Each year, hundreds of thousands of people head to Istanbul for one particular reason: to get hair transplant surgery.
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, is perhaps the most popular place for hair transplants
00:09in the world.
00:10It's estimated that over 200,000 people head there each year in hopes of growing their
00:15hair back.
00:16This industry is far from receding.
00:18It's worth upwards of $1 billion a year.
00:22In Turkey, prices range from $1,300 to $3,500 for the operation, while in the US it can
00:28be up to two to four times more expensive.
00:33So here we go, five months after the hair transplant, I couldn't be happier with these
00:38results.
00:39The hairline coming in absolutely phenomenal.
00:40But that's not the only reason why Turkey is a hotspot for hair transplant tourism.
00:45Wait times to even see a surgeon can be much shorter than in the US.
00:48But most of all, in the business of hair transplants, it's all about marketing.
00:53Clinics often turn to social media influencers to help expand their clientele.
00:57So your driver lifts you at the airport in this cool car and brings you to this beautiful
01:00five-star hotel.
01:01The next morning the driver lifted me again and brought me to the Now Hair Time Studios.
01:05These guys are honestly so professional, I recommend it to everyone.
01:28Although hair implantation is an outpatient procedure, it's still surgery.
01:33And those getting the operation have to follow strict post-op guidelines once they get home.
01:38Number one, you cannot smoke and you cannot drink alcohol for a full week after the operation.
01:57This is the first step of hair transplant surgery called follicular unit extraction.
02:08Every time that probe goes into the skin, it pulls out one to two hair follicles.
02:12Tweezers are used to then pull them completely out.
02:14And then you make tiny little pokes into the scalp and you plant each hair one by one into
02:19the scalp.
02:20It takes about six months for them to start growing.
02:23Results are permanent.
02:24Just two and a half weeks later, stitches are removed and his hair is growing, but it's
02:28only temporary.
02:29The hair is already starting to fall out and they're going to completely fall out.
02:33And then four months later, they grow back longer and thicker.
02:36As the industry flourishes, doctors warn that scams are on the rise.
02:41Unqualified practitioners are offering the procedure at lower and lower cost, but with
02:46increased risk for patients.
02:48In this lately regulated industry, there's no official data to know just how many clinics
02:52are out there.
02:53For more information, visit www.FEMA.gov