While the media often focuses more on footballers’ hair transplants, this procedure is increasingly common among other athletes as well. A pristine, youthful appearance is important to those in the public eye and full, healthy hair completes this look. Bodybuilder Chris Bumstead’s hair transplant was another step in his journey to the physical perfection he worked so hard to achieve.
Chris has always been open about his surgical hair restoration [1] and shared his experience on his YouTube channel. While the athlete found the procedure uncomfortable and had a hard time with hair transplant recovery, he seemed happy with the results. Keep reading this article to find out all you need to know about:
Chris Bumstead is a world-renowned bodybuilder born in Canada in 1995. Known to fans everywhere as CBum, the athlete won 6 consecutive Mr. Olympia competitions (2019-2024) during his 8-year-long career.
CBum made his debut in 2014, aged 19, in the International Fitness and Body Building Federation (IFBB) North American Bodybuilding Championship. He went on to shine repeatedly in the Mr. Olympia contest. However, the bodybuilder suffered several injuries and struggled with an autoimmune disease which affected his kidneys. This may have contributed to his decision to retire from competing in 2024, aged 29.
After retirement, Chris became a part-owner and athlete for the Gymshark sports apparel brand. He continued to sell gym supplements and focused on growing his successful YouTube channel, where he posts videos of his workouts.
Yes, CBum confirmed that he had a hair transplant in Turkey in November 2023. He spoke about his procedure in multiple videos on his YouTube channel, providing fans with details of his experience.
The bodybuilder shared that he found the local anaesthesia administration painful and that he was bothered by the post-hair transplant scabbing and itching. However, the most difficult aspect for him was that he couldn’t work out after his hair transplant and had to wait 30 days before resuming his training.
However, Chris told fans that despite the discomfort and temporary restrictions, he found his surgery worth it. He enjoyed his “cleaner hairline” and achieved significant hair growth.
Chris revealed during a podcast that he needed hair restoration surgery after losing his hair in 2018. That year, he was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called IgA Nephropathy (Berger’s Disease), which affected his kidneys [2]. He was placed on a high dose of corticosteroids to reduce the inflammation caused by his condition. The athlete believes he experienced medication-induced hair loss, as he began losing his hair “in clumps” soon after starting treatment.
However, unlike anabolic steroids that can cause hair loss, corticosteroids used in treating autoimmune disorders don’t have this side effect. In fact, they are often used to treat certain inflammatory types of alopecia, such as alopecia areata or scalp psoriasis [3].
Moreover, CBum mentions he used Finasteride to control his hair loss before getting it surgically restored. This medication only works against male pattern baldness.
The athlete’s autoimmune condition may have triggered a temporary, stress-induced type of diffuse hair thinning known as telogen effluvium. It can lead to significant hair shedding but normally resolves itself in 3-4 months. However, the transformations to Chris’ hairline between 2018 and 2023 show clear signs of androgenetic alopecia.
Male pattern baldness develops when a male hormone called dihydrotestosterone (DHT) binds to androgen receptors in your hair follicles and makes them shrink. This makes them produce miniaturised hair until they stop hair production altogether, leading to alopecia.
This condition usually manifests with a receding hairline and temple hair loss and if left untreated, it can advance to a bald spot on the crown. CBum showed progressive signs of frontal recession and an M-shaped hairline leading up to his hair transplant.
Normally, male pattern baldness starts sometime between 25 and 35. However, Chris’ hair loss journey began a little early, before his mid-twenties. Here are the transformations that the bodybuilder’s hairline went through over the years.
At age 10, Chris wore a short, slightly messy haircut which revealed an even-sized forehead. Chris’ hairline looked typical for his early age, with no distinctive signs such as a widow’s peak or congenital irregularities.
During the first years of his bodybuilding career, CBum’s hairline remained straight and youthful. It showed no signs of recession. And the corners of his temples only appeared slightly thinner when his hair was pulled back tightly in a bun, so that did not appear to be a sign of teenage hair loss.
However, around the age of 20, Chris started to wear very high fades which made it more difficult to tell whether he was experiencing any temple hair thinning. The athlete may have noticed some concerning early symptoms of temple recession and tried to mask them.
According to Chris, 2018 was the year when his hair started suddenly falling out. However, the first signs of hair thinning and balding could be observed even before that. Photos taken during the 2017 Mr. Olympia competition show that CBum had an uneven hairline, which had been perfectly straight 2 years before. The rise of the temple corners is also clearly visible.
However, his hair loss did likely accelerate in 2018, as his male pattern baldness overlapped with what was likely telogen effluvium from his autoimmune disorder. This troubled the athlete, who decided to start using the hair loss medication Finasteride to control his alopecia.
The Finasteride worked to prevent CBum-s frontal balding from advancing and even reversed some of it. However, it was unable to restore the bodybuilder’s full head of hair to its former glory. Chris was not happy with the results, as by 2020 he still had a visibly receding hairline. This led him to opt for a permanent hair transplant instead.
