Well, I knew this was going to happen and know it’s all part of the hair transplant process but I still panicked when I started to see my hair falling out!!

Despite my initial panic, after re-reading my information from Mapperley Park Clinic I was reassured that this is all completely normal and part of the growth process, phew. It’s called ‘shock loss’ and pretty much all the transplanted hairs are shed to enable the new hair to grow from the implanted follicles, this will start happening in the next two-three months.  I think the waiting is going to be a hard as I’m so excited now to see the end result, I need to learn to be patient!

All the redness and scabbiness has completely gone on the transplanted area now and it feels pretty much back to normal (apart from the odd itch now and again!!), the scar at the back is also looking good and my hair completely covers this – I’ve even had it cut shorter and you still can’t see it.

To look at me now at this pre-growth stage you’d probably never know I’d had anything done! I think that’s all going to change this week though as the Nottingham Post is running the story on my transplant at the weekend so I’m sure once that’s out there’ll be a few more questions – especially at work!!

It seems I’m not the only one talking openly about my hair transplant, I watched Jason Donovan’s interview with Piers Morgan on Saturday night where he confirmed what we all already knew– that he has indeed had a hair transplant. I think he said himself it was the first time he’s talked openly about it, I almost cheered! I think the more of us bloke’s who are honest about hair loss and how we feel about it the better. I’m certainly having more men talking to me about it and asking tentative questions about my transplant and how they’d go about getting it done.

After a wet and miserable April I’m starting to get excited about my hols which are only 4 weeks away, we’re flying off to Lanzarote and I cannot wait – some sunshine at last. However I think I’ll have to have a chat with Mapperley Park Clinic about what precautions I need to take in the sun, I tan really easily so have always been a bit blasé about suncream and covering up but I think I’ll need to be careful and will probably have to do a bit of hat shopping!

18^th April – one week on, back to work…

After the excitement of last week life is returning to normal and today is my first day back at work, I feel like I’ve been off for ages as I had some extra time off with the family over Easter which was lovely. But with kids back at school and my wife back at work it’s back to reality.

Whilst I’ve been off I’ve had lots of lovely messages of support, people seem genuinely intrigued and interested in what I’ve had done and can’t wait to see the progress, my wife is the Facebook addict in our house so she’s keeping everyone updated with pics and info. I’ve even had the wife of a friend make tentative enquiries about him having it done!

I’ve been really pleased with my recovery so far and how everything is healing. The initial soreness passed within a day or two and now all that’s really bothering me is the itchiness as the crusts form and I’m fighting the urge to pick!  Mapperley Park Clinic did give me a saline spray to keep the area moist and a quick squirt of this usually relieves it. They’ve also provided me with a laser comb which I’m using once a day on the grafted area, this will help the area heal more quickly and stimulate hair growth.

Caring for the grafted area and the scar has been much more straightforward than I thought and it hasn’t been a problem at all. I’ve just had to be careful in the shower and keep the area moist initially. I have been wearing a hat when I’ve been out and about whilst it’s healing, but I did take it off in the pub at the weekend and got a few funny looks!

Going back to work was great, I’ve had my own barber’s in Stapleford for 6 years and over that time most of my regular clients have become friends. They all knew about the hair transplant so I’ve had a lot of support, a few of them popped in especially to take a look!

For those clients that don’t know me well not much was said, a glance at my head told me they’d clocked it but then in true bloke fashion we’d talk football, cars or holidays. I do have a client who has had a hair transplant too so it’ll be interesting to compare notes when he next comes in.

I do believe that me doing this and being so open about it will help other men ‘come out’ about how they feel about their hair loss and the fact that they want to do something about it…for now though it’s back to life pretty much as normal, the only restriction being that I can’t go back to the gym for another week, mind you it’s good to have a proper excuse to get out of it!

Well it’s all over and what a day it was!! I arrived at 11am for my pre-op which involved going through the details for the day and taking blood pressure and basically making sure I was happy with everything.

The first job was to remove the donor strip and stitch me back up, this is the bit I’ve been most concerned about as I don’t want the scar to be visible, so I know how important getting this bit right is. I needn’t have worried, Harris did a great job and even now just two days on you can hardly see the scar under my hair..

So far, so good…the next bit was probably the worst part which was having the local anaesthetic. I chose to go for two injections in my eyebrows rather than lots of needles all over my head and I have to say this is the bit that hurt the most. It was over pretty quickly though and I just kept thinking of my wife saying it couldn’t hurt as much as childbirth!!

I was soon numb though, and then it was just a case of lying back and letting Harris and the team work their magic. For the next couple of hours Harris undertook the precise task of making the incisions where the hairs were to be transplanted, at this point my wife arrived to keep me company and she was fascinated to see what was happening! A very specialised blade is used to pierce the skin and Harris had to ensure the incisions were made at the right angle to replicate natural hair growth.

Then I had a break and I had my first chance to see the work in progress, not much to look at at this point but I could see how it would take shape. Mapperley Park Clinic and I were allowing people to come in and watch me having the hair transplant and during the break I had the opportunity to talk to a couple of chaps about the procedure, I think they found it really helpful to see it in progress and be able to ask me how I was feeling.

After the break the next few hours were taken with the hair follicles, which had been expertly stripped from the donor area, being transplanted into the incisions – I would not want that job myself, it’s very precise and painstaking work and the team were fantastic. Throughout the day, interested people had been coming in to talk to me, wanting to see what was happening. I didn’t mind at all and hope sharing my experience will help others decide if this is the route they want to take.

