Gary Glitter

Disgraced pop star Gary Glitter (real name Paul Gadd) wore a wig for years as part of his stage act.


As far back as the early 70s, the backcombed bush with a widows peak and quiff was an integral part of his image. This makes it difficult to determine exactly when his baldness started.


As far as I remember, it was only when exposed as a paedophile during several court appearances that 'monster' Glitter revealed his true hairline.


Since his shaming and subsequent exile to the far east he has experimented with various looks, including this 'Fu-Manchu' bald 'n' beard combo.


He is now back in England and regularly disguises himself when out in public. This ginger wig is one example.


A couple of years ago he took inspiration from Rolf Harris.


More recently, he has been spotted wearing a hair piece that makes him resemble an old lady.


I will leave you with this odd video of Glitter going mental in his jail cell, taken from a Channel 4 'mockumentary' about his fictional execution.



Norwood Rating : 6

Wayne Rooney update

Soccer superstar balder Rooney has just announced on twitter that he has undergone hair transplant surgery.


@WaynerooneyJust to confirm to all my followers I have had a hair transplant. I was going bald at 25 why not. I'm delighted with the result.
It's still a bit bruised and swollen when it dies down u will be first to see it. Anyone recommend any good hair gel. Haha
I had it done in Harley street hair clinic London. Thanks to all the staff who looked after me.


I am a bit surprised by this, as I didn't think Rooney would make a good candidate for transplant surgery. He is practically a norwood 4 at the young age of 25, which usually means the balding is aggressive and will continue. Although no one can predict the future, I would hazard a guess that he would have reached a norwood 6 by the time he was 40. Various sources claimed Rooney was taking medication such as propecia too, which have unfortunately for him not seemed to have worked.


This means that eventually, his baldness will catch up with his transplant, leaving gaps of hair and a very odd looking result. Future operations will be necessary to counter this, which should not be a problem financially for the millionaire Rooney.


But he will eventually run out of donor hair, no matter how much money he has. I can only hope Rooney was made aware of this before undergoing the procedure, and I would question the ethics of anywhere that didn't make this clear to him.


New Update : Here's the first picture of his new hairline. It is still healing and will take several months to grow back properly.


Norwood Rating : his new results have yet to be seen, but he will be hoping to have gone from a 4a to a 2.

Wesley Sneijder

Wesley Sneijder is a Dutch midfielder, regarded as one of the best football players in the world. Here is the teenage Sneijder smouldering into the camera, blissfully unaware of the baldness that is about to afflict him.


As you can see, he was something like a diffuse norwood 3 or 4v at the age of 25.


When Sneijder suffered an injury in early December that kept him out of the game for a few weeks, he decided to cheer himself up by treating himself to a hair transplant for Christmas.

The results are very impressive. The photo below was taken just a few weeks after the operation. The hairline recession is all but gone, although he still has a bald patch at the crown.


What is unusual about Wesley's transplant is that it was apparently carried out using a new 'hair multiplication' technique pioneered by Dr. Gho of the Hair Science Institute. Only part of the hair follicle is removed and implanted, leaving the rest of it in the donor area where it will grow back. The theory is that this will provide an unlimited supply of donor hair.

The new hair has grown back remarkably quickly. Transplants often require a year of 'growing in' before results are seen, while Sneijder's looks good after only 4 months.


However, Dr. Gho is seen as a somewhat controversial figure in the hair loss world and there have been doubts about the validity of his methods. If these results are a true indication of stem cell implantation, this could be the biggest step forward in transplant technology since the FUE technique.


While it is surely too late for Dutch international team mate Arjen Robben to save his hair, I would bet Wesley has recommended the procedure to BFF Rafael Van Der Vaart, who is also showing early signs of hairloss.


Norwood Rating : 2v

Gene Kelly

Gene Kelly brought joy to millions of old people as the star of Hollywood musicals such as Singin' In The Rain, Les Girls and An American In Paris. Reader Dave sent in this interesting high res picture from 1949, which appears to clearly show the lace front of the toupee he is wearing.


If you look back at some of his films it is now quite obvious he is wearing a hair piece. As one of MGM's biggest stars he was presumably given access to their legendary wig archive. Here's another picture showing his lace front.


He was known for his masculine, athletic style of dancing which goes to show wigs can be worn without the risk of falling off, if a good attachment is used.


Like many dedicated toupee wearers, he employed the same style until his death in 1996, aged 83.


Norwood Rating : 6

Enrique Iglesias update

I have received a fair amount of abuse for writing a speculative piece about Enrique, mostly from female fans who refuse to believe he wears a toupee.


An anonymous person sent me this picture the other day which speaks for itself.


In light of this shocking new evidence, I am going to have to revise his norwood rating to at least a 5.

Norwood rating : 5

Albert Hammond Junior

After an absence of nearly 5 years, The Strokes recently released their fourth album 'Angles'.


I was glancing at the magazine rack in the supermarket and noticed that they were on the cover of a music magazine, with a seemingly new, bald, member. Intrigued, I took a closer look and with horror realized that this person was none other than guitarist Albert Hammond Junior, who previously boasted an almost afro like mass of dark curly hair.


I am not the only one in shock at this, as there is a facebook group mourning the loss of his hair.


Looking back though, the signs of slight balding have always been there, but were often disguised by the unruly style he wore.


In 2009 he made a guest appearance on 'Gossip Girl' in which he sported a proud skinhead, so I am a bit behind the times with this one.


He is suffering extreme hairline recession but there's no sign of a bald patch as of yet.


His father has been a hugely successful singer songwriter since the 60s. A quick look and it appears he still has an amazing head of hair at the age of 66, assuming it is real of course.


It must be highly distressing when both your bandmates as well as your own father all have more hair than you, and I wouldn't be surprised if it played a part in Albert's spiralling descent into drug use and subsequent stint in rehab.

Norwood Rating : 3a

Reader Submissions

Thanks for all the reader submissions over the last few months. I have unforunately been overwhelmed with them recently due to a house move. But rest assured I intend to catch up soon, so if your submission hasn't yet appeared watch this space. And please do continue sending them in!