David Beckham is one of the most famous athletes in the world. Over his football career, he played for Manchester United, Real Madrid, AC Milan, and PSG. Yet, Becks remains just as popular for his personal life just as much as his on-field prowess. So, this leaves the question: has David Beckham had a hair transplant surgery?
Contents
Overview
- David Beckham is one of the most highly decorated footballers to have played the game. During his career, he played for several clubs. He is married to Victoria Beckham and widely regarded as a style icon!
- David Beckham’s hair loss has been the subject of much speculation. Since the early 2000s, Becks has shown symptoms of a hair loss condition called male pattern baldness. Recent snaps show the ex-footballer to have a thinning crown and hairline.
- While information remains unclear about what hair loss treatments Beckham has had, pictures suggest he may have had a hair transplant towards the end of the 2010s but is still experiencing hair loss in 2024.
David Beckham Hair Transplant: What Do We Know?
David Beckham is a retired football player, widely regarded as one of the most iconic and influential midfielders of his generation. He is known across the world for playing football, having an iconic style, and trialling ever-evolving hairstyles.
Becks has trialled several hairstyles throughout his adult life and is most well-known for his infamous buzz cut in the early 00s to his magnificent man bun at LA Galaxy. However, two things that remain a mystery to the general public are his hair loss struggles and any hair restoration treatments he may have had.
Hair transplant surgery is a common procedure that many celebrities and footballers have had over the years. Footballers who have forked out for the surgery include Wayne Rooney, Mo Salah, Antonio Conte, and even Rob Holding!
While we’ll never know the true extent to David Beckham’s hair loss and treatments, we’ll walk you through his previous hairstyles and decipher what this might mean about his male pattern baldness and any treatments that have treated his hair loss.
Male Pattern Baldness: Beckham’s Hair Loss
One thing that Beckham’s hairline has demonstrated over the years is that he has suffered from a condition called male pattern hair loss (androgenic alopecia). This is a genetic hair loss condition we inherit from our parents.
Male pattern baldness affects around 40% of men by age 40 and 80% of men by 80. It’s incredibly common in the UK and US, so it’s no surprise Beckham showed signs of this condition. As it can cause low self-esteem, many men opt for hair loss medications (DHT-blockers) and treatments (hair transplants).
Over the years, Beckham’s hairline has shown signs of a receding hairline and crown thinning that closely correlates to the hair loss pattern associated with androgenic alopecia. The way hair loss
specialists diagnose the condition is by using the Hamilton-Norwood Scale.
David Beckham’s Hairline: Hair Loss and Hair Transplant Surgery
David Beckham at Manchester United: The Mature Hairline
Beckham joined Manchester United in 1992 and played for the Red Devils until 2003. He netted 62 goals in 265 appearances and cemented his reputation as a talented footballer and global style icon.
During his time at Man Utd, Beckham was known for trialling several hairstyles, including the buzz cut, bangs, and a slick back. Each of these hairstyles showed off Beckham’s immaculate hairline.
Photos of Beck’s hairline show him to have been around stage 2 on the Hamilton Norwood scale. His hairline had fully matured and showed no sign of a receding hairline or thinning hair on the crown.
David Beckham at Real Madrid: The Receding Hairline
David Beckham joined Real Madrid when he was 28 years old, at the peak of his footballing career. However, photos of Becks from this period show him to have been battling temple recession.
Signs of pattern hair loss usually manifest in men between the ages of 25 and 30, so it is no surprise that Becks showed signs of a receding hairline at this age. To combat this, the English midfielder trialled longer hairstyles such as the “man bun” to mitigate his receding frontal hairline.
If you take a look at Beck’s hairline from the front, you can see that his temples do show signs of recession, creating a slightly pronounced “m-shape“. This would be in line with a Norwood 2/3.
David Beckham’s Later Career: Increased Temple Recession
Pictures of Beckham during the later years of his football career show a small increase in recession in his temples. Not only this but a small amount of thinning can be seen across his frontal hairline.
