I spent £4k on a hair transplant after being shamed for my ‘big, fat forehead’ – my man thinks I’m mad

IN recent years there’s been a 30% increase in brides having procedures before saying ‘I do’.

Here, three women reveal why they went under the knife before their big day.

‘My fiancé thought I was mad spending £4,000 on a hair transplant’

Georgia Lloyd, 26, owns a beauty salon and lives in Chester with husband Danny, 33, a professional football coach.

“Raising my eyebrows was the hardest habit to break.

For a decade I’d been doing it constantly, convinced it would make my forehead look smaller.

I even caught myself doing it on my wedding day, before remembering I didn’t need to.

Thanks to my hair transplant, I could finally relax.

I had been aware of my big forehead for as long as I can remember and my mum, who sadly passed away in 2014, used to tell me strangers would comment on it when I was a baby because it was so noticeable.

As a teenager, I did everything I could to disguise it, including growing a full fringe and always having a hairbrush handy in case a gust of wind exposed my high hairline.

It didn’t stop me being teased at school about it, though.

Cruel classmates would write: ‘Georgia has a big, fat forehead,’ on the white board, leaving me humiliated and furious. 

When I was 19, I got together with Danny, whose parents were friends of my mum and dad.

I couldn’t believe he was interested in me, as he was very good-looking and extremely kind.

We moved in together 18 months later and got engaged in Venice on New Year’s Eve 2017.

With a wedding date set for April 2022 – after we’d had to push it back three times because of the pandemic – I came to the decision to do something about my forehead before I said my vows.

I’d been devastated at having to repeatedly postpone our wedding, but now I had extra time, I wanted to use the opportunity to make myself the happiest bride I could be. 

I looked into tattooing on a lower hairline, or having my forehead cut open and my scalp pulled down, but after much research, a hair transplant felt like the best option.

Danny thought I was mad – he didn’t think I needed it at all, but he was supportive, as he could see how determined I was. 

It cost £4,000, and although at first, Danny and I were going to pay for it from our savings, along with some help from our parents, my dad then offered to pay the whole amount, so it wouldn’t impact our wedding budget. 

At a consultation with the Surgery Group, the doctor explained that the procedure was called a FUT – a follicular unit transplant.

He said he would remove a thin strip of hair from the back of my head, cut it into smaller pieces and remove the grafts under a microscope.

These grafts would then be transplanted into tiny holes on my forehead, then new hairs would grow.

In February 2021, I felt so excited as the doctor injected a local anaesthetic into my head and began the six-hour procedure.

I was awake throughout and even when he sliced into my scalp and pulled my skin, I felt fine.

Afterwards, when I saw the strip of bloody red marks on my forehead, I was thrilled – that was where my new hairline would be!

Danny helped me to wash my hair and I wasn’t allowed to do any vigorous exercise or cover the area for a fortnight.

I also had to sleep sitting upright and take painkillers. I was impatient to see the new hair growth, but I knew it would take time.

It was almost 18 months before the hair looked as if it had always been there.

In the meantime, I wore a headscarf or cap, or sometimes I just embraced it.

When I had my wedding hair trial just a couple of weeks before the wedding in April 2022, the stylist couldn’t believe I’d even had a hair transplant, as it looked so natural.

We married at a church with 140 family and friends and I didn’t even think about my forehead on the day.

There was no worrying about how my fringe was sitting, or running to check in a mirror how I looked. I was completely in the moment.

I had a second procedure the following September, when more grafts were done to fill in some gaps in the hairline.

Now it looks even better.

My hair transplant transformed my look, my confidence, and made my special day absolutely perfect.”

•  Visit Surgerygroup.co.uk.

‘It was a nose job, or no wedding at all’

Eunice Atkinson, 36, runs a composite door business with husband Steve, 41. They live in Porthcawl, Bridgend, with children Eli, 10, and Noah, six.

“Looking at my friend’s beautiful wedding photos on Facebook, I felt a wave of dread.

I should have been on cloud nine, counting down to my own big day, but all I felt was sick at the thought of the photographer snapping away from every angle.

It was all because of my nose.

It had a massive bump, which had become more prominent during my late teens and never gone away, and I’d always felt it was too big for my face.

I inherited my nose shape from my dad and all three of my brothers had it, but on men it didn’t look bad.

On me, however, it just looked huge.

Luckily, I’d never been bullied over it, but it had always bothered me.

Then, after I became a mum to my son Eli in 2013, my insecurity rocketed.

Any time someone tried to take a photo of me with Eli, I’d refuse or insist on directly facing the camera so my profile wasn’t visible.

I felt guilty about being self-conscious when I should have been so happy to capture moments with my new baby.

