Wayne Rooney today admitted he has had a hair transplant.The footballer has splashed out thousands of pounds at a top London clinic in a bid to restore his receding locks to their former glory.
The England and Manchester United striker was spotted wearing a baseball cap and a hoodie despite the heat on Thursday when he left Queen Anne Street Medical Centre in Central London.
Transplant patients often wear headgear to hide specks of blood left behind during the early stages of the procedure.
Rooney, 25, later posted confirmation via his Twitter account that he had indeed undergone treatment to grow his hair back.
He tweeted: 'Just to confirm to all my followers I have had a hair transplant. I was going bald at 25 why not. I'm delighted with the result.'
He later added: 'It's still a bit bruised and swollen when it dies down u will be first to see it. Anyone recommend any good hair gel. Haha' and 'I had it done in Harley street hair clinic London. Thanks to all the staff who looked after me.'
His wife, Coleen, tweeted: "Hiya!! Yes waynes had his hair done! His own decision not me asking him, like alot are saying!! Pleased for him and it will look great x'.
Rooney's team-mate, Rio Ferdinand, posted: 'just don't go down the wearing a alice
band route!! You'll be doing head&shoulders adverts soon! Hope its gone ok Good luck lad'.
The clinic, off London's Harley Street, where many top clinics and doctors have their surgeries, is used by many VIP clients.
Revelations: The footballer confirmed the transplant via his Twitter accountRooney, 25, refused to comment when he was seen outside the clinic on Thursday and was driven away in a chauffeur-driven car.
The clinic uses follicular transfer, whereby hairs are transplanted in groups of 1-4 and grow naturally in the scalp.
It claims the method is 'undetectable' and a 'major advance over older hair transplantation procedures that used larger grafts' and often produced an 'unnatural look'.
Rooney may never have been blessed with a luxuriant mop-top - but he had much more hair when he signed for Everton as a teenagerThe technique is a two-step procedure, the clinic says on its website.
During the first step, also called follicullar unit extraction (FUE), a surgeon selects individual follicles from a dense area of hair, usually at the back of the neck, and uses a fine needle, or punch, to pluck them out. No cuts to the skin are necessary.
FUE's benefits are: a quicker healing time, less discomfort and reduced scarring.
The surgeon can also selecting the healthiest follicles and regrowth in most patients 'can be pushed to 100 per cent' according to the clinic.
Once the healthy follicles have been extracted the clinic prepares them for 'follicular implantation' transplant using a 'state-of-the-art stereo microscope'.
Top treatment: Wayne Rooney visited the Queen Anne Street Medical CentreThe surgeon uses a fine needle to make tiny holes in a predetermined pattern in the bald area, ensuring that they are angled so that they grow realistically, before inserting the follicles into the incisions.
The procedure is 'minimally invasive' and, therefore offers a reduced recovery time and reduced risk of complications.
The first hair transplant was performed in America by Dr Norman Orentreich in the late 1950s.
Superstar: The Manchester United striker kisses wife Coleen at Old TraffordHe proposed the concept of 'donor dominance' - the idea that grafts will retain the characteristics of the donor site after they have been moved to a new section of the scalp.
This principle is the basis of all hair transplant surgery - but although 'donor dominance' ensured that transplanted hair would grow, it did not ensure it would have a natural.
source:dailymail