When all the hairs were in place I had been in the chair on and off for around 7 hours but I wasn’t done yet, to help the scar at the back of my head heal better and be less visible the area was then lasered. (clinic note: we use a low-energy pulsed-dye laser to promote wound-healing following all of our surgical procedures.  This helps to ensure that healing is as rapid and trouble free as possible)

Finally, after an exhausting but exciting day I was ready for bed and despite some soreness and discomfort I did manage to get some sleep.

Trying to explain all this to my 5 year old boy has been interesting, we’ve tried our best to explain it in terms he’ll understand and when he saw me the next morning he said, “have you got your new hair now daddy?” looking non too impressed.

I’m trying to take it easy for a few days (not easy with a 5 and 2 year old off on Easter hols!!) to let everything heal. As you would expect I’m a bit sore and swollen but I can already see that the grafts have been perfectly placed and packed so I’m really excited to see the end result in 6-9 months. It’s a relief to have finally done it and be seriously facing a future with hair at last!!

For now though I’ve just got to take care of it and let everything heal properly which is a good excuse to put my feet up for a few days!!

Andrew Icke is a local Hairdresser and proprieter of Blend Barbers in Stapleford. He will be undergoing a LIVE Hair Transplant procedure tomorrow, 11th April at Mapperley Park Clinic. This is his blog.

Tuesday 10^th April, the day before!!

Andrew Icke - subject of our live transplant procedure

Hello, welcome to my first blog….it seems strange writing that as I have read so many of these over the years whilst I’ve been researching hair transplants, that writing my own is a bit odd!! I did find them useful in my search for the right solution to my hair loss, and I’m going to try to be as honest as possible about the whole process to hopefully help others who may be thinking about having the same treatment at some point.

So here I am the night before the big day and I can’t actually believe it’s going to be happening tomorrow. I’ve been thinking about, talking about and researching this for so long that my main feeling is excitement!! My wife keeps asking me if I’m nervous or worried (I think she is a bit!) and I keep telling her no not at all, and it’s true, I know I’m in great hands with Dr Haseeb and the team at Mapperley Park Clinic and I’ve discussed what’s happening with them at length so I’m totally happy that I’ve made the right decision and I’m finally starting my journey to getting my hair back!..or most of it at least!!

This journey actually started about 4 or 5 years ago when my hair started really thinning and it bothered me, a lot! Being a barber and a bloke I take a lot of stick about it and although I’d laugh along with the bald jokes they did get to me and I’ve always been the kind of person to do something positive about things I’m not happy with, so I decided to get my hair back – I don’t see why just because I’m a man I should accept baldness, and although some people may consider what I’m doing vain I just see it as a way to restore my confidence about the way I look and make me feel better about myself..

A hair transplant seemed the obvious option to me but I always thought it would be out of my reach, after all I don’t earn the sort of money Wayne Rooney does! After thinking I would need to go to London and Manchester I was delighted to find out Mapperley Park Clinic had a specialist surgeon and team who could give me the 2500 grafts that I need-and it’s right on my doorstep!

You may think I’m a bit crackers having the whole thing filmed and chatting to people during the op, I didn’t hesitate about doing it when Mapperley Park Clinic asked me too as I hope by having people see what’s happening and following my journey they’ll realise how hair transplants are a real solution to hair loss, for real men not just celeb types!

So off to bed for me, not sure I’ll get much sleep with all the butterflies but watch this space and I’ll keep you posted on mine and my hairs progress!!

We have been offering Hair Transplant procedures for a number of years now, all delivered by our lovely surgeon, Harris Haseeb. Recently, interest in these procedures has skyrocketed.

The reason for this is that more and more celebrities are opting for transplantation as a solution for their hair loss woes. This means increased press coverage of the subject, leading to an increased public awareness of the issues surrounding hair loss.

Whether you are suffering from hair loss or not, it probably hasn’t escaped your attention that Wayne Rooney, premiership footballer for Manchester United, opted for a hair transplant a few months ago. Unfortunately, press coverage of the details tends to be sketchy, and this results in people being unsure of what is really involved, and how much it costs (which is much less than you might think…).

So we decided to hold an event aimed at educating those interested in transplantation. We will be holding a LIVE hair transplant procedure on Wednesday 11th April. So if you’ve ever been curious about what is involved, you can come to the clinic on the day, and talk to both the patient, Andrew, and the surgeon, Harris, while the procedure is in progress.

This is a rare opportunity, so don’t miss out. Advance booking is essential, so call the clinic on 0115 9692323, or click here to use the online booking form.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Male Pattern Baldness – that age old problem affecting at least 50% of men in their 50s and around 80% of men in their 70s.

It’s one of those inevitable things that happens as you grow older – isn’t it?

Well, perhaps not! We at Mapperley Park Clinic have been carrying out Hair Transplant procedures for a number of years, all carried out by the same surgeon, Mr. Harris Haseeb, who has carried out over 700 procedures, so we are familiar with the landscape of hair loss treatments.

The latest discovery is a protein which triggers hair loss. Drugs to target the problem and hopefully reverse the process are already being trialled, but it could take a number of years before anything becomes available for the general public. You can read more on this here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17457098

In the meantime, if you can’t wait that long, we offer a variety of services, from surgical transplantation procedures for advanced levels of hair loss, to drugs and trichology services with a Consultant Dermatologist for those whose hair loss is not advanced enough to require transplantation yet.

Male Pattern Baldness used to be a fact of life for so many men, but the good news is that it no longer has to be. Call Mapperley Park Clinic for more information.