At this point in Beckham’s career, his hair closely resembled a stage 3 on the Norwood scale. Pictures of Beckham during this period show no signs of thinning hair on the crown.
Beckham’s hair showed obvious signs of male pattern baldness between 2017 and 2019. Around this period, Beckham tried longer hair with a top knot. As his hair was scraped back, his temple recession became more visible than ever.
Credit: All Football
In 2020, an infamous picture of David circulated the internet, showing him suffering from hair thinning across the scalp. While his frontal hairline looked mostly intact, it was clear he was suffering with thinning hair on his mid-scalp and crown area.
David Beckham Hair Transplant: Has He Had Hair Transplant Surgery?
While some celebrities have been open about hair loss and hair transplant procedures, Beckham has never spoken about this issue, leaving many speculating about his hair thinning and potential treatments.
Beckham may have had several hair treatments over the years, including hair fibres, PRP therapy, or hair transplant. He may also have combined a medical treatment with hair loss medication such as finasteride or minoxidil. The truth is, we’ll never truly know until he addresses the matter.
David Beckham Hair Transplant: What Treatment is Most Likely?
David Beckham’s hair loss has worsened in the last couple of years. While this may be concerning, the majority of his hair loss has occurred on his crown and mid-scalp, leaving the possibility for several non-surgical treatments.
At some point, Beckham will likely have tried hair fibres or hair thickening sprays to hide any signs of hair loss from the unwitting fan. These treatments can be applied quickly and can last up to 24 hours, making them perfect short-term fixes for a man constantly in the public eye.
Hair fibres and thickening foams help provide the illusion of fuller hair by binding to existing hair follicles using static electricity. These treatments will not prevent or stop hair loss. They merely hide the true extent to which a person may be suffering from hair loss.
David Beckham Hair Transplant: The Possibility of PRP Therapy
As David Beckham remains one of the richest sportsmen in the world, it is unlikely that the sole answer to his hair loss worries has been over-the-counter hair fibres and foams. The reality is that Beckham is likely to have had PRP therapy to prevent hair loss and stimulate new hair growth.
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a non-surgical treatment that involves injecting a patient’s own blood into their scalp to treat hair loss. PRP is a popular option for hair loss sufferers because it’s safe, doesn’t require medication or surgery, and produces natural-looking results.
One of the only drawbacks of PRP is that it can be quite pricey for multiple treatments (around £1,000 for 3 in the UK). However, this probably isn’t an issue for David Beckham, one of the most successful footballers to have played the game.
David Beckham Hair Transplant: Has He Had Surgery?
Without definitive before and after pictures, it is difficult to know whether David Beckham has had a hair transplant procedure. That being said, if he has had surgery, the most likely method used would have been follicular unit extraction method (FUE).
An FUE hair transplant works by taking hair follicles from an area of high density (on the back and sides of the head) and implanting them into an area of low density (Beckham’s crown and mid-scalp). One of the benefits of the FUE hair transplant is that this method does not leave a patient with a lifelong linear strip scar on the donor area, as is the case with the FUT method.
The FUE method requires a short 14-day initial recovery period. After that, the remainder of the healing process is simply waiting for new hair growth. So, it is entirely possible that David Beckham could have taken a couple of quiet months out of the public eye to recover from an FUE hair transplant procedure.
Conclusion
The David Beckham hair transplant has been a hotly debated topic for the last couple of years. Photos of Beckham throughout his career have shown the ex-footballer to have the hair loss condition androgenic alopecia.
Beckham’s hair loss was most extensive around 2020, but his condition seems to have improved in the last couple of years, leaving many fans wondering if he has had a hair transplant procedure.
While we’ll never know the truth behind the David Beckham hair transplant claims, he may have had surgery. Alternatively, Beckham may have tried hair loss medication and/or PRP therapy.
