Raymond van Barneveld's Hair: What He Actually Said

Raymond van Barneveld has made exactly one widely reported public remark about his hair, and it was a joke about himself. On 25 March 2023 the darts outlet DartsNews reported that the five-time world champion had posted on Twitter holding a Playmobil figure, writing: “Always been a big fan of Playmobil with my ‘Playmobil Hair’. Thought I’d say it before someone else does!” This page keeps to what he said and to what the provider has said about the treatment, and then covers what the NHS publishes about the treatments people usually mean when they use the phrase.

Update (September 2026): The treatment behind his “Playmobil Hair” was not a hair transplant. As the provider explained in statements quoted by the press in December 2024, it was hair pigmentation: stubble-like dots tattooed onto the scalp (The Mirror).

What van Barneveld actually said

The remark was reported by DartsNews on 25 March 2023, which carried the quotation in its own headline. In the report he is described as getting to the joke before anyone else could, posting the message with a Playmobil doll in hand. Darts fans replied in kind, and the outlet quoted several of the responses.

Van Barneveld, born on 20 April 1967, is a Dutch professional darts player who competes on the PDC circuit and was ranked world number one between January and June 2008. Nicknamed “Barney”, he has been one of the sport’s most recognisable figures for decades, which is a large part of why any change in his appearance draws comment at all.

The self-deprecating post is the substance of the public record in his own voice. Everything else about his hair that circulates online comes from other people.

What the treatment actually was

The DartsNews report characterises the post as relating to a hair transplant. That is the outlet’s description, not a quotation from van Barneveld, and it is recorded here as such rather than restated as fact.

Van Barneveld himself has not publicly named a procedure, but the provider has. In statements quoted by the press, it said he had hair pigmentation rather than a hair transplant, and that the two are different types of treatment.

The distinction matters because the phrase “hair transplant” is used very loosely in general conversation, and the treatments it gets applied to are not the same thing.

What the NHS actually lists, and why the distinction matters

The NHS hair loss page sets out possible treatments in a single table, and two of the entries are routinely confused in everyday use.

It describes a hair transplant as hair being removed from the back of the head and moved to thinning patches. Separately, and as a distinct entry, it lists permanent make-up, which it also calls micropigmentation, and describes it as a tattoo used to look like short hair and eyebrows. One moves living hair follicles. The other adds pigment to the skin to give the impression of stubble, and grows nothing.

The visual result of the second can read, in photographs, very much like a closely cropped head of hair. That is the point of it. It is also why photographs alone are a poor way to work out what someone has had done, and why a casual description of any change as “a transplant” may simply be the wrong word rather than a revelation.

The same NHS table lists several further options, among them steroid treatments, light treatment, scalp reduction surgery and wigs, which is a useful reminder that the field is wider than the two procedures that dominate online discussion.

What a hair transplant involves, according to the NHS

For anyone whose interest in this subject is practical rather than about a darts player, the NHS guidance on hair transplants is the plainest available summary. It describes the procedure as moving hair to an area that is thin or bald, and states that it is not available on the NHS because it counts as cosmetic surgery. It is described as suitable for permanent baldness of the type that runs in families, and not usually suitable for other kinds of hair loss such as alopecia areata.

Two methods are set out. In follicular unit transplantation, the strip method, a thin strip of hair-bearing skin is taken from the back of the head and divided into grafts of one to four hairs, which are placed into tiny cuts in the scalp; the donor area is closed with stitches. In follicular unit extraction the back of the head is shaved and individual hairs are removed instead.

The NHS says the procedure is usually done under local anaesthetic with sedation, so the patient is awake but should not feel pain, that it usually takes a day without an overnight stay, and that a large area may need two or more sessions on different days.

Recovery and risks in the NHS’s own words

Commonly reported afterwards, according to the NHS, are a tight, achy and swollen scalp for a few days, temporary scabbing where the hair was transplanted, and either a single scar or a number of very small ones.

The procedure is described as generally safe, with a small risk of bleeding, infection or an allergic reaction to the anaesthetic, and a further small risk that the transplant does not take and the hair falls out, or that a noticeable scar forms. The NHS also notes that hair may continue to thin around the transplanted area over time, and says a surgeon should plan the design with that in mind so the result still looks natural years later.

The checks the NHS says to make first

NHS guidance advises anyone considering the procedure in England to check that the clinic or hospital is registered with the Care Quality Commission, since every independent provider of cosmetic surgery there must be. It states that all doctors must be registered with the General Medical Council and hold a licence to practise, and it points to the British Association of Hair Restoration Surgery for checking a surgeon’s membership.

It sets out what to ask: qualifications and experience, how many of these operations the surgeon has performed, how many involved complications, which type they would recommend and why, what follow-up to expect if things go wrong, and their patient satisfaction rates. It adds a warning about the usual starting point: “Be careful when searching the internet for clinics that do hair transplants. Some pay to advertise their services on search listings.”

On hair loss more generally, the NHS advises seeing a GP to establish the cause before approaching a commercial hair clinic. It notes that losing 50 to 100 hairs a day is normal, that male and female pattern baldness is the permanent kind and usually runs in the family, and that finasteride and minoxidil, the main treatments for male pattern baldness, do not work for everyone and only work for as long as they are used. No treatment, it says, is 100% effective. General information about hair loss is a place to begin, not a diagnosis.

Frequently asked questions

Did Raymond van Barneveld have a hair transplant?

No. According to the provider, quoted in the press, it was hair pigmentation, not a transplant. His one widely reported remark on the subject was a joke about his “Playmobil Hair”, posted in March 2023. The outlet that reported it described the post as relating to a hair transplant, but that is the outlet’s wording rather than his, and this page does not treat it as confirmation.

What did van Barneveld say about his hair?

“Always been a big fan of Playmobil with my ‘Playmobil Hair’. Thought I’d say it before someone else does!” The post was reported by DartsNews on 25 March 2023.

Is scalp micropigmentation the same as a hair transplant?

No. The NHS lists them as separate treatments. A hair transplant moves hair from the back of the head to thinning areas. Micropigmentation, which the NHS files under permanent make-up, is a tattoo designed to look like short hair, and it does not grow hair.

Can you tell from photographs which one someone has had?

Not reliably. Micropigmentation is specifically intended to read like closely cropped hair, and photographs taken years apart under different lighting are not a controlled comparison in any case.

Where should I start if I am losing my hair?

The NHS advises seeing a GP to get an idea of the cause before approaching a commercial hair clinic, and notes that hair loss treatments do not work for everyone. An individual assessment is the only thing that answers the question for a particular person.

Written by the Istanbul Care editorial team and reviewed by Dr. Merve S., Istanbul Care. See our surgical team and our celebrity hair transplant hub.
Istanbul Care has no professional relationship with Raymond van Barneveld and makes no claim about his medical history. The general information on this page is drawn from NHS guidance and is not personal medical advice. If you are considering treatment for your own hair loss, an individual assessment is the only way to get a meaningful answer.

If this has you thinking about your own hairline rather than his, the practical questions come next. Our guide to hair transplant cost in Turkey explains how pricing is structured, and the all-inclusive treatment packages page sets out what a typical stay covers.