Budgeting, Traveling, And Surgery. Where Should I (or Anyone Else) Go?

[UnsureBlonde]

*I'm a late 20's from the Mid-South US looking to get a minor hair transplant just to fix my hairline. (No, I'm not trying to get my teen-aged hairline.) I've been quoted for about 2000 hairs would be enough, and I 100% realize that future surgeries might be necessary dependent upon more hairloss. I've currently saved up 12k just for this purpose.*

My main question: Traveling to Turkey seems to be a big theme amongst the threads here. Is it cheaper to travel outside of the country and get a surgery, generally? What places might be the best and how do I go about setting that up?

Otherwise I'm looking at options near the Southeast or Northern Cali region. Thanks!

 

[barfacan]

If it were me, id avoid turkey because i jus't dont think you'll have any recourse if something should go awry. You don't even speak their language! Go to europe, lots of good surgeons there that are cheaper than US

 

[JeanLucBB]

*I'm a late 20's from the Mid-South US looking to get a minor hair transplant just to fix my hairline. (No, I'm not trying to get my teen-aged hairline.) I've been quoted for about 2000 hairs would be enough, and I 100% realize that future surgeries might be necessary dependent upon more hairloss. I've currently saved up 12k just for this purpose.*

My main question: Traveling to Turkey seems to be a big theme amongst the threads here. Is it cheaper to travel outside of the country and get a surgery, generally? What places might be the best and how do I go about setting that up?

Otherwise I'm looking at options near the Southeast or Northern Cali region. Thanks!

Post photos of your hair or can't judge what you need.

 

[UnsureBlonde]

Mostly I just would like to pull the hairline down a little and fix the corners, like the one I circled below.

I've been told I have very thick hair on the sides and back of my head, so I have decent donor area for sure. (However, I did begin to thin at the crown but was saved by finasteride and minoxidil).

 

[JeanLucBB]

12k saved should be more than enough. There's no good reason to stay in the United States or Canada unless you need FUT which you don't, so Turkey and maybe Belgium would be worth looking into.

For small hairline procedures Erdogan and Keser both in Turkey are probably your best options. Keser likely would opt for 2000 grafts at 3.5 Euro, Erdogan maybe 2500-2800 grafts at 2.5 Euro with some extra focus on the temple point areas. Look into those and see what you think, a lot of similar cases.

Good that you're on finasteride and minoxidil too, you should have good long term results all round.

 

[Mountinvan]

Good that you are asking and doing your research. The quality of the surgeon makes all the difference. Interview a few. In the south, Vories and Cooley are well regarded. You can go to the king of hair--Konior---in Chicago or Rahal in Canada. These would all be good ones to start. Your life will change for the positive with a good result and you won't have to focus on hair for awhile.

 

[razzmatazz91]

For small hairline procedures Erdogan and Keser both in Turkey are probably your best options. Keser likely would opt for 2000 grafts at 3.5 Euro, Erdogan maybe 2500-2800 grafts at 2.5 Euro with some extra focus on the temple point areas.

Is Erdogan known for taking larger number of grafts?

 

[JeanLucBB]

Is Erdogan known for taking larger number of grafts?

More than the average surgeon. Rahal and Hasson regularly break past erdogans maximum extent of dense packing for a single surgery though.

For low Norwoods he often likes to do a lot of temple point work which brings up the numbers quite a bit.

 

[razzmatazz91]

Yours looks quite densly packed. But then, I think density would be visible if the hair is buzzed short.

What density did he do btw?

 

[JeanLucBB]

Yours looks quite densly packed. But then, I think density would be visible if the hair is buzzed short.

What density did he do btw?

3000 grafts across 60 square centimetres, so again to the questions some raise about grafts per square centimetre Erdogan is hardly on the highest end and my case definitely isn't. A lot of doctors overstate the grafts per square centimetre noticeably for ego reasons though, regularly the very front of the hairline is 40-45 and the rest only 25-30.

I don't think it's dense enough for a good looking buzzcut, but at the same time with a second procedure an extra 20-25% grafts in the previously bare channels and the hairline would get it perfect for that too. I think the semi-conservative approach he used for me was the right way to go for a first procedure. Not too densely crammed like a lot of Rahal or Hasson frontal thirds and without full temple closure, but it saves enough grafts that in the future I can see how well I maintain on finasteride and if I want to go a little more aggressive, which I will in terms of density and temple closer if I haven't lost any more hair in 12 months.

 

[razzmatazz91]

Hmm.... 40-45? Is that dense? Can't help but feel that must look waay off if compared to natural hair on the sides of the head.
Feels bad to hear this, but I guess a dose of the truth is always good.

BTW, what do you mean "temple closure"?

 

[JeanLucBB]

Hmm.... 40-45? Is that dense? Can't help but feel that must look waay off if compared to natural hair on the sides of the head.
Feels bad to hear this, but I guess a dose of the truth is always good.

BTW, what do you mean "temple closure"?

Still a small amount of recession left on the temple areas. Not after a perfect NW1 Juvenile hairline, but a slight adjustment to bring it closer to this.

Natural density is around the 80 mark, the eye can't easily distinguish this from the 45-50 mark, which is the whole reason why transplants actually work. If you part the hair in the transplant areas and directly focus on them you'll see it's lacking density, but with normal styling no one would know. No one is going to be parting your hair or messing it up so they can notice this so its not an issue. My native island and the strips on the side that were previously bare are virtually indistinguishable unless it's wet or parted that way. Currently my hair looks pretty much like I'm a fullhead, you'd only know it's a transplant or think of a lack of density if you compared it to my juvenile hair at 15.

 

[razzmatazz91]

Yes. I've often read that hair transplants don't give you a full head of hair, but only the illusion of it.
So when are you planning the second hair transplant?

I'm wondering if, given that there are no visible scars, it would be possible to shave down or buzz the hair without a guard and still get away with it. But I feel that it will reveal the low density and look unnatural. It seems length is required to create the illusion of a full head.