“I had no hesitation at all about getting a hair transplant or sharing my journey,” says Keggs, who documented her surgery and results to her 155,000 followers on TikTok. “If you want to do something that not only makes you look better, but also makes you feel better, why not do it?”
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A survey by London’s Harley Street Hair Clinic found that 35% of men feel less attractive because of their hair loss, and 26% said their confidence has decreased because of their hair loss. This has a direct impact on their mental health, with 13% reporting increased stress levels and 12% increased anxiety. People who are not yet bald suffer from similar effects, with 69 percent of men suffering from “hair anxiety” and 30 percent feeling it every time they look in the mirror. All this despite the fact that three-quarters of men in the UK are balding, and hair loss is very common, still a quarter of men feel they have no one to talk to about it.
Dr. Greg Vida, senior surgeon at Harley Street Hair Clinic, said there has been a huge demand for the procedure in recent years, resulting in an increase in the amount of procedures performed at the clinic. “For a long time, people didn’t have examples of ‘good’ hair transplants, so they didn’t understand the true potential of what the results could be,” says the first major example. Vida says, citing Rooney as an example. “By being so open about his hair journey, Wayne has not only shown people that UK clinics can produce such natural results, but also influenced public opinion and changed the conversation. It helped normalize it and break the taboo around hair loss.”
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Vida is happy to see this radical vulnerability now being promoted on TikTok as well. “This transparency is exactly what is needed to destigmatize hair loss and show how common male hair loss is, while also demonstrating that effective treatments are available and accessible. It also gives me hope,” he says.
Ben Haldon, 31, from Chester, is one of those documenting his hair transplant process on TikTok, and he shared a detailed 20-minute video diary of his surgery and immediate aftermath on YouTube. Although he wasn’t too concerned about his receding hairline, he was aware that his father had lost his hair in his 30s, and wanted to “proactively deal with it.” I knew that I would get better results if I had more. Like Kegs and many other TikTok users, Haldon traveled to Turkey for hair transplant surgery, which cost her about $3,000, including airport transportation, hotel and food costs.
Ms Haldon said the experience was “smooth from start to finish” with little discomfort, minimal pain and a smooth recovery. Because he was surrounded by a group of men undergoing the same surgery, Haldon feels he was much less frightened.
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“Recovery can be quite difficult and I can understand why most people would be hesitant about the six weeks of post-surgery care and medication,” said Charlie Weir, 32, from London. He also went to Turkey to undergo hair transplant surgery and shared the process on TikTok. As his hair began to thin and recede in his mid-to-late 20s, he decided to undergo transplant surgery after years of hiding it with beanies and baseball caps. “I became so self-conscious that every photo I took outweighed my own. [saw of myself]”I was so focused on how bad my hair looked,” he says. “It ruined what should have been a happy moment.”
