Jack P Shepherd undergoes hair transplant

Jack P. Shepherd underwent a hair transplant after stress made him go bald.
The ‘Coronation Street’ star admitted there had been a "dramatic" escalation in hair loss at the front of his scalp due to off-screen pressures and insomnia in the last year, so he had more than 3,000 hairs transplanted into the front of his hairline by surgeon Asim Shahmalak at Crown Clinic in Manchester.
The 31-year-old star – who has played David Platt in the soap since he was 12 – said: "It is such a common thing for guys to have now – like a male version of the boob job.
"I decided to have it done because my hair loss has really escalated in the last year, particularly at the front of my scalp.
"I remember seeing myself on screen and thinking: ‘Oh my God, it is really falling out.’
"One of my mates had a transplant and he looked so much better afterwards that I didn’t recognise him. I was blown away by the improvement and he told me he wished he had done it earlier.
"I thought if I am going to do it, I should act now so that I can get the benefits for longer.
"I want to get my hair back to what it was like before so that I can style it at the front any way that I like. It would great to be in a position to have an Elvis quiff and really have some fun with my hair."
At the start of Coronation Street’s two week Christmas break, Jack had the same follicular unit extraction procedure as stars such as Wayne Rooney and Calum Best.
Follicles were removed individually from the back of his scalp and then replanted by Dr Shahmalak in the balding areas around his temples and at the very front of his hairline.
The surgeon shaved only a small area at the back of his scalp to obtain the donor hair so viewers would not notice any difference in his appearance after filming resumed in January.
Because it takes up to a year for the transplanted hair to grow back fully, viewers won’t immediately notice any difference in his character David Platt’s appearance.
Jack said he had been losing his hair for the last decade, but it is only in the last year that he felt he needed a hair transplant.
He said: "I could see the difference when I watched myself on screen and when I was travelling in a lift and the mirror would highlight my hair loss.
"A few of the make-up girls at ‘Corrie’ suggested that I should have it done and I have talked it through with a few people at work.
"My hair loss has definitely accelerated in the last year. I have had a few personal issues off-screen which have been stressful and I am also an insomniac which just adds to my stress levels.
"No one likes to lose their hair and hopefully I can make really difference to my appearance because I am losing it right at the front where you notice it the most."
Jack said that being in the public eye since childhood had probably aged him prematurely.
He said: "I have been working around adults since I was 10. So I have always felt really old – like I was about 80.
"I would not say that I was vain, but I just want to be able to do what I want with my hair."
Jack chose Dr Shahmalak for the procedure because of his global reputation for excellence and his work with other celebrities such as Calum Best, TV doctor Christian Jessen,
former footballer Didi Hamann and ‘Homes Under The Hammer’ presenter Martin Roberts.
Jack said: "A hair transplant is just about the only cosmetic procedure us blokes can have. It is the modern day version of the boob job.
"People would raise a few eyebrows if a woman had a boob job 20 years ago, but now it is just seen as perfectly normal. It is the same with hair transplants for men.
"I decided if I was going to have it done I would go to one of the world’s best surgeons. You want your hair to look right and for the transplant to be completely natural.
"Dr Shahmalak was recommended to me and, so far, I have been delighted with the results.
"I cannot wait to see what it looks like when the transplanted hair is fully grown back in a year’s time."
Dr Shahmalak has treated a number of male celebrities who feel under pressure to look younger.
He said: "Wayne Rooney was a watershed moment and bookings have been up by about 25 per cent since then.
"He made it seem perfectly normal for a man to totally change his appearance with a hair transplant and look years younger.
"I can really make a difference with a patient like Jack who has quite pronounced male pattern baldness at the front of the scalp.
"The 3,000 hairs that I have moved into this area will really fill out his hairline and there is no reason why he won’t be able to grow an Elvis quiff in a year’s time."