In November 2023, CBum stopped at a Turkish hair restoration clinic on his way back from a show in Dubai. He underwent an 8.5-hour long outpatient surgery to cover the frontal area of his scalp.
Unfortunately, the athlete found the experience very painful and uncomfortable, which may be a sign of an insufficiently skilled surgical staff. While some minor pain may be involved when having local anaesthetic injected, it should not be “9 out of 10” like Chris described it [1]. Most patients find their hair transplant doesn’t hurt [4], so something may have gone wrong during his procedure (athletes often have a reasonable pain threshold).
If Chris had a fear of needles (which could have raised his perceived pain level), he could have been advised to get a needle-free hair transplant for increased comfort.
When it comes to the hairline design, the markings the doctor made on his scalp (see photo above) show that it was intended as a very straight line, about 1 cm lower than his natural hairline. This means his surgeon may have been inexperienced. A too-straight hairline appears unnatural and this choice has been criticised by some fans and influencers.
Hair transplant maintenance was difficult for CBum during the first month. He was bothered by the scabbing and itching, but especially by not being allowed to train for 30 days. However, this was absolutely necessary, as strenuous exercise can damage the grafts, leading to potential hair transplant failure.
Another unusual thing about Chris’ recovery is that while hair transplant redness normally fades completely within 2 weeks of surgery, his persisted for months. And the athlete is not exaggerating with this complaint. Videos taken in March 2024 still show him with a reddish hairline 4 months post-procedure. This can be a sign of poor surgical technique, as damage to the scalp was not kept to a minimum.
Fortunately, save for the excessively straight hairline, Chris’ hair transplant turned out to be successful. The athlete was happy with his results and the transformation in his appearance was visible.
However, only 2 years later, in 2025, there is indication of further hair thinning at the temples and around the hairline:
If this is the case, the thinning may be caused either by poor surgical technique or by the advancement of androgenetic alopecia around the hair grafts. This means that Chris may be one of the 28.6% of patients who need a second hair transplant to achieve their ideal look [5].
Judging by his description of the procedure, CBum had a follicular unit extraction (FUE) hair transplant. This means that each of his hair grafts was extracted individually from the back of his head with a small tool called a punch. They were then reimplanted in his transplant area.
FUE procedures have grown substantially in popularity, surpassing the former gold standard follicular unit transplantation (FUT) technique. FUT involves harvesting an entire strip of skin from the donor area, cutting it up into grafts and implanting them in the thinning areas. The most significant difference between FUE and FUT is that FUT leaves a fine, but visible scar.
FUE on the other hand leaves virtually no scarring and leads to a faster hair transplant recovery. Since CBum was interested in both the pristine appearance of his scalp and his ability to return to training as soon as possible, FUE may have made more sense for him.
In Chris’s own words, he had a 4500-graft hair transplant. That seems excessive, provided that his hair loss was not very advanced, probably Norwood stage 3 to 4. While he did have an M-shaped hairline, he did not seem to have a bald spot on his crown. Someone with CBum’s hair loss would normally need 2500 to 3000 hair grafts at most.
While it is difficult to say how many hair grafts one would need without a professional examination. However, hair clinics in Turkey are also known for using more grafts for the same hair loss stage than those in the UK. This can sometimes lead to hair transplant overharvesting, but it thankfully didn’t in Chris’ case.
CBum got his hair transplant in a Turkish clinic. This country is renowned for its low costs, but not necessarily for its stellar results in the field of hair restoration surgery. That is why many patients wonder if the lower hair transplant costs in Turkey are worth the risk.
Chris was discreet regarding the price of his hair restoration surgery. However, hair transplant costs normally depend on the following factors:
According to our research, hair transplant costs are lower in Turkey than in the UK. The average cost per hair graft is £0.55, compared to £3.25 in the UK. However, clinics there also tend to use more grafts than needed, to make up for the lower price per graft. This may be why CBum’s hair transplant may have been approximately 2000 grafts larger than it would have been in the UK.
At a rate of £0.55 per hair graft, the bodybuilder’s procedure cost would have started at £2,475. However, since he chose a well-reputed clinic and may have opted for a package that also contained accommodation, meals, etc, the total price he paid may have been significantly higher.
While CBum’s surgical hair restoration experience was not without fault, you can get a comfortable, natural-looking hair transplant. Simply book a free, no obligation hair transplant consultation with one of our world-renowned surgeons. They will give you an idea of what a truly great hair restoration experience should be like. You will immediately know you are in the most capable hands when it comes to their skill, experience and results.
Here, at the award-winning Wimpole Clinic, we take great pride in our 50-year legacy of hair transplant industry leadership. Our 97-100% success rates speak for themselves, as do our excellent results (access our hair transplant photo gallery to see what we can achieve).
Take a look at the hair stories, transformations and transplant results of other sportsmen who have had their hair surgically restored:
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