Arsenal star Rob Holding has told how he restored his confidence and improved his appearance after having a hair transplant.
Central defender Holding, 26, who scored in the victory against West Ham last weekend, said he had struggled with his mental health in previous years after going bald in his early 20s.
He said: “I struggled so much with my hair and self-confidence. I am so happy with the results.”
Holding was the target of a some light-hearted jokes by his team-mates about his hair transplant after the West Ham game in which he scored his first goal in the Premiership.
Goal-keeper Aaron Ramsdale, interviewed alongside Holding, said: “It’s only taken six years (for his first goal) and a new hairline.”
Holding will have almost certainly had an FUE (follicular unit transplant) – chosen by 80% of the patients at Crown Clinic.
With FUE, the donor grafts are extracted individually from the back and sides of the scalp, limiting any scarring.
Most of our consultant surgeon Dr Asim Shahmalak’s patients opt for FUE, including Jack P Shepherd from Coronation Street and the model Calum Best.
Dr Shahmalak also offers the more traditional method of hair transplantation, called FUT ( follicular unit transplantation).
With FUT, the donor hair is removed all in one go by surgically cutting a strip of skin from the back of the scalp. The donor grafts are then extracted from the strip by skilled technicians and they are replanted in the balding areas by Dr Shahmalak.
Because FUT is less labour intensive than FUE, it is slightly cheaper.
The TV doctor Christian Jessen had two FUE transplants with Dr Shahmalak at Crown Clinic.
Spurs manager Antonio Conte is one of a number of people in football who have benefitted from a hair transplant.
Another is the Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, who has been very open about seeking help with his hair.
Conte, 52, looks completely different in the before and after pictures shown on this page and is likely to have had several procedures to boost his hair.
Like a lot of men, Conte started losing his hair in his late 20s and early 30s when he was a successful player in the Italian league and playing for the Italian national team.
He was pictured several times during this time showing all the signs of advanced male pattern baldness.
Since becoming such a successful manager, Conte has had at least two hair transplants to cover up the bald areas at the front of his hairline.
It is likely he would have opted for a FUE (follicular unit extraction) procedure. This is where the grafts are removed individually from the back and sides of the scalp and then replanted in the balding areas.
Around 80% of patients coming to Crown Clinic to our consultant surgeon Asim Shahmalak now opt for FUE.
This is a big change on five years ago when the majority of our patients chose the more traditional method of hair transplantation known as FUT (follicular unit transplantation) or strip surgery.
The advantage of FUE over FUT is that there is less scarring. Most FUE patients are simply left with some red pin pricks where the donor hair is harvested and replanted which go away after a few weeks.
Famous Crown Clinic FUE patients include the Coronation Street star Jack P Shepherd, model Calum Best, and the football pundit Didi Hamann.
FUE is slightly more expensive than FUE because it requires more time to carry out. This is because the donor grafts are removed individually rather in one single strip of skin which is surgically removed, which is what happens under FUT.
Crown Clinic’s most famous FUT patient is the TV doctor Christian Jessen who has had two FUT transplants with Dr Shahmalak. Scarring is greater with FUT and all patients are left with a lined scar on the scalp where the strip for the donor hair is removed. This soon heals and if you wear your hair relatively long, like Christian Jessen, it is very difficult to see the scar because the hair grows over it. However, the scar is visible if you like to wear your hair short or shaved, like Calum Best, so we recommend FUE for all patients who like their hair short. Around 20% of Crown Clinic patients still prefer FUT. There is evidence to show that slightly few grafts are lost in the donor hair harvesting process by removing the grafts in one go – so that is an advantage of FUT.
Conte has not spoken about his hair transplants, so we don’t know for sure which method he chose.
Whichever one it was, he is to be congratulated on his choice and the work of his hair transplant surgeon because he has an excellent result.
- June 22, 2022