Wayne Rooney recently underwent hair follicle transplant. What is hair follicle transplant?
Hair follicle transplant is a surgical procedure. It uses the actual hair of the surgery recipient, transplanting them from inconspicuous areas of the subject (usually the back and sides of the head) and replanting them into the balding area in small patches of 1-4 hairs, much like planting grass on your lawn, if you will pardon the analogy.
The subject is first injected with a local anesthetic to numb the area, and then using a “punch”, hairs are extracted from elsewhere for re transplant on the scalp. This is a delicate procedure, and is in no way like a skin graft, where large areas are removed, but miniscule patches of hair and even single hairs are removed from the area at a time. The tool used to remove the hairs is misleadingly called a punch, but is no bigger than, and is very representative of a needle. In fact the areas affected are so small, that when the hairs are removed, they are made ready for grafting by a second assistant with the use of a microscope.
Before that insertion of the hairs into the scalp, there are a series of small holes made into the skin of the scalp, using a 
needle, so that insertion is simplified and less painful, also speeding up recovery after the procedure.
Great care is made during this stage to make sure that once the hair is placed, its angle and growth flow is consistent with the patients’ natural hair pattern and is visibly undetectable by the casual observer after recover from the initial procedure.
The local anesthetic is the only pain killing substance used, and Mark Rooney was definitely awake while the transplant was taking place, though he is likely now taking some pain killers and anti inflammatory agents to reduce discomfort and swelling that is common for the first few weeks afterword.
While the treatment is only effective for those that have otherwise healthy hair growth and ample hair areas to be used as extraction opportunity, for most men, this is a very realistic and viable option for treatment.
Most men will not opt for follicle replacement therapy initially, an rightfully so. Both topical solutions, and prescription medication in this field have dramatically improved over the years, and are available for a very modest price in comparison with surgery. Even over the counter medications have come a long way. While you should still do your research and find the product that is appropriate for you or the one you love, with much improvement in the arena in the last decade, snake oil salesmen and fakes are less likely to reach the consumer who is armed with even the minimum information on the issue.
Whether you or someone you care about has just recently started to show the signs of male pattern baldness, or have almost completely lost their hair, it is advisable to check out as many options as possible before deciding that surgery is the right option for you. While effective, it is not cheap, does come with some initial discomfort, and may altogether be avoided is alternative treatments can serve as a solution before undergoing the knife (or needle in this case)
