Woman gifts her husband a £5,600 Harley Street hair transplant after holiday snap horror

A hairdresser who gifted her husband a £5,600 hair transplant after a holiday photo and jokes from friends dented his self-esteem has said his “confidence is growing back along with his hair”. Ben Ashman, 46, who works in construction, was given the £5,600 procedure as a present from his wife Jo, 45, after he backed out of two different hair transplants in Turkey.

The mum-of-three invested in the hair loss treatment in order to help her husband with his dwindling confidence after a seemingly innocuous photo snapped on holiday caused Ben to worry further about his thinning hair. Usually the joker of his friend group, Ben had found himself on the receiving end of the playful banter from his mates who teased him on the subject.

So, in February this year he underwent the procedure which involved nearly 2,000 grafts being taken from the back of his head and placed amid the balding spots at the front of his hairline. Since then, Ben’s hair has been growing back and, while it could take up to nine months for him to see the final result, he said he is “very happy” with how it looks so far, remarking that his wife has even commented on how confident he is now.

Ben, who lives in West Malling, Kent, with Jo and their three children, Georgia, 25, Billy, 22, and Frankie, 19, said: “I’ve got a few mates that I’ve been mates with since school and we have banter with each other all the time. I’m probably the worst for giving it out just as much as they are but it starts to dig away at you when it’s the same thing on repeat and is something that actually bothers me.

“They’d tell me that my forehead’s got bigger and things like that. They’re gutted now because I’ve sorted my hair out and they’ll have banter saying, ‘I preferred the old you, not the new you’. We’ll grow up one day but it is quite funny. Now I just laugh and tell them that maybe they should get a hair transplant.”

Ben first started to notice his receding hairline around six years ago and recalled how it started to bother him when he spotted a bald patch forming near the front of his head. In an attempt to hide his receding hairline, Ben began growing out his hair but said friends would “take the mick” out of him, referencing his balding.

He said: “These are friends I’ve had since we were really young and we always have banter and take the mick out of each other but they’d tell me I was going bald and it would secretly get to me. They used to make fun of a tattoo I had which I ended up getting covered up as a result, but my hair wasn’t something I could cover.”

Things came to a head in September 2023, during a trip to Athens with his wife Jo and some of their friends. After a boat daytrip, a photographer snapped a photo of the pair and Ben realised just how “thin” his hair was getting.

Ben said: “I contacted some clinics in Turkey to enquire about a hair transplant but I backed out because I was unsure. It was all over WhatsApp, you send them photos and then they just hit you with a price and how many grafts you’re going to have without seeing anyone face to face. So, I was a bit unsure about it.”

The idea of having a hair transplant remained on Ben’s mind when Jo had a surprise up her sleeve during a day out together in London. Convincing Ben that they were popping into a nearby shop, the hairdresser took her husband to Harley Street where she had set up a consultation at Wimpole Clinic.

Ben added: “We sat down with the doctor who gave me a lot of confidence in the procedure and how the treatment would go. The clinics I’d enquired about in Turkey had said I would need around 3,500 grafts but Wimpole Clinic said I would need around 2,000 because more could do damage to the hair.”

In February 2024, Ben had nearly 2,000 grafts of follicles taken from the back of his head and placed in bald spots and in his receding hairline. Now, Ben will need to wait until around nine months after the procedure to see the final result, but he said that he is already happy with the change.

“I’m still in the process of growing and they say it takes like six to nine months for it to fully grow. So, I’m three months in at the minute and I’m well impressed already,” he said. “The clinic gave me a couple of numbers and have been texting me but I’ve had no issues or anything. I’ve been absolutely fine since the procedure, it was perfect.”

Despite the physical change to his hairline, Ben has said that the biggest change during the process has been to his confidence. He added: “I am much more confident now. I like playing sports, golf and stuff like that, so I was wearing a hat all the time to cover my hairline but I’ve not worn hats since having the treatment.

“Jo has commented too that I seem much happier now.” Jo added: “One of my best friends booked a surprise trip for her husband’s birthday – Ben’s best friend – in September 2023. We, along with another couple who are also great friends, all met up in Athens as a further surprise.

“When a photo of Ben and I was taken it revealed a huge bald patch on the side of Ben’s head. He was mortified when he saw how obvious it was and it totally spoiled the day because I knew how upset he was. It was then that I decided that I had to do something. I began plotting and looking into hair transplants.

“I had some money put aside for a couple of holidays this year but when I found the right hair transplant clinic I decided I’d make it a surprise gift for Ben instead of a holiday. I took him for a consultation first and then booked him in. That was in February. Three months later we are already seeing the results. Ben’s confidence is growing back along with his hair.”