Woman gifts husband with £5,600 hair transplant from Turkey after holiday horror

A hairdresser who gifted her husband a £5,600 hair transplant after a holiday photo and friends’ pranks damaged his self-esteem has said his “confidence is rising again with his hair”. Ben Ashman, 46, who works in construction, received the £5,600 procedure as a gift from his wife Jo, 45, after giving up two different hair transplants in Turkey .

The mum-of-three invested in hair loss treatment to help her husband’s waning confidence after a seemingly innocuous photo taken on holiday caused Ben to worry more about his thinning hair. Usually the jokester of his group of friends, Ben had found himself on the receiving end of playful banter from his peers teasing him on the subject.

So in February of this year, he underwent a procedure that involved nearly 2,000 grafts being taken from the back of his head and placed in the middle of the bald spots at the front of his hairline. Ben’s hair has since grown back and while it could take up to nine months to see the final result, he said he is “very happy” with how it looks so far, noting that his wife even commented about 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 have a few friends that I pair up with from school and we have joke with each other all the time. I’m probably the worst because I give them as much as they do, but it starts to wear on you when the same thing happens over and over and it’s something that actually bothers me.

“They would tell me my forehead grew and stuff like that. They’re gutted now because I’ve done my hair and they’ll taunt me saying, “I preferred you the old, not you the new.” We’ll grow up one day, but it’s pretty funny. Now I laugh and tell them maybe they should get a hair transplant.”

Ben started noticing his receding hairline about six years ago and recalled how it started to bother him when he saw a bald patch forming on the front of his head. In an attempt to hide his receding hairline, Ben began growing his hair out, but said friends would “take the mick” in reference to his baldness.

He said: “These are the friends I’ve had since we were really little and we’re always making fun of each other and taking the mick off each other, but they’d tell me I was going bald and it would get to me in secret. They used to make fun of a tattoo I had and as a result I ended up being covered, but my hair wasn’t something to 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 day out on the boat, a photographer took a photo of the pair and Ben realized how “thin” his hair was getting.

Ben said: “I contacted a couple of clinics in Turkey to ask about a hair transplant but backed out because I wasn’t sure. It was all over WhatsApp, you would send them photos and then they would just hit you with a price and how many grafts you would have without seeing anyone face to face. So I was a little unsure about that.”

The idea of ​​having a hair transplant stuck in Ben’s mind when Jo had a surprise up her sleeve during a day out together in London. Convincing Ben that they were going into a nearby shop, the hairdresser took her husband to Harley Street where he arranged a consultation at the 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 asked about in Turkey said I would need about 3,500 grafts, but the Wimpole Clinic said I would need about 2,000 because more could damage the hair.”

In February 2024, Ben had almost 2,000 follicle grafts taken from the back of his head and placed into his bald spots and receding hairline. Ben will now have to wait until around nine months after the procedure to see the final result, but he said he is already happy with the change.

“They are still growing and they say it takes about six to nine months for it to fully grow. So I’m three months to the minute and I’m already impressed,” he said. “The clinic gave me a few numbers and sent me messages, but I didn’t have any problems or anything. I was absolutely fine from the procedure, it was perfect.”

Despite the physical change in his hairline, Ben said the biggest change during the process was his confidence. He added: “I’m a lot more confident now. I like to play sports and golf and stuff like that, so I used to wear a hat all the time to cover my hairline, but I haven’t worn hats since the treatment.

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

“When a photo was taken of Ben and I, it revealed a huge bald spot on the side of Ben’s head. He was mortified when he saw how obvious it was and it totally ruined the day because I knew how upset he was. That’s when I decided I had to do something. I started plotting and looking into hair transplants.

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