Might be more to Tom Brady's hair than eye can see

[December 01, 2010]  PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Take heart, guys. Tom Brady may not be perfect, after all.

With his chiseled good looks, Super Bowl trophies and supermodel wife, the New England Patriots quarterback sure seems to have hit the genetic jackpot. According to one report, though, Brady is facing the same struggle as millions of ordinary Joes.

Hair loss.

The National Enquirer reported that Brady's car was spotted outside Leonard Hair Transplant Associates in Cranston, R.I., on Nov. 9. That would be the office of Dr. Robert Leonard, described on his website as "New England's foremost authority on hair restoration."

"Guys just don't want to be bald," said Dr. Raymond Konior of Premiere Hair Restoration in Chicago. "Great heads of hair are perceived as being stronger people, better-looking people."

Leonard's office wouldn't confirm if Brady was a patient, saying in a statement that, to protect patients' privacy, "We don't comment on, confirm, deny or otherwise discuss matters related to our client list." But if Brady is having hair restoration, Konior said it's highly unlikely he's doing it with five weeks left in the regular season and the playoffs looming.

A call to Brady's agent, Don Yee, wasn't immediately returned.

Hair restoration is a surgical procedure and, like any other, requires recovery time. While it varies by procedure and patient, it's usually at least a week.

Procedures can last anywhere from four to 14 hours, depending on how much hair is being moved, and can cost between $5,000 and $18,000.

"Once it's healed, that hair acts like it was always there," Konior said. "It's like a broken bone. Once it's healed, it's healed."

The Enquirer said Brady's wife, Gisele Bundchen, was behind the do-over. When Brady was razzed about his shaggy, Justin Bieber-like look earlier this season, he indicated it was his wife's doing.

But a bad cut is one thing, a surgical cut is another, said Michael Shaun Corby, a celebrity hair stylist and global creative director for Alterna Professional Haircare in Los Angeles.

"A lot of people think only women have a bad hair day, but men can be affected just as much," Corby said. "Men have the same problems, they just don't feel attractive if they don't have a good hair day."

Maybe even Tom Brady.

[Associated Press; By NANCY ARMOUR]

AP sports writer Jimmy Golen contributed to this report.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.