Silvio Berlusconi, Hair Apparent? A Look At His Ever-Changing Hair

Silvio Berlusconi, Hair Apparent? A Look At His Ever-Changing Hair

At 76, Silvio Berlusconi is doing pretty well in the hair stakes, seeing as by the age of 80, 80% of men will have experienced some degree of hair loss. Pictured last week in the Mail Online at dinner with his fiancée Francesca Pascale, he appeared to have once again mysteriously gained back some hair. However, the Italian ex-PM has had at least two and possibly more hair transplants; has he been too busy at bunga bunga parties to treat his hair loss adequately?

The Italian media magnate has previously brushed off comments about his hair loss, joking in 2001 that "I have little hair because my brain is so big it pushes the hair out," and even allegedly instructing members of his political party to get hair transplants themselves, with one 35-year-old balding politician saying dryly that "coming from him, it's like an offer you can't refuse."

This was advice Berlusconi himself had heeded earlier in 2004, when at the sprightly age of 67, Silvio had his first transplant with Piero Rosati, who would carry out a second procedure just a year later in 2005. One procedure should suffice to transplant all the hair required, so either the scandalous PM failed to maintain his hair transplant medically, a must if a transplant isn't to shed, or despite his best efforts, as can happen, the transplant shed anyway.

Because Berlusconi's hair was so thin when he had the transplant, there was relatively little hair available in the donor area at the back of the head to move to the top. Because male pattern baldness only affects the top of the head, usually taking hair from the back presents no problem, but as we age our hair can noticeably thin at the sides and back of the head, too, which is what seems to have happened to Berlusconi.

As a result the Italian, who previously is said to have caused Tony Blair so much embarrassment by posing alongside him for photos whilst wearing a bandanna to conceal his hair loss that Blair begged his wife Cherie to stand in-between them, has been photographed previously using hair filler to cover his hair loss. This hair makeup can be quite obvious, and may have spurred Silvio on to try a transplant one last time, accounting for his apparent new hair.

Now, had the ex-PM acted before his hair reached such advanced stages of loss, he may well have been able to save himself the trouble of having hair transplants completely. When a receding hairline, bald spot or a general thinning of hair begins to show itself, men have the option of treating hair medically, providing that areas are not completely bald and shiny.

A combined treatment approach has shown itself to be the most effective means of tackling pattern hair loss. Because the two clinically proven hair loss medications, Propecia and minoxidil, act on different aspects of balding, they are highly complementary when used consecutively. In short, Propecia undoes the damage of powerful androgen DHT on the scalp follicles, whilst minoxidil stimulates new hair growth when directly applied to affected areas.

It is also worth knowing that whilst Propecia is taken in a standard daily dose, minoxidil can be varied in strength depending on the needs of the individual. Whilst 5% is the highest dose available over the counter, a combined daily dose of 18% can be achieved with a high strength minoxidil cream which can prove effective where a lower dose has failed. It is important to get assessed by a hair loss specialist before any treatment commences, to ensure that your type of hair loss can be treated medically, and that the optimum hair loss treatment programme is made available to you.

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