Pop star and former Take That icon Robbie Williams has opened up about his hair loss troubles while appearing on a podcast. Taking part in Clarke Carlisle’s Old Before I Die podcast, Williams revealed he is ‘going thin on top’ despite having undergone a hair transplant in 2013.
He then showed the host, Clarke, and his wife the top of his head so they could appreciate the issue, and explained that he is using powder to ‘fill in the gaps’.
Why would the hair transplant have failed?
The honest answer is that the transplant itself didn’t fail – as evidenced by Williams’ hairline. Clarke even commented that his ‘wing-backs are pushing on’, meaning that the hairs at the transplant line are still growing strong, but the hair has unfortunately continued to recede behind that line.
This is actually a common problem when hair transplants are performed too early. It’s why Wayne Rooney has had to undergo several transplants, and it’s why most reputable hair transplant surgeons would advise against having a transplant until your hair loss is quite a lot more advanced.
So why did Williams have a hair transplant in the first place?
Well, for a start, the rules for celebrities are quite different from the ones the rest of us have to follow. If money’s no object, why not have a hair transplant, even knowing you might need another one in a couple of years?
And Williams has himself admitted that he didn’t need a hair transplant, but had succumbed to the pressures of living in LA. Speaking on the Graham Norton Show in 2013 he said:
“They say if you sit in the barber’s shop for long enough you’ll end up getting a haircut. Well if you live in Los Angeles for long enough you’re going to get some surgery.”
What is this powder he’s using to fill his hair in?
It’s unclear from Williams’ description exactly what he’s using, but it sounds like cosmetic hair fibres. They come in powder form, you shake them on to any areas of thinning hair and they will expand to form strands of hair-like fibre.
Although not a permanent solution, hair fibres do present a very effective quick fix for thinning hair, and can be quite cost effective.
So am I better off buying the powder than having a transplant?
That all depends on where you are in the hair loss process. If you have just a few areas of thinning hair then yes, the fibres could be a good choice, but if your hairline has receded a long way then you might be better off opting for a transplant.
And those aren’t the only options available. There are plenty of different hair loss treatments, and the best way to find out which one will work best for you is to speak to a hair loss expert.
