It is one of the relics of the 1970s which we all thought we had left behind – the comb- over.
The comb-over was a hairstyle adopted by stars of the Seventies such as the former England footballer Bobby Charlon who disguised his baldness by ‘combing over’ longer hair from the side of his scalp.
It seemed fine in the Seventies, but 40 years on you do wonder why anyone thought that it was a good look.
Chris Evans has now been accused or reviving the comb-over. Take a look at these recent pictures of him from Mail Online:
At Crown Clinic we have conducted research showing how the combover had died out
The comb-over – the Seventies hairstyle made famous by Donald Trump, Bobby Charlton and Christian Bale in the movie American Hustle – is no more, according to new research.
Less than 1% of men grow their hair long and then comb it over their bald spot to hide the problem.
But modern men are still thinking of clever ways to disguise the fact that they are losing their hair.
The most popular technique is simply to shave the head – picked by a quarter of men (24%).
Stars who shave their head to disguise their male pattern baldness include Liam Gallagher from Oasis and actors Jason Statham and Ross Kemp.
The second most popular technique to hide baldness is simply to wear a hat or a cap – picked by 21% of men.
Jude Law and Jason Gardiner from Dancing On Ice have both used this approach.
In third place is a hair transplant– picked by a fifth of men (20%), and a solution adopted by increasing numbers of celebrities.
Robbie Williams recently went public after his procedure and the England footballer Wayne Rooney has had two hair transplants.
Gordon Ramsay showed the tell-tale signs of a Follicular Unit Extraction procedure recently when he was pictured with the back of his head shaved and red spots at the bottom of his scalp – scars where the donor hair has been harvested before being transplanted into bald spots.
The fourth most popular diversion tactic is to grow a beard – to distract attention from thinning hair elsewhere.
Prince William did this recently – and it is technique chosen by 8% of men.
The results are revealed in a new survey of 1,000 men by Crown Clinic in Manchester – Britain’s leading hair transplant centre.
Other popular treatments chosen in the poll include hair weaves – used by Elton John and chosen by 6% of men in the survey, and hair pieces – popular with stars such as Kevin Spacey and Bruce Forsyth and picked by one in 20 men (5%).
Surgeon Asim Shahmalak from the Crown Clinic said that the comb-over had shown signs of a revival recently – with both Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne covering thinning hair in this way.
Dr Shahmalak said: “You’ll never again see the big comb-over swoops loved by men in the Seventies like Bobby Charlton.
“But it is wrong to say that the comb-over is completely dead.
“You only have to look at our own Prime Minister David Cameron who has a growing bald spot on his crown. Sometimes this is very noticeable in picitures and other times it completely disappears.
“This is because Mr Cameron cleverly disguises it on occasion by combing his remaining hair over the bald spot.
“He even joked earlier this year that one of his top priorities for 2014 was keeping his bald spot under control.
“George Osborne is receding around the temples but, like the Prime Minister, he has hidden his baldness by adopting a new hairstyle where he combs his hair forward.
“Osborne also joked about his new hair style, saying he had ‘turned it around to stop the recession.’
“Obviously Christian Bale in American Hustle reminded us all just how awful the Seventies comb-over was. That was the worst comb-over since Donald Trump, Bobby Charlton and the man in the photobooth in the Hamlet TV advert.”
Dr Shahmalak said there had been a 25% increase in men seeking transplants at his Crown Clinic, thanks to the ‘Wayne Rooney effect’.
He added: “A hair transplant is the only popular cosmetic procedure a man will chose to have and the only way of permanently restoring lost hair. Thankfully, there is no longer a stigma attached to it, thanks to stars like Wayne and Robbie Williams being so public about their operations.
“Around half the men in the UK will show some signs of male pattern baldness by the time they are 45,
“For many it is just not practical to shave their heads – it is not compatible with their jobs in business or law or showbusiness.
“So they have transplant and completely transform their lives.”
Dr Shahmalak has performed hair transplants on a number of celebrities including Christian Jessen from Embarrassing Bodies and the model Calum Best.
Top ten techniques to disguise baldness
1 Shaved head 24%
2 Wear a hat or cap 21%
3 Hair transplant 20%
4 Grow a bear 8%
5 Clinically proven hair treatment drugs such as Propecia or Minoxidil 7%
6 Hair weave 6%
7 Hairpiece 5%
8 Hair dye 4%
9 Strand by strand treatment favoured by cricket stars like Shane Warne and Graham Gooch 3%
10 Spray paint – mane thickening sprays made of tiny coloured fibres which allow men to pain over their bald patch – 2%.