There has been a big rise in the number of men having hair transplants.
Figures from the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons revealed that the number of men undergoing plastic surgery has more than doubled in the past decade – rising from 2,440 in 2005 to 4,614 in 2015.
These figures include a number of surgical procedures including facelifts, eyelid surgery and liposuction to remove fat from around the midriff or in the chest area -‘moob reductions.’
However, by far the most popular form of male cosmetic surgery is hair transplantation.
At Crown Clinic, we have seen a similar rise in the number of procedures, particularly in the last five years.
Back then, most men (around 75%) coming to see our surgeon Asim Shahmalak were having FUT (follicular unit transplantation) procedures. This tried and tested technique – also known as strip harvesting – involves removing a strip of skin from the back or side of the scalp to harvest the donor hair.
However, these days around 75% of men coming to Crown Clinic chose the newer technique – FUE (follicular unit extraction) where grafts are removed individually and there is no surgical removal of the strip.
The new technique is particularly popular with men who wear their hair short because there is a less scarring to the scalp.
So what has brought about this change, particularly given FUE is more expensive than FUT because it is more labour intensive?
Wayne Rooney has definitely been a factor – he has used FUE for all his procedures.
And Crown Clinic’s celebrity patients Calum Best, Didi Hamann and Martin Roberts all used FUE, too, and inspired other men to do so.
Both methods are equally effectively and it is understandable that other celebrities, such as another Crown Clinic patient, Embarrassing Bodies star Christian Jessen, chose the FUT method. Christian wears his hair relatively long, so any scalp scarring from removing the strip would not be visible.