Hair loss is a challenge for any man as they age, not least when it starts to happen sooner than they hoped. Greying may be another matter; lots will find the idea of becoming a George Clooney-style silver fox interesting, but baldness can be quite distressing.
As ever, what famous people do about it will always be noticed, even if some of these matters are the subject of speculation without any confirmation.
That is not the case with Rio Ferdinand, the former Manchester United and England footballer who has revealed he has had hair loss treatment both for his head and also his beard.
“I’m here to get my beard sorted out, I’ve got a couple of holes, a couple of patches,” said the 45-year-old, who now works as a pundit, in a video.
He went overseas to have the procedure done. Still, it is, of course, just as possible to get such treatment here in London, even if the typical Londoner has an income rather smaller than that of the Camberwell-born Ferdinand.
The same might be said of Leytonstone-born David Beckham, who was the subject of recent claims that his hairstyles featured in the recent Netflix documentary about his life and career had sparked claims of a surge in men wanting cosmetic hair treatments to replicate his past haircuts.
However, while there are claims Beckham has had such treatment himself, this has never been confirmed.
Others have been more willing to say they have had such treatment and are happy to have done so, such as Ferdinand’s former team-mate at Old Trafford, Wayne Rooney. After having the treatment in London in 2011, he said in his customary, matter-of-fact style: “I was going bald at 25, so why not?”
These open attitudes to trichology may be welcomed, even if one allows for the fact that neither Wayne Rooney nor Rio Ferdinand have a ‘brand’ to protect like Beckham. But their choices also reflect the opportunities that now exist, which many of their forbears simply did not have.
Last month saw a huge outpouring of emotion but also admiration following the passing at the age of 86 of Bobby Charlton, perhaps Manchester United’s biggest legend of all, but also a man who dealt with hair loss through the most famous comb-over in sport. Like Rooney, the onset of baldness came in his 20s.
This look characterised the appearance of Charlton as his hair receded in the 1960s, although his greatness on the pitch and ambassadorial role off it, especially in retirement, did not spare him the satire; a poll in 2002 by Brylcreem listed it as the “worst hairstyle in history”.
It is little wonder, then, that so many of his successors have sought to do something about their thinning hairlines, whether this has involved getting treated at the age of 25 or 45.
But you don’t have to have been a famous footballer to get treatment. Singer Boy George recently revealed having three transplants, for instance. Nor, however, do you need to be famous at all.
If even someone as revered as Bobby Charlton could be the butt of so many jibes over his lack of hair, you should never feel the need to just put up with it.