There was a time when the idea of a hair transplant carried a stigma. Men were either meant to hide baldness with a wig or embrace it. However, according to one trichologist, it was the footballer Wayne Rooney who helped change all that.
As a player, Rooney burst onto the scene at a remarkably young age, playing in Everton’s first team at 16, starring for England by the time he was 18 and then moving to Manchester United. Many would argue he was also past his best by the time he reached 30, when most players are at their peak.
The sense that he was old before his time was a constant, and his thinning hair did not help. By deciding to get a hair transplant in 2011 at the age of 25, he took away the stigma over such procedures, Vancouver-based trichologist Dr Victor Hasson told the Daily Telegraph.
Dr Hasson said Rooney’s decision helped make such transplants commonplace in the football world, with big names including former Chelsea and Spurs coach Antonio Conte visiting his practice in Canada. Players seeking hair loss treatment in London in recent years have included Arsenal defender Rob Holding.
Of course, many famous players in different eras have suffered hair loss. Bobby Charlton, who Rooney overtook as the all-time leading scorer for both United and England, was famous for his comb-over.
Even in more recent times, Zinedine Zidane took hair loss in his stride. Perhaps, like Charlton, being in the very top bracket of great players compensated. Rooney evidently thought differently.
Paying for a hair transplant is no issue for a Premier League footballer, of course, given their huge salaries. But players are role models, even for adult men, so the ending of the stigma evident in the hair restoration of men whose every movement is visible to thousands for 90 minutes or more each week has to have an impact.
Rooney was very matter-of-fact when he had his first transplant, confirming the op on Twitter by saying: “I was going bald at 25, so why not?”
Few could have thought this would make doing likewise so easy for so many.