In 2022, rumours circulated that Prince Harry had undergone a hair transplant. He later confirmed undergoing three hair transplants during a November 2022 TV interview. The prince explained that stress and grief accelerated hair loss, a factor that also contributes to female pattern hair loss. The first step in male pattern baldness treatment is often topical minoxidil, a cost-effective treatment. Hair transplantation can be expensive, with costs increasing incrementally—for instance, from first to second transplant, and again from second to third. Prince Harry’s third transplant demonstrated an increase in cost over the initial procedure.
The healing process for hair transplantation lasts approximately three months. The hair appears artificial during the first six months and should be styled unfavorable to natural hair growth to conceal its appearance. The harvested occipital scalp area may develop masses of exuberant hypertrophic hair tissue—essentially knots of scarring after hair follicle removal—when mustache and eyebrow hairs are transplanted to these locations. Prince Harry’s hair growth remains affected by male pattern baldness, and he was advised to undergo a fourth transplant. Although the fourth procedure needed was not transplant-related, the accumulation of procedures increased the overall cost. From the last approximately 6,000 hairs implanted, the interval between transplant and detection was only 19 days.
Prince Harry is a prominent member of the British royal family and the younger son of King Charles III and the late Diana, Princess of Wales. Born a member of the British royal family, has been in the international spotlight for many years. The media surrounding him has been huge; he is a royal and has had a royal upbringing. Prince Harry’s evolution from a timid young royal, insecure about how his mother’s death had defined him, to a confident man at peace with his place in the world, and with his well-documented work on his mental health alongside his ongoing struggle to come to terms with his mother’s death, have made many aspects of his life public.
The years also brought noticeable changes in his appearance, including a period during his duties in Afghanistan when his hair became significantly thin. The birth of his first child heralded another stage in life, further shaping his identity.
Hair transplantation is a surgical technique that removes hair follicles from one part of the patient’s body, called the ‘donor site‘, to a bald or balding part of the body known as the ‘recipient site‘. It is primarily used to treat male pattern baldness.
All of the techniques, from among which Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) and Direct Hair Implantation (DHI) are the most noteworthy approaches, are under discussion in this procedure. Prince Harry’s hair transplant method conducted using the FUE method, and for additional enhancements was done with the DHI method. Before you get into the nitty (and sometimes gritty) details about Prince Harry hair replacement, it’s important to have a good grasp of hair transplantation in general.
Before his hair restoration treatment, Prince Harry exhibited clear signs of hair loss—and not just at the top of his head. The hair transplant surgeon Lloyd Harman, who has treated ex-footballer Wayne Rooney, saw images of Prince Harry’s hair thinning at the temples, hairline recession, and crown thinning, especially noticeable in the area where his signature top knot would sit. As the coronavirus pandemic shut everyone indoors and events were postponed and took a backseat, the timing was right for Prince Harry to undergo the hair transplant procedure. Nitin Parikh, the hair transplant surgeon who treated him, advises: “The earlier the intervention, the better the result.”
Hair transplant is one of the less invasive interventions, which means that the hair follicular units are only removed from the well-haired head to the thinning or balding area. A maximum of 2,000 grafts may be transferred in a session, based on the patient’s hair density and donor site availability. Follicular unit extraction (FUE) is the most widespread technique where grafts are individually excised with a special micromotor punch and then transplanted in the recipient area. Patients who suffer hair thinning or hair loss observe complete or partial improvement within 3–4 months.
Comparing Prince Harry before and after hair images of publicly available photos are very interesting. It is evident that there are key areas where the hairline has naturally receded, supporting the notion of hair loss as a natural process that can be expected with aging. It is recommended to view the sequence of photos in the video to fully appreciate the hairline changes.
A careful scrutiny of the images reveals that the crown balding is hardly significant or noticeable, if at all present. This aspect, however, remains visible due to the fact that hair transplant procedures are most often limited to the hairline and/or a certain area around the crown, including a small area at the vertices. Consequently, the faceline incision has necessitated a drastic alteration of the patient’s hair color in order to stretch and minimize the P area, often referred to as the “widow’s peak”. While the presence or absence of crown balding is largely immaterial from a natural male hair loss perspective, it becomes very important if one aims for a full or for mature hairline look.
The UK media recently released photos of Prince Harry before and after hair, exposing his hair regrowth clinically. In 2011, when friends knew about his hair loss, he was very distressed. Prince Harry is the second son of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, the grandson of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. He is the Duke of Sussex. The red hair is the hallmark of the Windsor-Ferguson family.
In 2011, he was already suffering from hair loss, and his friends suggested he try hair transplantation. At that time, each hair transplanter invited him to their salons and showed him their excellent surgical achievements with celebrities. They stressed that only hair transplantation techniques that conform to the scale and standards of European men can guarantee the desired transplant effects. The friends who accompanied him all promised that, as long as a few of them agreed, they would book the best painter after carefully comparing the plans and prices. Prince Harry’s friends wanted to find the best hair transplant surgeons for his beloved friend.
The world of celebrity hair transplants has occupied the thoughts of many over the years. But, one of stories that caught attention is about Prince Harry. For years, media outlets have routinely taken extreme close-ups of Prince Harry as he stands next to his wife and son, often creating before-and-after shots that emphasized his pattern of balding in the mid-’90s and early 2000s. Combined with more recent pictures, speculation mounted that the Duke of Sussex had received a hair transplant.
And after Prince Harry’s decision to quit royal duties and move to the US, Vanity Fair magazine saw a chance to get stuck into his hair restoration journey. According to the sources near the couple that shared details about the wedding day, Prince Harry did wind up treating his balding issue with a transplant.As is customary with most individuals embarking on such a course of action, the Duke’s main objectives were to restore his receding hairline and regain a fuller crown.
The unabashed, wild appearance is growing in popularity once more, with celebrities including Ed Sheeran, Kit Harington, and Vin Diesel getting in on the act. The celebrity hair transplant industry is booming, and hair loss treatments are becoming more and more popular. New ideas in hair restoration over the next years. There are numerous additional hair restoration advancements forthcoming, and in the future, the practice may eventually be a routine method that helps folks fight hair loss.
Hair transplants have seen a huge surge during the COVID-19 pandemic. A Google search showed a 51% increase from 2019 to 2020 in searches containing the words “hair transplant.” Prince Harry’s recent hair restoration procedure is a prime example of this contemporary trend
A local anesthetic is employed hence you should not expect any pain during the course of the procedure. Painkillers are typically prescribed for several days afterward, normally for about three days, to minimize any discomfort.
Most sessions are completed in one day; however, multiple sessions may be required based on the case. A scene can span anywhere from 6 to 10 hours.
The hair usually needs 3 months to begin growing. After the transplant, some existing roots may fall out due to the trauma of the operation, but they generally grow back after 1-3 months and should be permanent.
The procedure is not usually detectable. Tiny scars in the donor area are hidden by the surrounding hair.
