Lee Mead Hair Transplant Breakdown
In the world of entertainment, where the spotlight never dims, maintaining an image that resonates with confidence and charm is crucial.
Lee Mead, a name synonymous with musical theatre excellence and known for his captivating roles on television, recently embarked on an interesting personal journey.
This journey was not for a new role or a theatrical endeavour, but for a hair transplant, a step towards addressing his receding hairline and rejuvenating his image.
In this article, we delve into the story of Lee Mead’s hair transplant, exploring the reasons behind his decision, the process of the procedure, and the impact it has had on his life and career.
- His hair loss
- Did he have a second hair transplant?
- Lee Mead before and after
- How many grafts did he receive?
Lee mead hair loss
Lee Mead has been open about his issues with hair loss, which has affected him from a young age.
The star of Holby City did his best to conceal his condition with long hair, but his condition kept advancing.
In an interview, he said, “There’s nothing wrong with being bald but it was receding and it affected my confidence a bit.”
His longer hairstyles did a good job of hiding the fact that he was slowly going completely bald.
This process was caused by male pattern baldness, a condition that affects millions of men all over the world.
It’s characterized by a receding hairline and thinning of the hair on the crown and temples, often resulting in a horseshoe-shaped pattern of hair around the sides and back of the head.
This prompted him to get a hair transplant in the mid-2000s, with the Follicular Unit Transplant technique.
“Robbie Williams said he wanted one but his hair had got too thin so I thought I better do it sooner rather than later.”
While his first hair transplant was successful, his hair loss kept progressing further which made him contemplate going for a second procedure.
Things were also made worse by the covid pandemic as Mead reportedly didn’t earn any money in 2020.
Most of the gigs he was booked for were on cruise ships or theatres.
Lee revealed that this was rather “stressful” which likely accelerated his hair loss process.
Did he have a second hair transplant?
As we discussed, Lee Mead had a procedure with the FUT technique (Follicular Unit Transplant) around 15 years ago.
This is an outdated technique where the surgeon removes a strip of skin from the back of the head.
This strip is then dissected to individual hair follicles which are implanted into the areas affected by hair loss.
While it can lead to shocking results, it has several downsides compared to the more modern FUE method.
Most notably, it leaves a large permanent scar in the donor area.
Not only does this limit the future styling option of the patient, but it can also render the donor area useless for future hair transplants.
Thankfully for Lee Mead, this wasn’t the case as he still had enough donor hair to carry out a second procedure.
Which method was used?
This time the actor opted for the most recent hair transplant method, the FUE technique.
The Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) method involves the individual removal of hair follicles directly from the scalp, typically from the back or sides of the head, where hair is more resistant to balding.
Each follicle is then transplanted into areas of the scalp where hair is thinning or absent.
One of the key advantages of FUE is that it leaves no linear scars. This makes FUE less invasive, with a shorter recovery time and less post-surgical discomfort.
The procedure is meticulous and time-consuming, often requiring multiple sessions, but it results in a more natural-looking hairline.
Lee described the whole procedure in a recent interview saying “The operation was seven hours and you get local aesthetic for seven hours but you can hear everything going on. The team were incredible. I stayed about four days in Turkey.”
FUE is popular among individuals seeking a permanent solution for hair loss with minimal scarring and high aesthetic quality.
Lee Mead before and after hair transplant
How many grafts did Lee Mead get?
In a 2023 appearance on Good Morning Britain, Lee Mead disclosed that he underwent a hair transplantation surgery involving 2,600 grafts to address his receding hairline.
This number falls within the typical range for a single session of such a procedure, aligning with the standards set by the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS).
This translates to roughly 5200 hairs, which is adequate for filling up a large area of hair loss.
Based on his appearance on television we can safely say that the surgery was a success.
His hairline was completely restored and he looks more confident and dashing than he ever did.
He admitted that the whole reason he started his hair transplant journey was due to a “personal confidence thing”, and it appears he got the boost he was looking for.
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Last medically reviewed on June 19th, 2024
