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Wayne Rooney might think he’s tackled his receding hairline, but he’s in for a shock – those bristles on his bonce are going to fall out.

The 25-year-old Man Utd ace proudly tweeted a photo of his stubbly new do and confessed to having had a hair transplant.

Experts say more young men than ever are asking for follicular unit extraction, like Wayne, which can cure baldness.

The eight-hour procedure takes hairs from the back of the head and moves them to the front.

Truck driver Paul Hawkins, 41, pictured below – before and after – has had the same procedure and doesn’t regret it at all. He knows how elated Wayne is feeling right now – and how dejected he will be in the weeks ahead.

Married dad of three Paul, from Grays, Essex, says: “The difference straight after the procedure is very noticeable – you can see the little hairs sticking out.

“But within a couple of weeks they all fall out and you don’t see any more for four months.

The hair actually dies and re-grows like baby hair. It takes a year, sometimes 18 months, before it’s fully matured and you see the hair you’ll end up with. It’s such a slow process but definitely worth it in the end.” His surgeon, Dr Bessam Farjo, the Medical Director at the Institute of Trichologists, has seen a huge rise in enquiries about hair transplants from younger men – and even from the parents of boys as young as 16.

But he warns things aren’t always so straightforward when the procedure is performed on people so young.

Dr Farjo says: “I prefer to operate on someone who is 30 or over and I’d certainly avoid anybody who’s 25 or younger. There are two main reasons. The first is the younger you are, the higher your expectations – you don’t have the maturity to look into the future and think you need to look good when you’re 40 and 50.

The second is that younger men with a strong family history of hair loss are likely to lose a lot more hair, which makes their hair loss much more unpredictable. With younger guys we encourage them to concentrate first on controlling their hair loss by using medication. Low level light therapy may slow down hair loss. There’s also Regaine, an over the counter lotion or foam, which you apply to balding areas.”

Paul turned to Dr Farjo for help after all else failed.

He says: “I started losing my hair when I was 17. It was really noticeable by the time I was 18. By then I’d met my wife Wendy but had lost half of my hair. I tried various lotions and potions. I also cut it very short, but I had lost so much hair I couldn’t hide it.

“When we moved to a new area I think the neighbours thought I was a gangster or bouncer because I looked a right thug. My kids’ friends were a bit scared of me, too. People said I looked like Grant Mitchell in EastEnders.

“One morning I was watching TV and Shaun Williamson, who played Barry in EastEnders, was talking about his own hair transplant. I was really impressed and decided to use the same expert as him – Dr Farjo.”

But each treatment costs up to £6,000, and he remortgaged his house to pay for it all.

Paul adds: “I had to have it done in three separate procedures. I had the second two years later. And next week I am having the final one… It’s fantastic that someone like Rooney has come out and said he’s had it done.

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

Or follow Trichologist Gary Heron advice:

For treatments that work without any side effect read:

• Vitastim Hair Stimulant
• Biostim Hair Stimulant
• Follicle Builder II

Do you have Hair Loss Problems, read our Hair Loss Help