You might have seen videos on TikTok of guys with shaved heads and black sweatbands walking round Turkish airports, or sitting on planes on the way home. Turkey is becoming one of the most popular destinations to get a hair transplant. Turkish officials estimate the hair transplant market was worth $1billion in 2024. People travel there from all around the world, but especially the US and Europe, because it’s so much cheaper than getting it done in their home country.
Christopher Mizzoni, 22 (@chrishairjourney), travelled to Turkey in 2024 to get the first of two planned hair transplants. He explains what it was like and what difference it’s made to him. Özge Özdemir from BBC Turkish explains why prices are so much lower in Turkey than other countries and sets out some concerns about the industry.
And Chris D’Souza, a hair transplant surgeon and President of the British Association of Hair Restoration Surgery tells us what the procedure involves.
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Presenter: Hannah Gelbart
Producers: Julia Ross-Roy, Mora Morrison and Emilia Jansson
Video Journalist: Baldeep Chahal
Editor: Verity Wilde
