But growing hand-in-hand with this niggling dread is the increasing social acceptance of treatments. The stigma is disappearing. “Today, it’s okay to talk about hair loss. Just like it’s okay to talk about getting a boob job or Botox or getting a fake tan. Women can do it. Why can’t men better themselves?” says Stevenson, who also runs the Spexhair.com website.

The hair transplant industry is therefore booming. “The amount of money that industry generates is insane,” says Stevenson. 

The trouble is, according to the truism oft-quoted by hair loss experts, 99 per cent of the products and services that are sold in the industry do not work. Hair transplant tourism is huge, particularly to cities like Istanbul, which is the world capital for hair treatments. Hundreds of British nationals travel to Turkey every year for transplants because prices for the procedures can be €1,000 (£830) compared to between £8,000 and £10,000 in the UK (the minimum experts say is required for a good quality transplant). Some clinics offer “all-inclusive” packages including flights and hospitality.

Hair transplants have to use the individual’s own hair follicles, which are limited in number and are taken from the back and side of a patient’s head, an area that is (for most people) genetically coded to continue growing hair for life. The process is evolving. The traditional method is known as follicular unit transplantation (FUT), in which naturally occurring clumps of hair are transplanted. This, however, can produce the undesired “plug” effect. In recent years, FUT has been superseded by what’s known as follicular unit extraction (FUE), which uses individual hair follicles. But both can be done badly. Very badly. Once reseeded on a bald patch, the hair can be inappropriately spaced or implanted unnaturally or too thinly. And unless done properly, the area from which the hair is extracted can look moth-eaten.