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I got a hair transplant with the clinic of Dr. Emrah Cinik in Istanbul, Turkey on August 1st, 2019. They moved 2,750 grafts from the back of my head, almost entirely to my lower third with a few reserved for the crown. The goal was to solidify and slightly lower my hairline, but not to restore my juvenile hairline. It's still a mature hairline just a less mature one, maybe a NW1.5, a la @Wolf Pack. I went with Dr. Emrah Cinik in part due too the positive experience of @spring15, who has posted a thread here detailing his results with the same clinic, and with a suggestion from @JeanLucBB.
Hair status:
I am a 35 year-old male, with a very curly hair style (as per my username), and my status was approximately NW2.5, mostly thinning and receding in the front with a bit of loss at the crown. I have been maintaining successfully for approximately 3 years with a combination of 1 ml a day of 5% liquid minoxidil, nizoral 1% applied ~2x/week, and maybe ~20 mg/day of RU 58841.
I cannot take finasteride due to the risk of side effects. I would like to microneedle but I keep forgetting as it's a chore. I am looking forward to CB 0301's public release, and possibly to SM 0454, I don't know what's up with that. On the other hand, I used to be enthusiastic about Brotzu and Histogen, and they both turned out to be scams.
Cost:
The total cost of the surgery was 2,590 euros, which included the FUE surgery, the platelet rich plasma, post-surgical medicines, being picked up and dropped off at the airport to the hotel, being picked up and dropped off at the clinic from the hotel, and 3 night's sleep at the hotel. The other cost include the plane ticket, 3 extra nights at the hotel (I decided to see Istanbul), a week of parking at the airport, a flight, and the cost of whatever fun I had in turkey. Altogether, I got a hair transplant, and a few days leisure in Istanbul, for under US$ 5,000.
In contrast, Dr. Cole of the ForHairClinic, based in Atlanta, gave me a quote of ~US$15,000 for 2,200 grafts. He would have plausibly done a better job with fewer grafts ... but I would have paid at least $10,000 more, and in his case I would have also had to pay for the hotel, etc.
The operation itself:
I got driven from the hotel to the clinic at around 8:00am. They took some blood tests to make sure that I did not have AIDS, etc or whatever, took some other blood to do the platelet-rich-plasma treatment, gave me a light breakfast, and I saw the doctor. The doctor and I what I wanted, and asked for photos of my when I was younger. He then drew a new hairline for me, which was slightly lower, and also added hairs where I already had some hairs (my prior hairline) to thicken future density. He did not add hairs to what would have eventually become my island, he drew a circle around that, and he drew another small circle at the crown.
The transplant lasted from approximately 9:00am until approximately 2:00pm. I felt a bit of pain when they were pulling out grafts, and when they were giving me localized anesthesia, but the combination of jet lag and the Xanax caused me to sleep through most of the surgery including the implantation part. I vaguely remember them discussing this yellow fluid that would contribute to the platelet-rich plasma component at the end. In the middle of the surgery, Dr. Cinik came to tell me that I have very strong grafts, but I figure that he probably says that to a lot of people.
They have a small three or four story building pretty much operating as a transplant hospital. They do about 10 patients a day in the summer, and apparently up to 30-a-day in the winter.
I met other patients who got up to 5,000 grafts, as they had much more advanced baldness. The package mentioned above includes unlimited grafts ... as long as the donor supply is available. Once the back of the head is used up, the hospital charges an extra 1,000 euros or so to use beard and sometimes chest hair, which may be a good idea for people who are NW5+.
Complications:
The back of my head bled a lot the night after the transplant, and stopped bleeding by the 3rd night. I had some scalp itch post-transplant which peaked at roughly the ~7 day mark, it was managed by a combination of hydration, applying moist towels to my scalp, Tylenol / acetaminophen / paracetamol, and anti-histamines. Other people use aloe vera gel but that has little impact on me. Three weeks out, I've had some shock loss unfortunately, but it should be better within a few months.
The crusts fell off my scalp at approximately the 7-10 day mark, which is the expectation.
Side effects can be random. I got shock loss which is rare. On the other hand, I never noticed any redness, whereas for other people that can last up to a year. Such is life.
Why I Got a Transplant:
I am a former incel in a long-term recovery program, as per my posting history. I noticed my receding hairline in 2015 when I was at the gym, while lifting weights. I thought to myself "Holy f***, I'm taking one step forward and one step back, my life sucks." I found my way here and converged to my prior regimen. I only found out about discount transplants in Turkey this year.
After much soul searching and much more experience, I am simply even more convinced that women care about both looks and personality. In the next few months I can look forward to my hair progressively growing back, my last round of Invisalign (teeth alignment) progressively yielding its fruits of effects, and progressively losing the 15 lbs that I've put on from the last year of intense travel. I intend to look the best that I've ever looked at age 36.
I am now at a level where I struggle to get women, but I do get them. That means that I'm also at the level where any improvement in my appearance will yield maximum benefits. To be honest I think and believe that I can get good women now, but this will make things easier.
