London cab driver Dean Young started losing his hair after his son Ryan Young, 26, broke his leg while skiing in France, in January 2020.
The 62-year-old was so worried he began to develop bald patches and despite being prescribed steroid cream by his GP to help the hair grow back, nothing seemed to work and Dean began to feel ''his confidence slipping away''.
Young's worries were exacerbated by his fears passengers in his cab would stare at the back of his head, leaving him feeling more insecure than ever.
But in February 2023, his son Ryan reached out to Hair Tattoo in Brentwood, Essex and after a phone consultation with owner Simon Ford, 52, Dean decided to try scalp micropigmentation.
Hair tattooing, or scalp micropigmentation, is a non-surgical, superficial cosmetic tattoo that gives the illusion of a close buzz-cut hairstyle.
For three sessions, he spent £1,500 over the course of three months which was well worth it as the Cabbie shared he has been "blown away by the results".
London cab driver spent £1.5K on tattooed hair after balding
Dean now feels like 'a new person' and has been so impressed with his new head of hair that he even hands out leaflets to his passengers.
Dean, from Benfleet, Essex, said: "My confidence has gone from 10 percent to 150 percent since having my hair tattoo.
"I'd been losing my hair for a few years, but it got so much worse after my son broke his leg.
"It was a stressful time and my hair just gradually got worse and worse."
Dean added that he wasn't sold on the idea at first but was glad he saw the process through: "I wasn't sure about a hair tattoo at first, but Simon explained everything and made me feel more comfortable.
"It really hurt, but it was 100% worth it.
"I came out smiling from ear to ear and have never felt better.
"Now when I'm driving my cab, I'll catch my hair in my mirror and can't believe it's me!"
"I recommend it to everyone, it's the best thing I've ever done"
The cab driver added that he began to lose his hair when he was 45, but the patches of balding worsened after Ryan, an electrician, was hospitalised suddenly on holiday.
The stress-induced alopecia became so severe that Dean, a dad-of-three, tried the prescribed cream.
But Dean, who's married to wife Donna, 60, who works in a school, was left feeling ''totally deflated'' when it didn't work.
As Dean said: "I was feeling low - men don't like to admit when they're feeling low, but it was starting to get to me.
"We'd joke and take the micky, but my hair did look really bad.
"I decided to go for it, and I went from feeling really low to really high!"
After the three sessions, the cab driver felt ''amazing'' and wanted to share his story to help others going through something similar.
"I recommend it to everyone, it's the best thing I've ever done,'' he said.
"I feel like a cockerel, I feel like I can stand proud now with my head held high.
"People just assume I've got short hair now; they can't believe it's a tattoo."
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