senior aides are said to have gotten a kick out of. They said the LED setup inside the casino was particularly flattering to the president’s famous hair.
Still, Trump has previously had some pharmaceutical help keeping his locks intact.
His longtime personal physician, Dr. Harold Bornstein, revealed in 2017 that Trump took a small dose of finasteride, a medication commonly used to treat male-pattern hair loss. A year later, then-White House physician Ronny Jackson confirmed Trump was still taking the drug.
More recent White House health memos, however, have not mentioned finasteride or any other prescription hair treatment, leaving it unclear whether Trump still takes it.
Trump has never been shy about his preoccupation with his hair, which he has described as a “work of art” and “perfect.”
He told Rolling Stone in 2011 that his routine involved washing his hair with Head & Shoulders and then letting it air-dry for about an hour while he watched television and read newspapers.
“But it’s not really a comb-over,” Trump insisted. “It’s sort of a little bit forward and back. I’ve combed it the same way for years. Same thing, every time.”
The president has also shown he knows exactly how much lighting and camera angles can affect his prized locks. Last year, he tore into Time magazine over a cover photo taken from below that he claimed had effectively erased his hair.
“They ‘disappeared’ my hair,” Trump complained.
His hair has even made its way into presidential policy. During his first term, Trump repeatedly railed against federal water-efficiency standards, claiming low-pressure showers made it harder to properly wash his hair.
“You turn on the shower - if you’re like me, you can’t wash your beautiful hair properly,” he said in 2020.
This time, though, if you take the White House’s word for it, the secret to Trump’s suddenly supersized style apparently required no change to the presidential grooming routine.
Just some very flattering LEDs.
