Nathan McGrath was just 21 when his hairline began to recede. Soon he was changing his haircut to hide it, dreading windy days and measuring himself against friends his own age. By 25, he felt he looked a decade older than them.
“If you’re standing in a club drinking or out with your mates, you look like you’re 35 and your mates look like they’re 22,” Nathan says.
“I’d look at my friends’ hairlines and mine was the worst out of them"
Nathan, a courier and father of three from Belfast, first noticed his hairline receding at 21. His father had experienced similar hair loss, but Nathan never expected his own to start so young.
“My hair was always good. It was nice and heavy,” he says. “But then it started thinning and just kept getting worse.”
Being around friends his own age made him more conscious of his hair.
“I’d look at my friends’ hairlines and mine was the worst out of them,” he recalls.
His friends joked about his receding hairline, and Nathan often joined in, sending photos of it to the group himself.
“I'd send a picture in and say, ‘Jesus, my hairline's getting worse.’ Just to get a laugh going.”
But Nathan admits there was something behind the joke.
“It was probably just a reaction,” he says. “You do feel down that your hair’s getting thinner.”
"Hair is like a man's make-up. It really knocked my confidence."
It was the small moments, however, when Nathan felt it most. Wind was the enemy – hair blowing back, the thin patches on show. So was water.
"Getting into a swimming pool and my hair getting wet was the worst," he says, "because it showed how thin it was."
Even a trip to the barber became something to think about.
“Every haircut I was trying to change,” he says. “Will I keep the top long? Will I go short to try and match the hairline? Just every year it was getting worse and worse.”
"Hair is like a man's make-up," Nathan adds. "It really knocked my confidence."
"There’s only a certain number of people who can rock a bald cut"
As it continued to bother him, Nathan began looking at what he could do about it.
A hair growth shampoo made no difference, and he was reluctant to take tablets indefinitely.
“I didn’t want to take those pills for the rest of my life,” he says.
At one point, he even shaved his head completely.
“I shaved it pure bald, just to see how it is. But there’s only a certain number of people who can rock a bald cut,” Nathan laughs.
Nathan had considered a transplant, but had never met anyone who had one. That changed one day, when he spotted a man wearing post-transplant bandages and went over to speak to him.
“We stayed in touch on Instagram, and his results were great,” Nathan says. “He was showing me before and afters, and I was like, ‘That’s crazy.’”
The final push came when Nathan met another man at his local gym who had also had a hair transplant.
“I literally soon after the gym, I went down to the house, told everyone I'm going to get a hair transplant."
But some questioned whether 25 was too young.
“Some people said, ‘You’re too young to get it done. You’re going to lose more hair,’” he says.
Hair transplant surgeon Dr Çağla describes this as an important consideration in younger patients. “Hair loss can continue after a transplant, so we have to think long term,” she explains. “We assess the pattern of hair loss and the donor area carefully before deciding whether a transplant is appropriate.”
“Seeing it grow gave me so much confidence"
For Nathan, the next step was finding out whether a transplant could work for him. He looked at options in the UK and Turkey, but says the price difference was significant. After checking reviews and results, he booked a £1,500 sapphire hair transplant in Istanbul through Longevita, a UK-registered medical travel facilitator.
The nerves set in before he flew. “I was panicking at the start,” he recalls.
But once he arrived in Istanbul, Nathan began to feel more at ease. “My coordinator talked me through everything and that really helped.”
During the surgery, he stayed awake throughout, and the medical team even offered to put some music on for him.
“The pain was probably a three out of ten for me,” he says. “The only sore part is the start, when they numb your head. After that, you’re just sitting there. I didn’t feel a thing.”
Nathan – 1st Day
Nathan – 1st Month
Nathan – 3rd Month
Nathan – 3rd Month
Hair growth timelines vary from person to person.
Once it was over, the first few days meant being careful with the new grafts. Nathan had to sleep upright and avoid touching his scalp as it healed.
“That’s where you have to stay disciplined, If you start to pick, you’re picking the grafts out. You’re wasting the money you paid," he says. "The process is long. It’s not just two weeks and results. It takes months.”
As time passed, the first signs of growth began to appear.
“I felt amazing,” he says. “Seeing it grow gave me so much confidence. It was just good to see that it was working. People were saying, 'Look at it growing here, and you can see a wee bit growing there.'"
“I feel more like myself. It’s the best money I’ve ever spent”
Today, with his hair grown in, Nathan has far less to worry about.
The wind, once his “worst enemy”, barely crosses his mind. Neither does getting his hair wet.
“If I go out and it’s windy, I don’t worry anymore,” he says. “Even on holiday, I can get in the pool without thinking, ‘Does my hair look thin? What way is it sitting?’”
At the barber, he can finally choose the haircut he wants – rather than the one that best hides his hairline.
“People noticed I was more confident, going out and showing my hair,” he says. “They say I look much younger and I’d have to agree with them,” he laughs.
Hair transplant results vary from person to person, and all surgical procedures carry potential risks. Costs depend on factors such as the technique used and individual treatment requirements. Anyone considering a hair transplant should speak to a qualified medical professional about the potential risks and whether the procedure is suitable for them. |