Wayne Rooney Shares Hair Transplant Experience Online

by Marisa Amorasak

English soccer star Wayne Rooney is the latest celebrity to get hair transplants. But unlike other famous men who choose to rejuvenate their hairline, the Manchester United striker has been eager to share his experience with his massive fan base via Twitter. Thanks to Rooney's regular updates, the public is able to watch the progression of his hair transplants.

On June 4, Rooney Tweeted the following update: “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.” Later, he said, “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.”

If Rooney's looking for hair product recommendations, he's in good company: teammate Cristiano Ronaldo is well-known for his luscious locks. Was it Ronaldo that influenced Rooney's hair transplant decision? After all, Ronaldo even nicknamed Rooney Bobby Charlton for his obvious comb-over hairstyle.

Rooney has dealt with hair loss for some time, and he often sported close buzz cuts in an attempt to hide his baldness. But when his hair grew out a bit, it was easy to spot the hairline that seemed to be receding further and further back toward his ears. Based on photographs, it appeared that Rooney suffered from male pattern baldness, the most common type of hair loss. Male pattern baldness is evident when a man starts losing his hair in the crown area of his scalp, forming an “M” shape, as Rooney's hair did. Eventually, the hair that's left on the crown becomes thin and falls out as well, resulting in a horseshoe shape. Short of hair transplant surgery, there's little that can be done about male pattern baldness-- it occurs when hair follicles stop going through the regular hair growth cycle. Serums, vitamins, and other topical products are rarely effective because they change the makeup of the follicle. Hair transplant surgery, on the other hand, replaces these inactive follicles with normally functioning ones. The result is a full head of hair that you can treat just like your own, because it truly is.

Rooney didn't specify what type of hair transplant surgery he had. The most popular and most advanced hair transplant surgery involves follicular unit extraction. In follicular unit extraction, micro-grafts from the lower part of the scalp are removed in sections of about 1-4 hairs. This part of the scalp is generally unaffected by male pattern hair loss, so the follicles are healthy and functional. The hair loss surgeon will then take these grafts and suture them to the crown area, where hair loss occurs.

After his initial Tweets announcing his hair transplant, Rooney had #hairwego trending. He also revealed that he had the procedure performed at the Harley Street Hair Clinic in London. Two days after the surgery, Rooney posted a picture of his post-operation scalp. The healing process seemed to be progressing well-- scabbing was visible on the right side of his hairline, which is expected after a hair transplant as the sutures settle. During this time, Rooney will have to keep shampooing with a special post-operation shampoo to keep the sutures clean. On the ninth, Rooney posted another picture of his hair. The scabbing was no longer visible, and his hairline looked even and natural. Rooney's transplants were probably settled in the picture, and in just a few weeks he'll be able to scrub, cut, and style his hair.

If you'd like to learn more about hair transplants like the ones Wayne Rooney chose, contact our representatives today! We'll schedule you a private consultation with a hair loss specialist in your area. You don't have to suffer from baldness-- Wayne Rooney chose not to.