Wayne Bridge ‘buzzing’ after £7k hair transplant as he shows off incredible transformation
WAYNE Bridge says he's "buzzing" after a £7,000 hair transplant.
The 44-year-old former England footballer underwent the procedure with the full support of his wife Frankie, 36, who loves his new look.
Ex-Man City and Chelsea fullback Bridge had been losing his hair across his scalp for around 10 years.
By the time of his transplant last September his hair was sparse and he was always trying to hide his baldness.
He explained: “I used to move it around to cover it up. I didn’t get a lot of banter about it from mates because I was so good at hiding it.
“I work in the media and knew that I would really benefit from getting it sorted. You feel so much more confident when your hair looks good."
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Bridge - who won 36 England caps before retiring in 2014 - had 4,085 hairs implanted into the thinning areas of his scalp using the advanced Direct Hair Implantation technique.
He said: “It’s like I have got a full head of hair again and the transformation is pretty unbelievable.
“When I look at the before and after pictures it is pretty amazing and it has done so much for my self-confidence.”
Bridge added: “It is so much thicker now and it takes me no time to get it sorted out. I jump out of the shower, use a bit of product and then I am out.
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"I’m buzzing and it means I can wear my hair a lot shorter now.
"Lots of people who are thinning have asked me where I got it done and want to do the same.
“Before I was always conscious of how my hair looked and it used to take me a lot longer to get ready.”
Bridge's wife Frankie - the former Saturdays singer turned TV presenter and podcaster - was fully supportive of his decision.
“So many men are getting help with their hair and it is really no big deal,” he said.
“I told Frankie what I was doing and she was really supportive. She said ‘go for it’ and supports anything that makes me feel better about myself.”
Bridge, who had the procedure at DHI Global Clinic in central London, was insistent that he had the surgery in the UK.
He said: “I had the surgery in the morning and was back home later that day. I was so chilled during the surgery that I fell asleep.
“There was no swelling and I chilled for a couple of days at home while I recovered.
“After that, I was back to my normal routine of doing media work and looking after the family.
I wish I had got it done earlier in my hair loss because I feel so much better about myself
Wayne Bridge
“I could see the benefits straight away, though it was not obvious to anyone who didn’t know me that I had had a hair transplant.
“It takes up to a year for all the new hair to fully grow back but, after nine months, my hair is as good as new and it will continue to grow back for a further three months and look even better. I wish I had got it done earlier in my hair loss because I feel so much better about myself.
“Women benefit from cosmetic procedures all the time. The nice thing about footballers such as Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand going public about their procedures is that men can see it is no big deal and they can do simple things to benefit their appearance too.”
Since retiring in 2014, he has starred on I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! and he won the first series of Channel 4’s SAS: Who Dares Wins six years ago after trekking through a glacier in Chile.
Bridge, who now hosts The Dressing Room podcast with ex-England stars Joe Cole and Carlton Cole, said he chose DHI Global for his hair transplant after it was recommended by a celebrity friend.
He said: “I bumped into him at a wedding and his hair looked great. He explained that he had gone to DHI because the treatment is so discreet and no one knows you have had it done until all the hair has grown back.
“I wanted the very best treatment in the world with the shortest down-time and that was always going to be DHI.
“You read about patients going abroad for hair transplants but that was never going to be an option for me.
“The best clinics in the world are here and it is reassuring to know that the team is in central London for the aftercare. Who wants to jump on a flight to check on their hair if something goes wrong?”
With DHI no holes are made for the implanting of the new hairs - instead they are directly implanted.
All DHI procedures are performed by doctors, who are trained and certified by London Hair Restoration Academy, the first Academy for hair transplants.
A DHI Global spokesperson said: “We increased the density in Wayne’s hair on his hairline and the top of his scalp. We have filled in the gaps to make him look younger and improve his body confidence.
“We treat a lot of high profile patients such as Wayne who love to stay fit and look good. We are delighted that he is so happy with the results.”
As well as Bridge, DHI also worked with former England cricketer Phil Tufnell.
Everything you need to know about hair transplants
A HAIR transplant is a procedure to move hair to an area that's thin or bald.
It's not available on the NHS because it's considered a cosmetic surgery.
A hair transplant in the UK can cost anywhere between £1,000 and £30,000, depending on the extent of hair loss, the type of procedure you have, and the quality of the clinic and its team.
They're usually suitable for people with permanent baldness, the type that runs in families.
It's not usually suitable for people with other types of hair loss, such as the type that causes bald patches (alopecia areata).
A hair transplant is usually carried out under local anaesthetic and sedation, which means you'll be awake but will not feel any pain.
They usually take a day, and don't usually require an overnight stay.
Following treatment you can expect the following:
- After two to five days: any bandages can usually be removed, but you should not touch the grafts.
- Day six: you should be able to wash your hair gently by hand.
- After 10 to 14 days: any non-dissolvable stitches can usually be removed.
- After a few weeks: the transplanted hair will often fall out, and later start to grow back.
- After four months: new hair will usually start to appear.
- After 10 to 18 months: the full results should be seen.
Potential side effects may include:
- a tight, achy and swollen scalp for a few days
- temporary scabbing where the hair was transplanted
- a single scar or a number of very tiny scars
If you're thinking about having a hair transplant in England, check with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to see if the hospital or clinic is registered with them.
Cosmetic surgery can sometimes go wrong and the results may not be what you expected.
You should contact the clinic where you had your hair transplant as soon as possible if you have severe pain or any unexpected symptoms.
If you're not happy with the results, or you think the procedure was not carried out properly, speak with the surgeon who treated you.
Source: NHS