Could the Duke of Sussex’s bombshell memoir ‘Spare’ be behind an explosion in beard transplants?
One hair clinic in Turkey certainly thinks so after seeing demand for the procedure double in recent weeks.
Dubbed the ‘Prince Harry’ effect by EsteNove in Istanbul, it has been inundated with beardless men willing to pay £2,500 to get the royal’s iconic ‘rugged and masculine’ facial fuzz.
And the clinic claimed the cover of ‘Spare’, which was heavily featured on TV and in book stores across the globe last month, is being brought in by patients wanting the exact look.
EsteNove co-founder Batuhan Kizilcan told MailOnline: ‘Interest in beard transplants has been growing steadily over the last few years as more people become aware of the procedure.
This is the look dozens of men are paying £2,500 for according to a hair transplant clinic in Turkey. The clinics founders said beard transplants are up 100 per cent since Prince Harry launched his bombshell memoir. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, pictured in 2020
‘But in recent weeks, this has exploded.’
‘The number of transplants we are carrying out has increased by 100 per cent, and we have christened it the “Prince Harry effect”.’
He said while there was nothing unusual about a patient wanting to ’emulate’ the hair or bread of a celebrity, one name had now risen to prominence.
‘At the moment, the name on everyone’s lips is Prince Harry,’ he said.
‘People are specifically citing the picture on the front of his new book.
EsteNove’s founder patients are mentioning the cover of Harry’s memoir Spareas the result they would like the clinic to give them
‘Our clients think his beard makes him look rugged and masculine and they want to achieve similar results.’
Mr Kizilcan said while not as famous as baldness, problems growing facial hair preyed on many men’s minds.
‘It is very common for people to have to display or develop gaps in their facial hair which makes it look patchy or straggly,’ he said.
‘Sometimes, beard hair grows at a very slow or inconsistent pace.
‘More often than not, this has a genetic background. The face can look very empty, with patches of hair here and there.’
He said beard transplants provided a way for people to address this problem and get the facial hair of their dreams, which at the moment, was Harry’s famous ginger fuzz and sideburns.
‘Recent developments in technology have brought a high-quality and long-lasting solution for men who desire a beard but are unable to grow it naturally themselves,’ he said.
‘You get to decide the beard cut, the shape, the density of the beard, and the style – and the style people currently want is Prince Harry’s.’
Beard transplants normally only account for 5 per cent of the some 250 procedures EsteNove carries out per month on average.
But the clinic said this has now doubled to 10 per cent.
Of the 3,000 patients EsteNove sees per year, about 50 per cent are among Brits.
The clinic charges about £2,500 for a full beard transplant, a fraction of what a similar procedure costs in the UK.
Beard transplant surgery first involves microscopically examining hair follicles from the donor site, usually the back of the head, to find the strongest contenders for success.
These are then extracted under anaesthesia before being transplanted to the man’s face.
This process tends to take three to five hours.
Within a few weeks the transplanted hair will then fall out before it begins to regrow, with a full beard said to be possible within 10 months.
EsteNove co-founder Batuhan Kizilcan told MailOnline that patients though Harry’s beard made him look ‘rugged and masculine. and they wanted similar results
Beard transplants are not available on the NHS as it is considered a cosmetic surgery.
Harry’s bombshell biography ‘Spare’ sprung to global attention last month with shocking details of his life.
These included how he lost his virginity to an ‘older woman’, suffered ‘frostnip’ of the penis during a trip to the Artic, and took psychedelics to help him cope with the tragic death of his mother, Princess Diana.
Harry and his wife Meghan were recently mocked by South Park which took aim at the couple through a spoof depicting the Prince and Princess of Canada – a young royal couple who loudly beg for privacy while drawing attention to themselves.
The episode sees the red-headed prince and his wife promote the prince’s book ‘Waaagh’.
After and before: TOWIE’s Bobby Norris unveiled a new beard transplant at the NTAs in 2020 (left) insisting the only other surgery he’s had is a nose job, (pictured in 2012: right)
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