The missing answers about Tiger Woods hair transplant

• With a $1.3 billion net worth, Tiger Woods hair transplant isn’t a big deal
• The California-born billionaire golfer wasn’t so bothered by the receding hairline
• Deep pockets always restore thinning hair

With a $1.3 billion net worth, Tiger Woods hair transplant isn’t a big deal but a subject that stirs speculation. The California-born billionaire golfer wasn’t so bothered by the receding hairline, perhaps because deep pockets always restore thinning hair.

He lightly calls it a ‘shining skyline’ and he had invented a very simple way of coping with it; wearing a cap. He looks modest in it. Famous athletes such as LeBron James, Lewis Hamilton, Sadio Mane, Anthony Martial, Floyd Mayweather Jr. among others have had hair transplants.

DID TIGER WOODS HAIR TRANSPLANT GO THROUGH?

Years ago, the PGA Tour champion experienced an aggressive receding hairline and spoke about it openly. It was hard to figure out the truth behind Tiger Woods hair transplant. His almost balding scalp soon had a pretty solid hairline growing.

Tiger Woods. Photo/Dental Hairline Clinic Turkey

Since his early 30s, the elite golfer struggled with hair loss. Woods, who was diagnosed with baldness in 2019 and given a Norwood scale of 4 to 5, eventually began discussing his fast hair loss in interviews. He once joked at a press conference that he protected his scalp with a cap when playing golf. The creeping baldness made him feel the burning sun on his scalp.

The decorated golfer with 82 victories in PGA Tour events explained at the time that he was experiencing a male baldness pattern. It had no hereditary link. He resisted the urge to cover up his baldness by shaving his head. Woods fought it privately sparking questions about Tiger Woods hair transplant.

WHY DOESN’T TIGER SHAVE HIS HEAD?

Back in 2019 when his hairline visibly thinned quickly, the golfer decided against shaving completely. It appeared as though old age was catching up with him and curious members of the Fourth Estate once put that question to him. In response, he smilingly said that he was up against a tough battle of ensuring his hair grows back. Moreover, he wanted to keep his natural hair for as long as life could allow.

The father of two did not divulge what he would do eventually to get his head full of hair like in his 20s. That’s the link to Tiger Woods’ hair transplant which remains a speculative subject. Perhaps, he used minoxidil and Oral Finasteride which are popular treatment drugs for baldness. However, these drugs don’t trigger the growth of new hair; they slow down or stop the aggression of the baldness pattern.

Tiger Woods. Photo/Bleacher Report

According to Crown Clinic in the UK, there are other ways to support hair growth. Nevertheless, a hair transplant is the last effective resort. The most popular hair transplant technique is called FUE (follicular unit extraction). Individual scalp grafts are taken out of the sides and back and replanted in the balding areas.

In addition to FUE, Dr. Shahmalak, a dermatologist and surgeon also recommends FUT (follicular unit transplantation). FUT is a more conventional hair transplant procedure also referred to as strip surgery.

Out of this procedure, a surgical strip of skin is taken from the scalp to harvest donor hair, which is subsequently replanted in the balding areas by using a technique similar to FUE. Hair transplants eventually lose their effectiveness if patients lose too much of their natural hair. There never is enough donor hair to cover every bald spot.

Therefore; a hair transplant is recommended before balding becomes so aggressive.

WHY DO GOLFERS HAVE BAD HAIRLINES?

Nine years ago, there were concerns over increased baldness patterns among golfers. A popular hypothesis was that the tight caps they wore when golfing triggered the recession of hairlines. Although wearing a cap often and for extended periods can result in a sweaty scalp and hair loss, it hardly causes traction alopecia which leads to hair loss.

Findings by Leonora Doclis, a senior trichologist from London suggested that high stress levels among golfers could lead to hair loss. Doclis added that for it to happen, there must be some level of genetic susceptibility leading to baldness.

WHAT DID TIGER HAVE SURGERY ON?

Moving on from Tiger Woods hair transplant; he underwent a major ankle surgery in 2023. A tweet from Woods’ Twitter account stated that Dr. Martin O’Malley successfully operated on him at the HSS Sports Medicine Institute in New York City.