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Gregory Robinson
A woman has undergone a complete transformation after she had a hair transplant to hide her forehead.
Sonja Van Den Berg, 33, hated the size of her forehead and decided to visit a clinic near Rotterdam to have the procedure done.
There are two types of hair transplant - follicular unit transplantation (FUT) and follicular unit extraction (FUE).
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In FUT, which is also referred to as the strip method, a thin strip of skin with hair is removed from the back of the head and divided into pieces. The grafts are then placed into tiny cuts in the scalp.
In FUE the back of the head is shaved and individual hairs are removed one by one. These grafts are then placed into tiny cuts made elsewhere in the scalp. The person getting this type of procedure may be left with tiny scars but these won’t be very noticeable.
Usually the procedure is done to move hair to an area of the head where the hair is thin or that has become bald. It is only available in private clinics and isn’t available on the NHS in the UK. The procedure can set you back anywhere between £1,000 to £30,000 depending on the extent of hair loss.
She said the FUE hair transplant cost her almost £2500 and she has no regrets.
"It’s funny how something so subtle can make such a big difference,” Sonja said. “Honestly, I feel a little sad that I didn’t know about the procedure earlier.”
Before getting the cosmetic procedure done, Sonja said she would hide her forehead in windy weather and felt uncomfortable wearing her hair in certain styles.
"Finally, I can wear my hair in ways and styles that I wasn’t comfortable with before my hair transplant, and when it’s windy outside I don’t feel the need to hide my forehead when the wind blows my hair,” she shared.
Swimming was also something that made Sonja feel uncomfortable because of the size of her forehead.
She added: "I’m also looking forward to swimming in the summer because I don't have to worry about when I dive into the pool and my forehead being more exposed when I get out of the water.
Sonja has founded the company ‘Beauty Gainz’ to provide people with an all-inclusive hair transplant trip to Istanbul, Turkey.
"I never expected this much interest but it’s nice that I am able to help women who share the same insecurity that I had," she said.
"There are also some negative comments from people who ask me why I don’t just get bangs or tell me just to accept who you are.
"However, it's about what makes me happy and if I can help other people to feel more confident then it makes me double as happy."