In December 2024, Metro’s assistant opinion and first-person editor, James Besanvalle, underwent a hair transplant. Here, in the first installment of his experience, he documents the reality of having the procedure.
As my barber held up the mirror to the top of my head, my jaw dropped. There it was – a small bald spot on my crown. It was 2019 and I was just 28 years old.
My dad is bald so I knew it was a possibility that I’d end up the same but I thought I had more time. Ever since, I’ve tried numerous things to cover it up – from strategic hairstyles to hair fibers (a powder-like product to fill in gaps) but it only seemed to get worse.
By the start of my 30s, I noticed my hairline was receding too and that’s when I decided to take matters into my own hands and get a hair transplant.
With locations in Manchester and Essex, the British Hair Clinic has built up an impressive list of celebrity clients, like Love Island’s Nathan Massey and Rykard Jenkins or soap stars Owen Warner and Stephanie Davis.
In fact, when I went into their Essex clinic last November for a free consultation, I actually saw TV presenter Tyler West coming out of his five hour procedure. (Something he’s posted about since.)
The initial consultation
As part of my consultation, I met the clinic manager, Af, who had actually had two hair transplants himself, which made me feel like I must be in safe hands. He told me about the whole process, including what to expect on the day and during recovery, as well as results from other clients.
I then met one of the surgeons, Dr Shuja Chaudhry, who ran through the questionnaire I’d filled out earlier, asking about my medical history. He encouraged me to ask any questions I had, so I admitted I hated needles and was worried about pain levels.
Dr Shuja told me the main part some people can struggle with is administering the local anaesthetic, which made me quite nervous.
Of course, price is something most people want to know too. The standard price for the procedure is £5,000, which includes 12 months of aftercare and hair loss drugs.
I’d read about drugs like finasteride and minoxidil for hair loss but the side effects (including sexual dysfunction or low mood) always put me off. I was told I’d have to start taking these daily, two weeks after the transplant because it’s the best way to ensure great results, which made sense.
Next was the physical assessment of my scalp, including using a marker to draw a new hairline. Measuring out four fingers from the top of my eyebrows, the doctor drew a natural-looking line that went right up into my temple.
He then took photos, parting my hair to see the full extent of the hair loss – and I couldn’t believe how vast it was.
As I walked out the door of the clinic later that evening, I felt a little overwhelmed but also reassured by the clinic’s results and doctor’s capable hands. So – after chatting with my husband Matt – I decided to go for it.
The procedure
The date for the procedure was set just one after my initial consultation, which I’m told is not typically this quick. Even though it was a relatively short wait, I felt more and more nervous as it inched closer.
On the day, we arrived at the clinic for a 1pm start. After last minute checks, it was time to draw up the transplant area in precise detail and shave my head. When the clinic assistant ran the clippers over my scalp, I looked at myself in the mirror afterwards and audibly gasped. I knew there was no going back.
Next I had to sit on the examination table (like a massage chair) in the middle of the room and popped my head in the cut-out at the top.
Then came the much-anticipated local anaesthetic. On a pain threshold from one to 10, I’d say it was four. I could feel a sharp scratch from the needle repeatedly going in across the back of my head, but it was over in less than five minutes.
As soon as I couldn’t feel a thing, it was time to get going. Over the space of two hours, I moved my head and neck into different positions while the doctor and assistants – Jane and Gosia – extracted grafts of hair from the back of my head.
What is a graft?
A hair graft is a small piece of tissue containing hair follicles that is transplanted from one part of the scalp to another.
Each graft may contain several follicles, which can help determine hair thickness. A hair transplant will ideally contain a mixture of singles (most commonly used along the hairline so that it doesn’t appear too thick and unnatural), doubles, triples, and quadruples.
The only uncomfortable moments were occasional pains in my neck, but I found myself humming along with the assistants to radio songs in the background to distract myself.
Once this part was done, the back of my head was bandaged and I was informed that they had extracted a total of 2,100 grafts – including a range of single, double, triple and quadruple strands.
