Dáithí Ó Sé: Getting a hair transplant makes me feel better about looking in the mirror

Speaking on the procedure, the 47-year-old says he first started to notice that his hair was thinning two or three years ago, particularly when he looked at pictures of himself. He admits that it was bothering him for some time.

For many men, thinning hair or a receding hairline is “a big problem”, he says, and a “confidence booster that is taken away from them”. For Ó Sé, it had a similar effect.

“I thought: ‘Man, you’re looking a lot older than you should be’. That was one of [my thoughts]. It’s just one of these things…it’s going to get worse, and you know that as well and that plays on your mind. Then therefore that plays on your confidence,” he explains.

The RTÉ star decided that shaving his head completely was not an option, so it was time to look at alternatives. “There are certain heads in this world that can take a bald head but mine isn’t one of them,” he laughs.

When looking into treatments, he came across the Cosmetic and Hair Restoration Clinic at the Bon Secours Hospital in Tralee.

“Then I found out that they had Ireland’s only state-of-the-art hair restoration robot, so I said, ‘Hang on this is very interesting’. Of course, I have a big connection with Tralee, as everyone knows, so I went down to see them,” he says.

The Rose of Tralee presenter underwent the transplant before Christmas 2022 and was “totally blown away” by the procedure and the difference it made to his hair. Comparing before and after pictures is like “night and day”, he says.

“Around June or July, I started really noticing it. I thought this is really coming along nicely. Then, around months nine and ten, that’s when you really start seeing it. I’ve really noticed it in the last month or two — that it’s really taking shape. It’s getting a lot fuller on top and apparently, it’s going to get fuller in the next couple of months as well.” 

It’s probably fair to assume that working on TV can bring added pressure in terms of appearance but Ó Sé reckons it all boils down to how you feel in yourself. “You ultimately have to be happy in your own skin and in your own appearance,” he says.

While his day job as a TV presenter was a small part of his decision to undergo the treatment, it was more personal than that for the father-of-one.

“It was important to do this for myself. This is me investing in myself, as much as anything,” he says.

Skin cancer diagnosis 

Following the procedure, Ó Sé also underwent treatment for skin cancer.

“I thought I had an ingrown hair,” he says, describing the small spot he had on his eyebrow. “I’ve had them down through the years, they’re turned into spots, and they went away after a while but this one wasn’t going away. So, I went down to the doctor and the doctor sent me to a specialist and the specialist told me straight away what it was, so we got it cut out and that was it.” 

He was diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma but thankfully, has since been given the all-clear.

“I went back to the doctor last month and she said they got the whole lot out, go on and enjoy yourself,” he says.

The presenter says he is proud of himself for acting swiftly and getting the spot checked. Nonetheless, an experience like that “changes you” and made him realise that he needed to start looking after himself because  — as he puts it — “this is no dress rehearsal”.

“It’s very, very scary. From now on, it’s factor 50 all day long — twice a day. Before I leave the house and when I take off my makeup coming home from work,” he says.

While being on the road between his home in Galway and the Today Show studio in Cork can make it more difficult, he has been making an effort to eat healthier and exercise more.

I’ve kept up a lot of exercise and I drink as much water as I can which is something I wouldn’t have done two or three years ago but 2023 seems to be the year of change for me.”

With his fuller head of hair, Ó Sé has noticed a difference in his confidence and how he feels when he looks in the mirror.

“There’s just a huge difference. I feel a lot better about myself,” he explains. “When you see yourself in the mirror in the morning when you’re shaving you think to yourself, ‘You‘ve a fine head of hair now boy’, [I’ve] a little smile on my face and off I go to work.” 

His wife Rita and son Mícheál Óg are also fans of the new do.

“I think they got a bit of a shock when I came home with my head shaved the first day but after those two seconds of a shock, they didn’t take any notice at all of it. That was it. The young fella has a fine head of hair, and that hair is going to be with him for a while but now I’m catching up on him again.” 

Considering the difference his hair has had on his own confidence, Ó Sé notes how conversations around appearance and looking and feeling good in yourself are not common amongst Irish men. For that reason, he has taken on the role as brand ambassador for the clinic he was treated at.

“I didn’t really want to talk about it [my transplant] at all but there was no point in me not talking about it because not talking about it doesn’t solve anything.” 

He hopes his story can help open up the conversation around hair transplants so that others feel more confident to talk about their insecurities and take action if needed.

“We need to talk about these things…there’s no need to be embarrassed or feel anyway awkward about it. Men are doing it and it’s a good thing. If it has a positive effect on your mental health and how you feel about yourself, isn’t that a good thing?” 

While Ó Sé thinks the younger generation is getting more comfortable with it, there’s still “a bit to go”.

“Since the story came out, the amount of people that I know who I didn’t know had hair restoration done already have sent me messages saying; ‘I got this done three or four years ago, I’m delighted with it, fair play to you for talking about it’.” 

“If me talking about it can help in any way, I think that’s a positive step forward,” he adds.

As for the end of Dáithí Ó Sé’s year, his nine-year-old son is already looking forward to a visit from the big man in red. 

For Mícheál Óg's father, the festive season is all about spending time with family and relaxing. “Christmas for me is the gates closed, the fire down and cups of tea,” he says.