Former Aston Villa star Ahmed Elmohamady has revealed how he had a hair transplant to boost his self-confidence.
The 37-year-old ex-Egypt defender had 4,085 hairs implanted into the thinning areas of his scalp using the advanced Direct Hair Implantation (DHI) technique.
He posed for pictures during his transplant which is minimally invasive and has very limited downtime in the recovery period.
Elmohamady, who also played for Sunderland and Hull City and is now a club ambassador at Villa, had the procedure at DHI Global’s Clinic close to Harley Street in central London.
He said: “I had the hair transplant because I wanted to boost my confidence. I have been suffering from hair loss for the past five years and I just felt it would give me a bit of a boost to get it sorted.
“So many men are getting help with their hair and it is really no big deal.
“Obviously Wayne Rooney was the first high profile footballer to be really open about his transplant. I admired Wayne for going public and he looked so much better after his treatment.
“But it was another Wayne who really inspired me to get it done.
“Wayne Bridge, who I played with at Sunderland, had his transplant at the DHI Global Clinic in September. He is still waiting for all the new hair to grow back but he was really impressed with the DHI team and is confident that his new hair will look good and completely natural.
“I do a lot of TV work here and in the Middle East and it is important that I look my best when I am talking about the game.
“Women improve their appearances with cosmetic surgery all the time. It is great that there is now the same acceptance with men.”
Elmohamady was insistent that he had the surgery in the UK and chose DHI Global because of its pioneering techniques which limit the downtime.
He said: “What I particularly like about this treatment is that you don’t have to have your entire head shaved. They literally pick the donor hairs out and then implant them directly where you have the bald spots with very little fuss. There is very little disturbance to the scalp and the final results are completely natural. That is very important to me. I want my hair to go back to how it was before I suffered from baldness.
“The downtime after the operation is minimal and I can quickly get back to doing what I love, which is staying fit and enjoying time with my family, working with the team at Aston Villa and talking about the game on TV.”
Elmohamady – who won 92 Egypt caps before retiring in 2021 – spent ten years playing in the Championship and Premiership after being signed by Sunderland in 2011.
Lots of footballers have undergone hair procedures – most famously Wayne Rooney when he was England captain and also Rio Ferdinand more recently.
Elmohamady, who shared the story of his hair transplant journey on Instagram, said: “It is great that we can all be open about it and hopefully we will inspire more men to seek help. The boost in confidence can be really good for your mental health.”
Elmohamady is a legend in his native Egypt where he is a close friend of Liverpool striker Mo Salah – the superstar of Egyptian football.
He said: “It has been wonderful to watch Mo develop as a footballer and become one of the greatest players in the world. I will tell him all about my hair transplant when Aston Villa play Liverpool later in the season and how I had it at DHI.
“Mo is always changing his hair and he looks great now he has cut it short.”
Elmohamady loves working as an ambassador at Aston Villa who are flying high under manager
Unai Emery and challenging for the Champions League.
He said: “It is a great time to be a Villa fan. We won the European Cup way back in 1982 and it would be wonderful if we could conquer Europe again under Emery.
“I am in touch with some of the younger players at Villa Park and hopefully I can help them cope with the pressures of the game.”
Elmohamady said he chose DHI Global for his hair transplant after seeing the fantastic results achieved by his friend Wayne Bridge.
He said: “Wayne had his hair transplant at DHI in September. It takes up to a year for the full effects of the procedure to impact but it is obvious already that Wayne has made a great choice.
“We both like to stay in shape and look our best and it is nice that we have this option to improve our hair.
“I wanted the very best treatment in the world with the shortest down-time and that was always going to be DHI.
“You read about patients going abroad for hair transplants but that was never going to be an option for me.
“The best clinics in the world are here and it is reassuring to know that the team is next to Harley Street for the aftercare. Who wants to jump on a flight to check on their hair if something goes wrong?”
With DHI no holes are made for the implanting of the new hairs – instead they are directly implanted.
The DHI technology controls the depth and angle of the new hairs – giving the most natural results.
All DHI procedures are performed by doctors, who are trained and certified by London Hair Restoration Academy, the first Academy for hair transplants.
A DHI Global spokesperson said: “We are increasing the density in Ahmed Elmohamady’s hair on his hairline and the front of his scalp where the hair loss is most severe. We will restore the hair where hair loss is most visible and he will look years younger when appearing on TV.
“We treat a lot of high profile patients such Ahmed and his friend Wayne Bridge who both love to stay fit and look good.”
As well as the two former football aces, DHI also worked with the former England cricketer Phil Tufnell.
You can watch Ahmed Elmohamady telling the story of his hair transplant on the DHI Global Clinic YouTube channel.
