Mo Salah’s hair loss has been making sports news headlines for a while. But at the start of the 2024/25 season he took social media by storm with a bold crew cut worlds away from his previous curls.
The Liverpool forward’s dramatic new hairstyle initially shocked fans — but as the season has progressed, it’s clear that there’s more in play than just embracing his thinning temples and progressive male pattern baldness.
Mo’s hair loss has happened fast, taking under 5 years to go from full, healthy, youthful hair to visible frontal balding that made headlines. But in around 6-7 months, he’s managed to completely restore his hairline and transform his appearance.
Here, you’ll find out all about Salah’s hair loss and restoration, including:
Mo Salah is an Egyptian footballer who currently plays in the UK Premier League for Liverpool FC. Following stints at Basel, Chelsea, Fiorentina and Roma, Salah transferred to Liverpool in 2017. He has since achieved numerous trophies, including the Champions League and Premier League titles, as well as personal accolades.
With Salah’s talent and achievements, it’s unsurprising that every aspect of his gameplay, lifestyle, and appearance is under media scrutiny — including his hair. Recent photos indicate that Mo Salah has had a hair transplant.
Let’s take a look at Salah’s old and new hairstyles and how he’s achieved them.
Photos from previous seasons suggest that Mo Salah may have started to lose hair. As a man in his 30s, this is very common — but when you’re in the spotlight, the impact can be amplified.
Football fans and sports journalists have noted Mo’s receding hairline with growing interest and speculation in recent years.
Analysing photos from his early days to the present leaves little doubt that Mo Salah has the characteristic symptoms of male pattern baldness, including an M-shaped hairline and temple hair loss.
Male pattern baldness can start any time from adolescence onwards, but onset is usually between 20-25 years of age [1]. If left untreated, hair loss normally progresses through the stages of the Norwood Scale:
Mo Salah’s hair loss has developed up to around Norwood stage 3. This is the ideal time to get a hair transplant, as by this stage medications like Finasteride and Minoxidil can limit ongoing hair loss but may not regrow the hair you’ve already lost.
While Salah hasn’t yet officially revealed his hair transplant, he also hasn’t shied away from showing off his hair in various stages of regrowth. These before and after images show the stark contrast before and after his hair restoration procedure:
Let’s take a look at Mo Salah’s hair since the start of his career, and what’s led to the recent hair transplant rumours.
Throughout his early senior career, Salah wore his hair shorter and neater than his famed full curls of recent years. Photos from his time at FC Basel show that he has a slight widow’s peak, but for the most part his hairline is straight and youthful.
He retained this strong hairline well into his late 20s, with his hair still largely intact by the time he moved to Liverpool from Roma in 2017.
By 2020, the Liverpool star started to experience visible temporal receding and he developed an uneven hairline. His temples expose more of his forehead than before, creating the tell-tale M-shaped pattern. This is one of the first signs of hair thinning and balding in men with androgenetic alopecia.
Around this time, Salah also grew out his facial hair. Dihydrotestosterone (DHT), the hormone responsible for male pattern baldness, actually helps you grow a fuller, healthier beard. And as well as being very on-trend, facial hair can detract from a receding hairline.
Mo Salah’s hairline recession has progressed quickly. Over the course of just a few years, his M-shaped hairline became more pronounced, particularly during rainy games — getting your hair wet can make hair loss much more obvious.
Growing his hair long also emphasised Salah’s frontal thinning. Growing textured hair can help cover up a bald spot on the crown, but often highlights rather than hides a receding hairline.
In 2024, fans started to speculate that Mo Salah might have had a hair transplant to revive his thinning hairline. With a freshly buzzed head and visible regrowth around his temples, Salah returned for the 2024/25 season with a whole new look.
In July 2024, Liverpool FC shared this video showing Salah’s new short haircut, complete with temple hair loss, likely due to hair transplant shedding (an expected part of any FUE or FUT procedure):
Just two months later, Salah took to the pitch with noticeable regrowth across his temples. While his hair was still shorter than fans were used to, the fade and carefully styled beard brings Salah’s whole look up-to-date:
Since then, Salah’s hairline has gone from strength to strength. In December 2024, he displayed complete regrowth through the temples, with a strong hairline that perfectly suits his face shape and maturity. This suggests his hairline has had an incredible impact in just 6-7 months.
Mo Salah isn’t the only footballer to have had a hair transplant. But the response from fans suggests it’s a massively successful hair transformation — and his performance indicates a newfound confidence that may have stemmed from his incredible hair transplant results.
It’s estimated that Mo Salah had around 1,500 to 2,000 hair grafts transplanted into his thinning temples. This is likely to have given him healthy regrowth without compromising the density in his donor area.
There’s no sign of a scar at the back or sides of Mo Salah’s head, despite his new short haircut. A linear scar is a telltale indicator of FUT surgery. So it’s likely that Salah had an FUE procedure to restore his hair.
FUE involves harvesting individual hair grafts from the donor area. While it’s a more time-consuming surgery than FUT, recovery is often quicker and easier, and there’s no visible scarring in your donor area.
As a practicing Muslim, Mo Salah no doubt considered whether a hair transplant could be haram prior to his procedure. But it’s generally agreed that getting a hair transplant is halal and therefore permissible in Islam.
Since male pattern baldness can have a significant impact on your life, getting a hair transplant to address these issues is generally acceptable according to the Islamic faith.
As one of the world’s most prolific goalscorers and recognisable footballers, it’s likely that Mo Salah visited one of the UK’s best hair transplant clinics for his hair transplant.
Top clinics have fantastic patient reviews, the highest possible safety standards, and will go above and beyond to ensure a successful procedure. This makes getting a hair transplant a swift, straightforward experience that will give you the best possible results.
We can’t say for sure, but the stats speak for themselves: in the 2024/25 season, Mo Salah has scored 21 goals by mid-January — just 4 shy of his total goal count the season before. In just 19 Premier League games, he’s already scored as many Premier League goals (and got 3 more assists) as he did in 32 games the previous season.
Renewed confidence can significantly enhance player performance [2]. And successful hair transplants are known to give you a serious confidence boost. So it’s very possible that Salah’s hair transplant has played a part in his amazing form this season.
“If you are considering a hair transplant, then look no further than the Wimpole Clinic. I couldn’t be happier with my decision, and again, my heartfelt thanks to everyone involved for providing their very highest level of empathy, care and professionalism for such a transformative experience.”
– Robert, December 2024 Wimpole Clinic FUE patient
Millions of men struggle with hair loss. But hair transplants and other hair loss treatments aren’t exclusively for footballers and other celebrities. With affordable finance plans and a team of supportive skilled hair transplant surgeons, you can restore your hair — and your confidence — at the Wimpole Clinic.
Whether you want a discreet hair transplant or a substantial overhaul of your hair, we can transform your look à la Mo Salah. Take a look at our before and after hair transplant gallery and hair transplant reviews to see some of the results we’ve achieved for our patients. Then book a free consultation at your most convenient Wimpole Clinic location to learn more about our team, our procedures, and how we can restore your hair.
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