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Comment by olalonde | Hacker News Reader

I did it a few years ago when I was living in Istanbul. One evening, a friend of mine wouldn't shut up about the procedure. I ended up booking it almost on a whim, mostly just to prove him wrong. I did the transplant the next day. In the end, I was very happy with the results. I think it cost around 1500$.

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/olalonde/olalonde.github.c...

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You look very handsome in both photos, but I'm just happy that you're happy.

Do you have to take any medications/follow-ups forever to keep it in place or is a one and done kind of procedure?

No medications or follow ups required. The transplanted hair follicles are harvested from a region of the scalp (the donor area) that is genetically immune to hair loss, meaning they are permanent. However, you will continue to lose the non-transplanted native hair around them as baldness progresses. So some people choose to take finasteride and/or minoxidil to maintain their existing hair (I personally don't).

How long ago is this? I literally just had one done, believed what you just wrote, and then came across this video randomly yesterday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL7J2Mqbhrc

I think the finasteride side effects sound too much for me to handle.

The side effects of finasteride are wildly overstated, millions of people take it without any issue, myself included

> I think the finasteride side effects sound too much for me to handle.

That's the bit that puts me off. I don't mind my baldness - it doesn't impact me in any way. I wouldn't mind being able to have hair again to style it, but not at the expense of the potential side effects of fin.

I'll just continue to enjoy not having to style my hair every morning, and saving on extortionate barber bills nowadays.

You don’t? Are you okay with what it’ll look like once you lose the hair behind your transplant? Folks who get a HT who don’t get on meds will have a weird crescent hairline and then no hair behind it. Feels like at that point just don’t get the transplant in the first place.

I've never done it despite being fully bald by age 25, as going back into work with a head of hair would cause more conversation about it than being bald ever has for me

You shouldn't bother with any other opinion than your own on these matters, it's not healthy, they don't live your life.

That being said, I also started balding in spots very young and I couldn't care less fixing it.

Obviously subjective, but I've got to say that looks pretty great to me. Do you mind if I ask where the transplanted hairs came from?

Thanks.

They take hair follicles from the back of your head, the "safe donor area" that is genetically immune to balding, and move them to the thinning areas. The total amount of hair on your head remains exactly the same, it's just repositioned to give the illusion of uniform coverage and eliminate bald spots.

That's also why it's not a miracle cure for baldness - you're limited by the amount of hair follicles available in the donor area.

See: https://ishrs.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/donor-area-asse...

They come from lower parts of the patient's scalp. The typical "receding hairline" pattern is caused because the follicles on the forehead and top of the head become sensitive to with age to DHT, the but the hair follicles on the lower and on the back of the head don't have the same sensitivity. There's usually more than enough of these resistant follicles to maintain sufficient hair density.

The surgery just moves the follicles around your own scalp. Body hair transplant can be done but is relatively uncommon, donor hair from other people (or animals) requiring a lifetime on immune system suppressing drugs as with an organ transplant is virtually unknown.

No, it's not pubic hair and you don't need to have a hairy back or chest, and no, there are not millions of low-status Turkish men walking around with scarred heads because they sold their scalp to a foreigner.

I had three done in the states and I'm happy with them, but it's tough to argue it was necessarily worth the increased price.

What was the cost? I've heard it's cheaper to fly to Turkey.

It's a lot cheaper in Turkey. I don't remember the exact numbers but each of mine (in the US) was in the high four figure range.

I originally felt more confident going to a plastic surgeon, though even though the doctor oversaw the process, it was being done by highly trained technicians. That's probably more ideal anyway because it's very manual and meticulous work, so (IMO) you want someone who's done it a thousand times--not someone who did a nose job yesterday, a boob job the day before, and only does a hair transplant every couple of weeks.

I'd assume the techs in Turkey are about as experienced as you can get.

if i recall, it was costing $8-$11 in US compared to 3-5eur per graft in turkey 2-3 years back.

How did it hold up over the past few years?

Holding up pretty well. Here's a picture from yesterday: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/olalonde/olalonde.github.c.... The transplant was in 2021.

you or the dog? In both cases: respect!

Should've clarified: the dog is 100% natural and procedure-free. Life is unfair :)

that is actually one of the better and more natural-looking hairlines I've seen. They did a good job!

Looks great! So you get the procedure, and then what happens after? Whats the recovery process like?

It is mostly a waiting game. The first month is about cleaning the scabs off your scalp and keeping away from the sun and certain activities while the hair follicles anchor and the scalp heals. Your hair will go through an initial 'shock' phase where it falls out but enters a normal growth cycle.

Which doctor/clinic did you go to?

Hair Center Of Turkey

Wow, looks great!

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