30,000 copy hair-o Wayne
RUSH FOR TRANSPLANTS
FOOTBALL hero Wayne Rooney inspired more than 30,000 men to have hair transplants in the UK last year.
The cosmetic procedure has seen a 20% rise in the past few years due to the “Rooney effect”.
Hair transplants have now become the most popular cosmetic procedure for men after the cost fell to around £6,000.
The number of procedures is expected to rise again this year as balding men decide to do something about their thinning locks.
Doctor Asim Shahmalak from Crown Clinic in Manchester has performed transplants on celebs including model Calum Best, TV doctor Christian Jessen, Homes Under The Hammer presenter Martin Roberts and ex-Liverpool footballer Didi Hamann.
He said: “Hair transplants have never been more popular and that is down to celebrities like Wayne Rooney, Robbie Williams and Calum Best who have all had procedures and then been very public in talking about the benefits.
“Men see how celebrities’ appearances have been transformed and think ‘I
JAMES INGHAM want some of that, too’. Your average man used to think suffering with baldness was inevitable but now they realise they have a choice.”
Bookings have gone up by 40% since Wayne Rooney had his first procedure at the Harley Street Hair Clinic. Dr Shahmalak, the hair loss expert on Channel 4 show Embarrassing Bodies, said: “Hair transplants are the one way men can make a real difference to their lives and look years younger. “A man’s hair is crucial to his self-esteem and masculinity. Losing it can not only hit his sex appeal but his overall confidence and even his job prospects.” And he suggested our future king could benefit from the procedure. He said: “The most obvious example of hereditary baldness is the royal family.
“The baldness gene has been passed on from the grandfather Prince Philip to the father Prince Charles to the son Prince William.
“There is a likelihood this gene will have been passed on to Prince George too but by then having hair transplants will be much more commonplace.”