Football isn’t just a physical sport – it’s also about mind games. And you don’t have to look any further than the Celtic icon Scott Brown for proof, who does his best to look the part of a fierce athlete. However, if one were to pin down his commanding presence to one physical trait, it had to be his perfectly shorn head.

Bald was the norm for the midfielder until one day, he revealed his thick hatch to the internet, and it left the netizens divided, to say the least. On the one end, some believed that the footballer had gone under the knife, while others couldn’t wrap their heads around the idea of Scott with hair.

But did Scott Brown’s hair transplant really happen, or did the footballer only grow his hair out? Let’s find out!

Who Is Scott Brown?

Born on 25 June 1989, Scott Brown is an ex-footballer who notably played for the Celtic Football Club. He retired from the game in 2022 at the age of 36. However, he’s not entirely left the dugout, as he’s the current manager of Ayr United.

After signing on with the Hibs in 2002, Scott eventually left for Celtic in 2007, where he then stayed for a whopping 14 years. He made 611 appearances for the club, scoring 46 goals and notching 63 assists, as per Transfermarkt, cementing his status as one of the legends of the Hoops.

He also collected much silverware to show for his success with the team. According to Celtic FC, Scott won 22 trophies, and most of them were during his time as a captain. Additionally, the footballer played for the national team, having captained it as well.

But at the end of the 2020/2021 season, he finally bid farewell to the Celtic team and has moved on to more managerial roles since. In 2022, he became the manager of Fleetwood Town, however, he was let go just after 16 months due to an underwhelming start to the season. He has since found a place for himself at Ayr United.

Why Was Scott Brown Bald?

For the Scottish midfielder Scott Brown, baldness was a choice, and it was a part of his on-field persona to “intimidate” people.

A 2023 interview in The Daily Telegraph with Scott Brown headlined, “I shaved my head to look harder – I was a pantomime villain.”

But on another occasion, in a 2024 interview with BBC Sport, the footballer said that he’d shaved his head “just to intimidate people” and “it worked quite well if I’m honest.”

And there is some logic to his argument as well, considering a study in Social Psychological and Personality Science reported that shaved heads make men look more “dominant, confident and masculine,” as reported in Live Science.

Scott was certainly successful in projecting the image of a more aggressive and serious player who’s there to get the job done – which he certainly did on many occasions.

However, it should be noted that even though Scott hasn’t gone bald in the traditional sense of the word, compared to how his hairline was at the early start of his career, his temples, in particular, do look a bit receded.

And this could possibly be a sign of androgenetic alopecia or male pattern baldness. If that is the case, Scott seems to be around the Norwood stage 3, which is still relatively early on.

Did Scott Brown Get A Hair Transplant?

In his now relatively long hair, it may appear that Scott Brown had a hair transplant, but if you take a closer look at his hairline, it seems unlikely. Possibly, his temples appear less receded because his hair is swept forward in that area.

Overall, the shape of Scott’s hairline looks the same, only the hairstyle is obviously different. In the BBC interview, Scott said, “It’s 100% all my hair” (even offering the interviewer to touch his hair!).

That very much seems to be the case, but it should also be noted that those who have a hair transplant also have their “own hair.” It’s simply taken out from the back of the scalp and transplanted into the bald spots. So, the results are natural-looking.

While initially, even Scott himself wasn’t sure he’d grow his hair back, suspecting he “had a receder,” he decided to give it a few weeks, and it all turned out quite well.

He has shaved his hair on and off, but he’d decided to grow his hair out following retirement “for the kids,” and in his own words, it has made him “look like a more approachable person.”

Scott Brown’s Hair Before And After

Here’s a look at Scott’s hair in 2009 vs 2020:

Conclusion

As yet (at least), it doesn’t look like Scott Brown had a hair transplant. Despite the footballer’s dramatic change in looks from a completely shaved head to one with long hair, the transformation appears to simply be the result of a new hairstyle rather than a surgical intervention.

If you are, however, experiencing hair loss and thinking of getting a hair transplant, make sure to consult an experienced and board-certified medical professional for a diagnosis and effective treatment plan.