Actress-model Sheila Sim opens up about hair transplant journey to fix ‘prominent bald spot’

Since Singaporean actress and model Sheila Sim started modelling, she had always received feedback that her hair was thinning. People would ask if she was stressed or tired, she shared on her Instagram Stories on Nov 6, revealing that she was finally undergoing a hair transplant to address these thinning areas.

To conceal these bald spots previously, she would rely on applying eyeshadow to her scalp and hair fibre spray over the years, calling these beauty tools her “best friends”. A hair fibre spray works like a hairspray, attaching small keratin fibres to existing hair strands to give the appearance of fuller, denser hair. 

Sheila added in an Instagram post on Nov 8 that she “always relied on apps to conceal these areas” when she shared photos online. 

Moreover, being tall has been “somewhat advantageous as the thinning spots aren't immediately noticeable to others”, the 1.74m-tall star said candidly. “However, when seated, the secret I've been carefully hiding on the crown of my head becomes visible.”

When she was young, she used to pluck her hair as people told her curly, wavy hair were “unhealthy hair”, the 40-year-old shared, admitting it was one of her biggest regrets in life to have believed them.

But there is no trace of self-consciousness in Sheila today, at least not on her Instagram, where she stores all her updates in an Instagram Highlight titled Hair Transplant. 

She had booked her first appointment five years ago, but backed out even after everything was confirmed as she found out she was pregnant. Her next attempt was also foiled by her second pregnancy, said the mother of two, excited that she was finally getting around to it.

The two-day procedure was estimated to require 3,000 hair grafts in total, harvested from the healthy hair at the back of her scalp. 

On Nov 7, the first day of the procedure, Sheila shared that 1,601 grafts had been done, along with photos of the affected areas on her head.

She also gave followers an update during her lunch break that she wasn’t in much pain, although she was still groggy from the painkillers. The procedure saw her being put under anaesthetic, which left her sleeping throughout most of it, she said. 

On Nov 8, Sheila shared an Instagram Story of her whole family sending her to the clinic for the second day of her procedure, noting that she experienced “very, very slight pain” after the painkillers wore off – a “three to four” out of 10.

Sheila welcomed those considering a similar procedure to reach out with questions about her experience, and even suggested that she could hop onto an IG Live when she was feeling less groggy.

Editor’s Note: This article has been amended to remove the names of the doctor and the hair transplant and aesthetic clinic in compliance with the Healthcare Services Act 2020.