Wayne Rooney undergoes a ‘top-up’ hair transplant

Almost two years to the day since he underwent his first hair transplant, 27-year-old Manchester United footballer Wayne Rooney has had a second, ‘top-up’ procedure at the same private London Harley Street Hair Clinic that he first visited in 2011.

The technique performed to combat Rooney’s baldness two years ago was Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE), an excruciatingly long operation that involves the surgeon extracting thousands of hair follicles from an area where they are in abundance – usually the back of the head – and then re-planting them into the areas where they are most needed.

Various reports had suggested Rooney paid anywhere between an incredible £15,000 – £30,000 amount for his initial hair transplant, following endless jibes from teammates about his premature balding. At the time, he stated: “Just to confirm to all my followers I have had a hair transplant. I was going bald at 25 why not. I’m delighted with the result.” Rooney had previously touched upon the subject of his hair loss in his autobiography. He said he looked at himself in the mirror and thought: “Bloody hell, you’re going bald and you’re only a young lad.”

Rooney has been pictured numerous times in recent months with seemingly much thinner, wispier hair, calling into question the long-term effectiveness of such expensive hair transplants – often costing up to tens of thousands of pounds. Just last month at an England training base, onlookers were shocked to see his hair thickness had diminished considerably and his scalp was clearly visible.

However, Clinic director Nadeem Uddin Khan delivered the news of Rooney’s second hair restoration operation, which lasted nine hours, saying: “He visited us for pre-planned second-stage treatment of his successful transplant. This was scheduled when he began in 2011. It’s standard.” A separate source told The Sun newspaper: “It was very successful. He’s as pleased as punch with the results and can’t wait to unveil his new look.”

The pre-planned top-up transplant could not have come at a better time for Rooney after hair loss expert Dr Asim Shahmalak spoke last month about thinning areas appearing on the footballer’s head and even advised another transplant before baldness strikes again.

Dr Shahmalak, a hair transplant surgeon on Channel 4′s Embarrassing Bodies, had seen recent pictures of Rooney and commented: “It’s very clear from the pictures that Wayne has kept hold of the hair from his first transplant at the front of his head. But he has continued to lose his hair further back on his head and on his crown. It has given him two noticeable bald patches. The best way to remedy this is with a second hair transplant. He also needs to start using the drug Propecia, which footballers can take quite legally without failing any drug tests…”

Visit the Men’s Health or Women’s Health area of the Medical Specialists Pharmacy website to find out more information on how to obtain hair loss treatments such as the previously mentioned Propecia, and other popular products such as those featured on television – Regaine and Alpecin caffeine shampoo.

Has actor Jeremy Piven had a hair transplant?

The growing number celebrities who have gone under the knife to reverse the process of male pattern baldness has been increased according to a one of the world’s leading hair transplant surgeons who is adamant that American actor Jeremy Piven has undergone the procedure.

Dr Bessam Farjo boasts a celebrity client-list that includes Dragons’ Den multi-millionaire Duncan Bannatyne and operates The Farjo Medical Centre, performing the first ever live streaming of a hair transplant procedure last year when he operate on former Premier League and England footballer Michael Gray. Dr Farjo claims that photographs of Piven taken on a Hawaii beach in 2010 clearly show the results of having received such a cosmetic procedure.

In one of the photos, Piven is seen removing his cap to reveal a large scar running across the back of his head and what Dr Farjo explains is a characteristic of a ‘strip method’ hair transplant. He comments: “From the picture, I would say he has had around 3,000 grafts, costing up to £9,000.”

Piven is perhaps most memorable for his starring role as Ari Gold in the television series Entourage, which has earned him Golden Globe and Emmy Awards.  He can currently be seen in the Sunday night ITV drama series ‘Mr Selfridge’, portraying Harry Selfridge – the founder of the Selfridges department stores.

Viewers will see the good-looking 47 year-old sporting an impressively thick mane and Dr Farjo’s assertion about the actor’s strand-by-strand hair transplant, would appear to hold some weight. Back in the early to mid-1990s, Piven featured in several films as well as TV shows such as Seinfeld and Ellen, with a receding hairline that is drastically different from his look in the present day.

Of course, Piven is just the latest celebrity to opt for an expensive hair transplant procedure that can sometimes cost tens of thousands of pounds. In June 2011 Manchester United and England footballer Wayne Rooney caused a stir when he posted a picture onto his Twitter account showing his slightly bloodied and painful-looking head, following surgery at a London Harley Street clinic.

At the time, Rooney had been on the receiving end of jibes from teammates and was applauded by many for speaking about his transplant with a buoyant attitude saying: “Just to confirm to all my followers I have had a hair transplant. I was going bald at 25 why not. I’m delighted with the result” before later revealing more to his thousands of Twitter followers and added: “It’s still a bit bruised and swollen when it dies down u will be first to see it. Anyone recommend any good hair gel. Haha” and “’I had it done in Harley street hair clinic London. Thanks to all the staff who looked after me.”

Setting patients back thousands of pounds for just one procedure of a potential many, hair transplants can only be afforded by a small minority of the millions of men around the world suffering with male pattern baldness.  In times of a crippling recession and austerity in Britain and many other countries, these expensive procedures are simply not a viable option for most.

For both men and women suffering from hair loss, Medical Specialists Pharmacy have a huge range of effective and much cheaper treatment options such as Propecia to combat male pattern baldness, Regaine, Alpecin caffeine shampoo, and for women: Florisene and Dianette– which can also be used for acne, hirsutism and contraceptive purposes. Visit the Men’s Health or Women’s Health area of the Medical Specialists website to find out more information on how to obtain these hair loss treatments.