Woman who had hair transplant to cover "big forehead" urges others to ditch shame over the procedure
- last year
A woman who had a hair transplant to cover her "big forehead" has revealed the results 10 months on - and urged others to ditch shame over the procedure.
Sonja van der Berg, 33, paid €3000 (£2,641) for the procedure after years of worry about what she described as her "big forehead and high hairline".
After a consultation with a doctor, she underwent a six-hour cosmetic procedure under local anaesthetic.
Donor hairs were taken from the back of her hair, and inserted one by one into her forehead.
Sonja said the experience was so straightforward she fell asleep during the process.
And she said it was such as positive step for her, she has now set up a business accompanying others to Istanbul, Turkey - known as the transplant centre of the world - for similar treatment.
Sonja, a management assistant, from Rotterdam, the Netherlands, had her transplant in her home city in May last year and created her new business in January.
She said: "I had always wanted to get a hair transplant done because my high hairline always bothered me.
"Subconsciously, when I was starting high school at 14 or 15 I was always just very aware of of my big forehead and high hairline.
"I wasn't so insecure that I couldn't go out but it had always been very much on my mind, I was always making sure that enough hair was, hiding it.
"Whenever there was wind outside I was always making sure that my hairs were good in place so that it didn't expose my insecurity.
"Last year, I started to Google ways to make the forehead smaller but I knew a forehead reduction operation would be too drastic for me.
"When I found out about hair transplants, I was very surprised that they were also possible for women, not only for women suffering from hair loss, but also to minimise the size of foreheads.
"I started to contact some clinics and from that point on it went really fast. So it was like an amazing, amazing chance for me.
"I was so excited when I found out it was possible to do something about it."
Sonja had to attend a consultation to determine whether she would qualify for the surgery, which examined whether she had enough donor hair at the back of her head.
She added: "You're completely numb. I honestly was so relaxed I fell asleep several times during the process. So it's not that bad at all."
For the first three days Sonja had some swelling, which she said was "inconvenient" and covered with a headscarf.
But by day five she had returned to work and felt "back to normal".
When she looked in the mirror as she recovered she said she "loved" the results.
She said: "It's really crazy. It's so subtle most people don't even notice it. But it made a huge impact on my self confidence which crazy.
"Before I always had this feeling of being naked somehow, on my face, and now it feels how it's supposed to be. I love the results already.
"I can wear my hair in different styles that I want to know that I wasn't able or that I didn't feel comfortable with before."
Sonja van der Berg, 33, paid €3000 (£2,641) for the procedure after years of worry about what she described as her "big forehead and high hairline".
After a consultation with a doctor, she underwent a six-hour cosmetic procedure under local anaesthetic.
Donor hairs were taken from the back of her hair, and inserted one by one into her forehead.
Sonja said the experience was so straightforward she fell asleep during the process.
And she said it was such as positive step for her, she has now set up a business accompanying others to Istanbul, Turkey - known as the transplant centre of the world - for similar treatment.
Sonja, a management assistant, from Rotterdam, the Netherlands, had her transplant in her home city in May last year and created her new business in January.
She said: "I had always wanted to get a hair transplant done because my high hairline always bothered me.
"Subconsciously, when I was starting high school at 14 or 15 I was always just very aware of of my big forehead and high hairline.
"I wasn't so insecure that I couldn't go out but it had always been very much on my mind, I was always making sure that enough hair was, hiding it.
"Whenever there was wind outside I was always making sure that my hairs were good in place so that it didn't expose my insecurity.
"Last year, I started to Google ways to make the forehead smaller but I knew a forehead reduction operation would be too drastic for me.
"When I found out about hair transplants, I was very surprised that they were also possible for women, not only for women suffering from hair loss, but also to minimise the size of foreheads.
"I started to contact some clinics and from that point on it went really fast. So it was like an amazing, amazing chance for me.
"I was so excited when I found out it was possible to do something about it."
Sonja had to attend a consultation to determine whether she would qualify for the surgery, which examined whether she had enough donor hair at the back of her head.
She added: "You're completely numb. I honestly was so relaxed I fell asleep several times during the process. So it's not that bad at all."
For the first three days Sonja had some swelling, which she said was "inconvenient" and covered with a headscarf.
But by day five she had returned to work and felt "back to normal".
When she looked in the mirror as she recovered she said she "loved" the results.
She said: "It's really crazy. It's so subtle most people don't even notice it. But it made a huge impact on my self confidence which crazy.
"Before I always had this feeling of being naked somehow, on my face, and now it feels how it's supposed to be. I love the results already.
"I can wear my hair in different styles that I want to know that I wasn't able or that I didn't feel comfortable with before."