My name is Paul Percival. I’m one half of a salon group called Percy and Reeve in London. We have a salon in central London. We also have a range of products. Through launching this range of products, I found myself doing far more TV and advertising and promotion, than I had done previously in my career. And because of that I started to see myself on TV and on pictures and things that weren’t part of my life previously. And I think that’s when I noticed that the person I was looking at really didn’t look like the person I thought I did look like.
When I was 7, nineteen years ago I was in a house fire which resulted in 70% burns to my face and my body, so it would have burnt off my eyebrows and I would have had patchy baldness all over of my head.
I actually came to see Maurice about 10 years ago in the very beginning to speak to him, but then I went to college so I didn’t do anything for about 5 years and then came back. He remembered me and we came and spoke to him and he had experience doing burns people before so he knew all about it. He took me through everything and of course doing hair transplants on burns and skin grafts it’s a lot different than normal skin. So he would have explained the differences and all that, but it was very relaxed and very laid back, it was nice.
I think there’s a lot of treatment out there, like say classed as cosmetic treatment that people don’t realise or people with burns don’t realise can actually be used on them and actually works and can be used for reconstructive purposes. So you’d hear about all these film stars and the famous people getting the hair transplants and you’d think that it was just…
I did a huge amount of research, so eventually I came across the HRBR site. First of all what appealed to me was that it was in Ireland that was the first thing, so it was very local very near to where I lived and then I realised after doing more and more research that they were using a technology that was absolutely world class, it’s a world class centre.
When I arrived I could see the investment and the attention to detail in the building gave me a good idea that this was a very serious operation. When I met Maurice what I liked about him was he really took me through straight what he could and what couldn’t do. He said to me at the outset “Gary I won’t be able to give you a full head of hair but I can do is I can give you a result that you will be happy with” Automatically I had a trust in him that I knew if I was to proceed with this that he would do the best possible job. It was an incredibly liberating decision when I said yes I’m going to do this. Obviously, I was a little bit nervous going through something like this, it’s a big step and immediately…
When I was about 24 I noticed, I was in Miami and my hair got wet and I noticed in the mirror. I caught sight of myself in a hotel room and I thought my hair is going on the top. But what kind of saved me was that I had curly hair so you couldn’t really notice it, but it was something that was constantly on my mind and I just was, one, too nervous to do it. Two, I didn’t have the confidence to do it or talk about it, so I just kind of let it go really and then it got to the point where it got worse and worse and worse to the point where I just had to do something about it.
“Hi, my name is Cyril Fox. In 2006 I noticed my hair was receding so I decided to investigate and see who best could look after me. I found Dr Maurice Collins in the Hair Restoration Clinic, whom when I went, had a good consultation, he assured me I was a perfect candidate for hair transplant and as you can see I have a head of hair to prove him right.”
“So, I would assure anybody who would be in the same frame of mind as myself, to go and have a chat with him and you won’t regret it.”
About 10 years ago I noticed, like a lot of men, that my hair was thinning, which was quite a big issue to me, it was a major concern. I was devastated to be truthful. I felt the main thing was that I looked a lot older than I did. I didn’t want to get my hair shaved off. I know there are a lot of guys out there who do shave their hair off and they look absolutely superb with it, but it didn’t sit comfortable with me to do that.
And then once we found here, it’s an amazing place, absolutely amazing. When we actually come in, I had a gut feeling that this was definitely the place, the investment that has gone into it, the equipment, the technology; the team. It really is at the highest standard.
Dr. Collins spoke to us. He spoke frankly and openly. He told me exactly what we could achieve. He wasn’t giving any false promises. All the team here, they’re all perfectionists, professionalism, friendly. Even on the day of surgery I had nerves and I wasn’t even having it done so what you felt inwardly I have no idea but they all put you at ease. And to see him walk through the door it was a different man that…
I have never been concerned about my age. When I hit 30, 40, 50 it did not matter a single thought to me as I was enjoying life more than I ever was. Ten years ago, I found myself married to a woman who was 25 years younger than me but age was never an issue between us. However, she looked young for her age and my hairline was beginning to thin and recede rapidly. From family history, I knew that within 5/10 years I would be completely bald on top. I knew that this would quickly age me from a visual aspect.
2 years ago I took one of the most important decisions in my life, when I decided to put my trust in HRBR to perform a hair transplant. It was an incredibly difficult decision for me, because I knew that the stakes were so high. I had, over the years, gradually come to accept my receding hairline, havinglived with it for more than half my life, but I have to say, it still niggled me. The risk I knew I was running was that, if, for any number of reasons, the transplant did not turn out well, I might be plunged back into the world of mental anguish that I had experienced some 30 years earlier, when I first started to lose my hair. Only this time it would be much worse, because it might not even be natural looking. I could become defined as ” that ol’ boy with the dodgy transplant” …
Although I wish to remain anonymous, I did feel that it was important for me to tell my story regarding my hair loss as for over 10 years I have been fighting this battle and too well I know what anybody in my situation goes through. Who do you discuss the problem with – it is not easy. For me and like most people my hair is very important and to do what many people do and shave it off and accept the fact that I was losing my hair, was not an option I was willing to take – well not without a fight…..
I was delighted that I actually made the move after such long deliberation to come and see you. It was getting to the stage which I’m sure, you and many of your other clients would agree, that the hair loss was having a huge impact on my self-confidence and self-esteem. It has got to the stage whereby it is now impacting on my work and how I would confidently present myself to my clients in the profession that I’ve found myself in.
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