Advice for other hair loss sufferers:
Read up on other people's experiences here and get on treatments within 3 months. You will stabilize within a year. At approximately that point, book a hair transplant in Turkey, and then move forward with your life.
Photos:
The images shown below are taken the morning of the transplant, and I think the day after. It might be two days after. You can tell that it's on different days as I'm wearing different shirts.
Hair status:
I am a 35 year-old male, with a very curly hair style (as per my username), and my status was approximately NW2.5, mostly thinning and receding in the front with a bit of loss at the crown. I have been maintaining successfully for approximately 3 years with a combination of 1 ml a day of 5% liquid minoxidil, nizoral 1% applied ~2x/week, and maybe ~20 mg/day of RU 58841.
I cannot take finasteride due to the risk of side effects. I would like to microneedle but I keep forgetting as it's a chore. I am looking forward to CB 0301's public release, and possibly to SM 0454, I don't know what's up with that. On the other hand, I used to be enthusiastic about Brotzu and Histogen, and they both turned out to be scams.
Cost:
The total cost of the surgery was 2,590 euros, which included the FUE surgery, the platelet rich plasma, post-surgical medicines, being picked up and dropped off at the airport to the hotel, being picked up and dropped off at the clinic from the hotel, and 3 night's sleep at the hotel. The other cost include the plane ticket, 3 extra nights at the hotel (I decided to see Istanbul), a week of parking at the airport, a flight, and the cost of whatever fun I had in turkey. Altogether, I got a hair transplant, and a few days leisure in Istanbul, for under US$ 5,000.
In contrast, Dr. Cole of the ForHairClinic, based in Atlanta, gave me a quote of ~US$15,000 for 2,200 grafts. He would have plausibly done a better job with fewer grafts ... but I would have paid at least $10,000 more, and in his case I would have also had to pay for the hotel, etc.
The operation itself:
I got driven from the hotel to the clinic at around 8:00am. They took some blood tests to make sure that I did not have AIDS, etc or whatever, took some other blood to do the platelet-rich-plasma treatment, gave me a light breakfast, and I saw the doctor. The doctor and I what I wanted, and asked for photos of my when I was younger. He then drew a new hairline for me, which was slightly lower, and also added hairs where I already had some hairs (my prior hairline) to thicken future density. He did not add hairs to what would have eventually become my island, he drew a circle around that, and he drew another small circle at the crown.
The transplant lasted from approximately 9:00am until approximately 2:00pm. I felt a bit of pain when they were pulling out grafts, and when they were giving me localized anesthesia, but the combination of jet lag and the Xanax caused me to sleep through most of the surgery including the implantation part. I vaguely remember them discussing this yellow fluid that would contribute to the platelet-rich plasma component at the end. In the middle of the surgery, Dr. Cinik came to tell me that I have very strong grafts, but I figure that he probably says that to a lot of people.
They have a small three or four story building pretty much operating as a transplant hospital. They do about 10 patients a day in the summer, and apparently up to 30-a-day in the winter.
I met other patients who got up to 5,000 grafts, as they had much more advanced baldness. The package mentioned above includes unlimited grafts ... as long as the donor supply is available. Once the back of the head is used up, the hospital charges an extra 1,000 euros or so to use beard and sometimes chest hair, which may be a good idea for people who are NW5+.
Complications:
The back of my head bled a lot the night after the transplant, and stopped bleeding by the 3rd night. I had some scalp itch post-transplant which peaked at roughly the ~7 day mark, it was managed by a combination of hydration, applying moist towels to my scalp, Tylenol / acetaminophen / paracetamol, and anti-histamines. Other people use aloe vera gel but that has little impact on me. Three weeks out, I've had some shock loss unfortunately, but it should be better within a few months.
The crusts fell off my scalp at approximately the 7-10 day mark, which is the expectation.
Side effects can be random. I got shock loss which is rare. On the other hand, I never noticed any redness, whereas for other people that can last up to a year. Such is life.
Why I Got a Transplant:
I am a former incel in a long-term recovery program, as per my posting history. I noticed my receding hairline in 2015 when I was at the gym, while lifting weights. I thought to myself "Holy f***, I'm taking one step forward and one step back, my life sucks." I found my way here and converged to my prior regimen. I only found out about discount transplants in Turkey this year.
After much soul searching and much more experience, I am simply even more convinced that women care about both looks and personality. In the next few months I can look forward to my hair progressively growing back, my last round of Invisalign (teeth alignment) progressively yielding its fruits of effects, and progressively losing the 15 lbs that I've put on from the last year of intense travel. I intend to look the best that I've ever looked at age 36.
I am now at a level where I struggle to get women, but I do get them. That means that I'm also at the level where any improvement in my appearance will yield maximum benefits. To be honest I think and believe that I can get good women now, but this will make things easier.
Advice for other hair loss sufferers:
Read up on other people's experiences here and get on treatments within 3 months. You will stabilize within a year. At approximately that point, book a hair transplant in Turkey, and then move forward with your life.
Photos:
The images shown below are taken the morning of the transplant, and I think the day after. It might be two days after. You can tell that it's on different days as I'm wearing different shirts.
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