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Celeb appeal sees hair transplants jump in UAE

Clinics say celebs pushing interest in cosmetic procedure that can cost AED85,000

Surgeons have attributed a rise in demand for hair transplants to celebrities admitting to the procedure
Surgeons have attributed a rise in demand for hair transplants to celebrities admitting to the procedure

Hair transplant clinics in Dubai say they have seen a surge
in demand following admissions from celebrities that they have paid for surgery
to cover their receding hairlines.

The city has seen increasing numbers of medical clinics and plastic
surgeons offering hair transplant procedures, with specialists flying into
Dubai to capitalise on demand.

Industry experts suggest much of this is on the back of
celebrities such as footballer Wayne Rooney and British actor James Nesbit
admitting to undergoing the procedure.

“Anybody who has influence on the general public who comes
up with a statement [saying they have had the surgery] does make a difference,”
said Dr Shehab Beg of the Dubai Hair Clinic, who performs 15-20 surgeries a
month in Pakistan and Dubai.

Rooney in June confessed to his 768,869 Twitter fans that he
had a hair transplant, telling followers: “I was going bald at 25, why not?”

Hair transplant specialist Dr Sajjad Khan, who flies to
Dubai to perform up to twenty surgeries a month, displays testimonials as well
as before-and-after pictures of Bollywood stars Abhijeet Bhattacharya, Aditya
Pancholi and Sanjay Kapoor, on his website.

“Two or three years
ago he was pre-booked for four or five surgeries and then he would take
appointments for consultations during the time he was here,” said assistant
Andrea Marshall. “Now what’s happening is we’re booked two months [in advance].

“It’s obviously directly coincided with when he’s done a lot
of celebrity transplants.”

Dubai-based Nu/Hart Hair Clinic said it had seen a
significant increase in interest from clients and performs up to 30 surgeries a
month. 

“In June we performed twenty surgeries and for July we
already have 25 booked. It will be more next month because of Ramadan when
people go on annual leave,” said Priscilla Lansangan, office manager at Nu/Hart
Hair Clinic.

“We have an average of 16-20 [procedures a month], with the
maximum 30. Of course it helps [when celebrities admit they’ve had it done];
people become much more open in having this kind of treatment,” she said.

For some patients, however, the cost could be prohibitive. Some
clinics charge up to AED85,000 for the surgery, though other Dubai facilities charge
AED15,000-25,000.

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