The 59 year old Irish judge and former manager of boyband Westlife, has admitted to having had a £30,000 hair transplant procedure back in August, at a clinic in Dublin. The restoration of his thinning barnet followed jibes from X Factor supremo Simon Cowell. Louis said ‘He came up to me and said: ‘you know, you’re starting to lose your hair, dear’.’I said ‘I am not, dear! And anyway, you’re going grey!’’ But Cowell added: ‘Darling, you are. You’re losing your hair.’ Walsh further added that his three fellow judges knew all about his hair transplant operation, and he even joked that Gary Barlow needs the procedure next. ‘I keep telling Gary he needs it next. I always clock him glancing at my hair on the show. I’m giving Gary the number so hopefully he can get that bald patch at the back of his head sorted out’. The jibe from Cowell came after he had already ordered Walsh to have his eye bags removed in 2009 with an eye lift and Walsh had his transplant done free of charge at the HRBR clinic in Dublin back in August. Walsh is not the only celebrity to try and restore their follicles, after Manchester United striker visited a Harley Street clinic in June in an effort to restore his hair after many years of thinning on top. Walsh commented: ‘If I had to, I would go down that route. I think it’s called maintenance’. He further joked: ‘If it keeps me on the X Factor I absolutely would’. The surgery was performed by Dr Maurice Collins, who also carried out the actor James Nesbitt’s hair transplant, and can take up to ten hours and involves a team of over a dozen people including nurses, surgeons, and technicians.