My relationship with Eli’s dad ended, and in July 2015, I got together with Steve.

Then, in December 2016, Noah was born. Again, I refused to be in most of his baby pictures.

It’s impossible to hide a nose, but I’d often wear sunglasses to try to cover at least some of it.

I’d always been open with Steve about how I felt.

He told me he loved me exactly as I was, but understood my insecurities.

Then, in November 2018, he proposed and we set a date of 2020.

But after looking at my friend’s wedding photos in September 2019, and seeing how happy and confident she looked and how unhappy and self-conscious I still felt, I realised I couldn’t go through with my own wedding unless I had a nose job.

I knew I’d never be able to enjoy the day and I hated the idea of having to pose for photos, with nowhere to hide because I was the bride.

Some friends were against me having the surgery, telling me I didn’t need it, but Steve said he’d support me all the way.

After cancelling our original wedding date because of Covid, we rescheduled for June 2022, and in November 2021, I had an operation on my nose with Mya Cosmetic Surgery.

I was nervous beforehand, but I knew I was making the right decision. 

It cost £7,750, which we paid for from Steve’s savings.

The operation took two hours and afterwards I wasn’t in much pain.

The worst part was waiting to see my new nose.

After 10 days, I returned to the clinic for the dressings to be removed and was delighted at how amazing my nose looked – the bump was gone! 

At my final dress fitting a couple of months later, I felt transformed. Now, I could finally feel beautiful.

When it came to walking down the aisle in June 2022, in front of 150 of our family and friends, I didn’t mind everybody looking at me.

All my self-consciousness had gone and I beamed in every photo.

I look back on our wedding day with such happiness, and remember how confident I felt.

It may have only been one day, but my new nose is forever.”

•  Visit Mya.co.uk.

‘I paid £11,000 for a mummy makeover’

Sarah Bradshaw, 35, is a patient coordinator, and lives in Eccleston, Lancashire, with husband Martyn, 35, a managing director, and children Eva, 15, Mia, 12, Amilie, eight, and Arthur, five.

“Looking down at my massive bump, I couldn’t believe that during my pregnancy, I’d ballooned from a size 12 to a 20 and put on 8st.

Aged 29, I was pregnant with my fourth child.

With my previous three, from a previous relationship, I’d gone up to size 18 and put on 5st, which I lost quickly after each.

After divorcing in 2016, I didn’t think I would get married again, but then

I fell in love with my childhood friend Martyn, and when he proposed, I accepted. 

As I had just discovered I was pregnant, we booked our wedding for December 2019, more than 18 months after my due date, and I told myself I’d have plenty of time to get back in shape. 

But after I had Arthur in May 2018, that wasn’t the case.

Even though I managed to get back down to a size 12 by that December, I was left with loose skin across my tummy, which hung down like an apron, and my 32D boobs were saggy.

Hating the way I looked, I wore loose-fitting black clothes and avoided mirrors.

But I knew that soon all eyes would be on me as I walked down the aisle.

I told Martyn I was dreading it and confessed I wouldn’t feel comfortable getting married with my tummy how it was. 

He told me I looked amazing, but it didn’t matter what anyone said – I was unhappy. So I decided to research cosmetic surgery. 

Going under the knife didn’t faze me as I’d had a boob job in 2015, taking me from a 32B to 32D, which had given me a massive confidence boost. 

After researching clinics and procedures, I booked a full mummy makeover – tummy tuck, liposuction on my flanks, and boobs uplifted with my original implants – with Pall Mall Cosmetics, at a cost of £11,000, which I paid for with savings.

Martyn asked if I was sure – it’s always a risk going under anaesthetic – but I felt confident in my decision.

In May 2019, after a four-and-a-half-hour surgery, I was bruised from the lipo, but the pain was bearable, and I was allowed home that day.

For the first seven days, I stayed in bed while Martyn looked after the kids, but the following week, I could move around, and by the third week, I was back at work.  

I loved what I could see of my new body under the binder – a compression garment I had to wear across my tummy to help the healing process – and even though I was swollen, my clothes looked different, as my tummy overhang was gone.

When the binder was removed six weeks later, I was amazed at the results.

The kids didn’t notice, but Martyn said I looked incredible, and the boost to my confidence has been huge.

I splashed out on my dream wedding dress at a cost of around £2,000, and the size 12 fitted perfectly.

That December, I felt radiant as I walked down the aisle. It would have been such a different day had I felt uncomfortable in how I looked.

But I soaked up the compliments, knowing I looked – and felt – great. 

My surgery was worth every penny. As well as fixing my insecurities, I can now do more things with the children, like go swimming, as I’m less self-conscious.

If you can do something that is life-changing and going to make you feel better about yourself, I say go for it. I’ve never looked back.”