Hair loss comes for everyone. While it’s only temporary for some, others are not so lucky. There are millions around the globe who suffer from androgenetic alopecia.
Peter Dale – you might know him as ‘Tubes’ – is one of them. And like many others, he had restoration surgery to restore hair growth in the balding areas. Many people are curious about the details of the beloved funny man’s journey, though. So, let’s learn about Tubes’ hair transplant.
Who Is Peter ‘Tubes’ Dale?
That’s not his real name. Peter Dale came to be popularly known as Tubes after his segment on Sky Sports’ hit comedy/talk show Soccer AM. While starting as a part-time on the show, working as an assistant producer, he went full-time with a regular feature, where he was known as “Peter the Test Tube Baby.”
According to Peter, it was a name Tim Lovejoy (then a presenter of the show) came up with based on the name of a punk rock band from England called “Peter & the Test Tube Babies.”
Peter’s woeful (but funny) attempt at rapping and his “one question and one question only” led to a rise in his popularity. So much so that he was voted as the favourite crew member from the show, beating Rocket (James) Long.
While the frontman suffered from a “very unexpected major heart attack” in 2018, he has recovered since. Now interviewing some of the biggest celebrities, Peter Tubes Dale is still with Soccer AM while having his own golf channel on YouTube with Big Ange (having over 137K subscribers).
When Did Tubes Hair Transplant Take Place?
Over the past decade or so, there has also been a change in Tubes’ physical appearance. When once he was struggling with a receding hairline, he now has a luscious barnet. He has confirmed himself that he had a hair transplant back in August 2020.
While he jokingly referred to himself as a “human egg” (more specifically because of his large forehead), he said that he found himself needing the surgery. When Robbie Knox (another crew member from Soccer AM) interviewed him in 2020, he said that he even thought that the surgery wasn’t for him and that he wouldn’t have it, but there came the point when he couldn’t see his own hairline.
In addition, he took inspiration from the boxer Spencer Oliver while citing David Silva’s hair transplant as “one of the best.” So, eventually, he decided to get the surgery himself. While Tubes had long, dense hair during his early time on the show, there was a noticeable recession of the hairline.
From his pictures, it seems like he was on the Norwood Stage 3-4A, where the “M” of the hairline has diminished to form a “U,” and it’s receding uniformly. In the A scale, it’s only the hairline that’s affected while the crown region remains intact. While his hair loss had developed a “stable” pattern, he decided to get the surgery.
What Kind of Hair Transplant Did Tubes Have & How Many Grafts Were Needed?
Tubes hair transplant most definitely used the follicular unit extraction technique (FUE). In his interview with Robbie Knox, he did confirm that the hair was taken out individually from the back of the head.
This technique is quite popular because it doesn’t leave prominent scars on the scalp, unlike FUT, where a strip of skin is taken out for extracting individual grafts. His donor area density was good so, all in all, he was a candidate for the surgery.
As far as the number of grafts is concerned, he did say in the interview that the surgeon made “2,700 holes” in his head. However, Dale hasn’t revealed how much the surgery cost him. According to the NHS, a hair transplant in the UK can be anywhere between £3,000 and £30,000. Wayne Rooney’s hair transplant reportedly cost a whopping £30,000.
Those who’re losing their hair in Zone 1-3 (confined to the hairline) can get their surgery without shaving their entire head. However, Tubes’ hair transplant involved him shaving his entire head. From his images, you can see that he has a freshly shaved head. In many of his post-op photos, you can see that his recipient area (balding region) is covered by scabs, while the hair behind it continues to grow normally.
This is what usually happens. Since the surgeon creates “holes” in the scalp for implanting the grafts, you end up with tiny wounds that scab as they heal. Hair transplant scabbing shouldn’t last for more than 2 weeks. And as you can see from Tubes’ photos, no hair growth is taking place there. In fact, it can take 3-4 months for you to start noticing any growth because of shock loss.
How Was Tubes’ Hair Transplant Experience?
Many people fear that a hair transplant would be hours and hours of agonizing pain. However, because the surgery takes place under local anaesthesia, it does not hurt. In Tubes’ hair transplant experience, he mentions being in pain for 2-3 minutes before the surgery when his scalp was being numbed.
At that time, he expected the rest of the 10 hours of the surgery to be just as painful. However, he didn’t feel any pain. In fact, he reports watching Netflix while he had the surgery. He was even singing “the human egg’s getting hair again” while someone worked on his recipient area.
For those who’re uncomfortable with needles and the pain that results from them, it is possible to get “needle-free anaesthesia.” In this, the scalp is numbed before the patient is given local anaesthesia injections, so they don’t feel any pain from that either.
His own surgery lasted for 10 hours (the average is 6-8 hours). Before the surgery, his surgeon drew his hairline using a pen, which is standard practice. The patient needs to agree on the hairline design before going into the surgery. He was asked to scrunch his face up so that it could be seen where his last wrinkle on the forehead was. The hairline was drawn before that wrinkle.
During the surgery, first, the grafts were harvested and stored, after which he had lunch. And then, the surgeon came in to create holes for the implantation of grafts. After the holes were created by the surgeon, members of the medical staff came in to place the hair grafts. According to Tubes, the whole idea of hair transplant is “clever.”
Did Tubes Get PRP After Hair Transplant?
While he did not name it, Dale mentioned that he had to go back to the clinic for 2 injections. These were going to “inject some more blood to help the growth of the new hair and the existing hair.” That’s basically PRP, also known as platelet-rich plasma.
In this, the blood of the patient is taken and put into a centrifuge for obtaining a concentration of, well, platelets. This helps speed up the healing process and promotes the growth of new hair. Many surgeons recommend getting PRP therapy before the surgery or right after it (getting some injections later on). That’s because PRP and hair transplant can improve the results of the surgery.
How Was Tubes’ Aftercare Like Following Hair Transplant?
Soon after the surgery, it is very important for the patient to follow all the aftercare instructions provided by the surgeon. These help ensure normal recovery. Dale himself discusses the importance of aftercare. Staying out of the sun is one.
Although Tubes believed that the hair grafts would somehow “come out” because of the sun, that’s not really why surgeons recommend staying out of it. The main reason behind it is that you need to avoid sweating as it can cause infection. Also, in trying to wipe the sweat off, you might end up dislodging the hair grafts.
In addition to that, he also mentioned sleeping at an angle of 45-degrees, using neck pillows. That is something that you need to do in order to avoid swelling (or worsening of it) after surgery.
Lastly, he said that he couldn’t do cycling or walking for some time after ths surgery. Again, it’s a part of the aftercare to avoid vigorous physical activity for a while. After a few days, short, light walks are permitted, but cycling is not allowed for two weeks. All these things need to be done so that the surgery is successful.
How Are the Results of Tubes’ Hair Transplant?
Tubes had a hair transplant almost 2 years ago. Usually, it takes 1 year for the person to see the final results. Looking at his current photos, he seems to have his barnet back. His hairline has dense hair and is growing evenly. Tubes did say that he won’t be needing another surgery, probably because his balding area wasn’t that large. He looks like he has recovered successfully from the transplant.
Conclusion
Soccer AM’s Peter ‘Tubes’ Dale had an FUE hair transplant back in 2020, followed by PRP therapy to boost the growth of existing and transplanted hair. Although he did not want to undergo surgery initially, he decided on it eventually. And by the looks of it, his hair looks great now!