It was then time for lunch, where I was brought a chicken sandwich with a juice box and a Kit Kat, which I could get up to eat at the table in the surgery room. I couldn’t believe how smooth this process was going.
The second part of the day saw me lying on the table again, but on my back this time. I needed some more anaesthetic, but I knew exactly what was coming so it wasn’t as bad.
Dr Shuja then made tiny little incisions in the front of my head and on my crown, so that the assistants could then insert the individual grafts. As you can imagine, it’s a painstaking process that took about four hours.
We passed the time by talking about Jane’s upcoming eyebrow transplant, the most awkward things people requested to watch during the procedure (think graphic sex scenes in films like The Wolf of Wall Street), and one particularly bizarre story about a guy who couldn’t handle the pain so walked out halfway through.
After the last few grafts were placed in my crown, we were finally done. I felt so much relief it was over, but also pride that I had got through it. I’d built it up so much in my head, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be.
Matt came to meet me in the waiting area and (after a big hug) we both went into the consultation room to go over the post-op recovery instructions.
The recovery
Hands down, the hardest thing about the recovery was sleeping. The first night in particular felt like a huge adjustment of trying to get comfortable, so I kept waking up every half an hour.
I was advised to sleep on a 45 degree angle and with a neck pillow so that I didn’t touch the transplanted area (on the top). I ended up strategically stacking pillows behind me, but my neck felt craned throughout the night and was painful because I was lying on the donor area (the back of my head).
Thankfully I had a week off work to recover so my sleep-deprived state during the day didn’t impact me too hard. The morning after the procedure, I started the delicately-timed process of spraying my hair with saline, as well as taking pain meds, and a seven-day course of antibiotics.
I had been warned about the fact that my face would swell, which you might have seen an example of when Drag Race star Bimini posted her viral video of it. This swelling occurs after the local anaesthetic slowly starts to make its way down your face from the transplanted area.
It started almost immediately and by day five, it had seeped down into my brow bone and made me look like an alien. I could actually touch it and feel the painless squidgyness, but it was mostly gone by day eight.
I also knew it was absolutely normal to notice a little yellow liquid in the transplanted area, called serum. I just needed to keep wiping the excess on my forehead (without touching the hairs), which felt mortifyingly gross.
By day three, I started using antiseptic cream and tea tree oil (to help stop itching) on the back of my head. Then on day five – even though I looked like an alien, I was allowed to finally wash my hair. I was told to do it as if you were washing a baby’s head – with a bucket of lukewarm water and baby shampoo.
Thankfully I was allowed to properly wash my hair as normal within a fortnight, this time thoroughly scrubbing off any scabbing. This took a bit of elbow grease, but once that was done, the worst of the recovery period was over.
What’s next?
It’s been a month since I had the transplant and I’m very happy with the results so far.
Sure, it’s a little thin on top and I feel slightly exposed in public without my hair fibers and strategic styling but I know that this is just the beginning.
Now I just have to wait for the hair to do its thing. I’ve started taking daily finasteride pills to stop any future hair loss, as well as chewable minoxidil from Hims, that stimulates follicles and has a supplement blend to support healthy hair.
I was also told that a LED helmet can help increase blood circulation and new hair follicle count, so I’m going to start using CurrentBody’s LED Helmet Device.
Want to know more?
To find out more about the British Hair Clinic or to book a free consultation, visit their website here.
I’ll then undertake two platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatments within six months of the procedure, which is a process where your own blood is extracted, separated, and then injected into your scalp to encourage better circulation and hair growth.
I’ve been warned that things may get worse before they get better, which is something I’ve come to accept. I have also been told that I may go through a shedding phase, where old hair might fall out and be replaced with stronger, thicker hair – but that’s completely normal.
From around the four-month mark, new hair will hopefully start to appear, then by six months, I’ll start to see some progress.
I know it will be around a year before I get the ‘end result’, but I finally feel like I’m taking the bull by the horns to tackle my hair loss.
If I can feel more confident through the process, then it’s been a huge success to me.