Looking for any reports of dopers that have had this done. From what chatgtp has told me, Turkey is the place to go for this if you’re not filthy rich.
I’ve never had “good hair”, but I’d take any hair over being bald. I’ve thought about wearing a wig, but I don’t think society is too accepting of men wearing wigs at this point. I’d love to have Barry Gibb’s hair from the 80s, but just showing up at work one day with a Barry Gibb wig and not mentioning it and hoping people would just accept it as normal is a tall order. So, in light of that, getting hair transplants seems kind of mild.
Sure, people have gone to Turkey for various surgeries and some have had good outcomes.
The problem is that once you’re bundled back onto an airplane to go home there is zero follow-up. If you have complications, infection, whatever you’ll be forced to start over from square one finding a doctor to help you (possibly needing to do this VERY quickly) back in your home location with full prices and plenty of costs to you.
Some people have had very bad outcomes, with delays in the situation being taken care of due to the surgeon being in one country and the patient now in another, with potential problems with obtaining records of what, exactly, was done.
Keep in mind, too, that unless you speak and read fluent Turkish anything you’re given to sign, verbal instructions, etc. may or may not have an accurate translation attached.
Also - you shouldn’t be too trusting of ChatGTP says - it’s for conversation, not rigorous fact-checking.
Think carefully, research even more carefully, and be careful before deciding to have a medical procedure in a foreign country, any foreign country. Especially for cosmetic surgery, which is never required. You want to do everything you can to reduce risk with any surgery.
I’ve never gotten this opinion. Several of my friends, when we were in our 20’s all met through networking a guy that had one of the severest comb-overs we had ever seen. We all looked at each other in the eye and declared that when we go bald…we go bald. I still have my hair 30 years later, but many of my friends do not and most of them have decided to shave their heads. Bald guys carry it…take the Rock, Jason Statham, Patrick Stewart, Vin Diesel, Stanley Tucci, Samuel Jackson, Dave Chappelle, John Legend…on and on.
Instead of looking at unnecessary surgery, embrace it. Be your authentic self.
It’s something I’ve thought of, but not Turkey. I’ve done some research, and I think there is one doctor in Turkey with a pretty good reputation, but most of the top doctors are in the US or Canada, IMHO. This is not something I would go cheap on if you go that route. You’re spending several thousand dollars, I wouldn’t try to save a couple. I’ve seen some bad work, including on some UK celebrities (I’m assuming they got surgeries in exchange for the promotion). It just looked terrible with unnatural hairlines and very pluggy, etc. If you are worried about how bad a wig looks, a bad HT can look as worse. Sometimes you aren’t just paying for the location but the “art work” of reconstructing your hair line, the hands/machines that graft each hair individually, etc. I’m assuming you don’t want to look like a cartoon character or doll or something.
Personally, I started using a topical mix of minox/fin before they were widely available (aka Rogaine and Propecia - which is usually in pill form and has a lot of reported side effects), but this is now easily obtained and widely subscribed. I can’t be the only one who gets constant ads for Hims/Forhims/Roman all those other companies where you can get a dr consult and a monthly dose (think of Proactiv but for men’s heath issues). I stopped using anything for my hairloss around 6 months ago. I expected some shedding but so far it seems the same, even thicker sometimes depending on my diet and sleep hygiene and so on. I think I had fairly normal male pattern baldness in my 30s that sort of hit that M pattern (probably “Norwood 2” - and if you don’t know any of these terms, it’s obvious you need to do a lot more research before you consider a HT) and has pretty much stayed there. I have tried thickening powders/fibers though never Toppik. Those things are cheap and work well if you have most of your hair but want to thicken it up. I’m honestly still considering a HT if it worsens but i’m mostly over the idea. However, one of my competitive advantages if I have any is that I look younger for my age and considering I pretty much lost 15-20 years of my life and missed out on most common development experiences due to anxiety and other things I’m not trying to age rapidly and give up on (a certain part of) life.
While I support competent adults being free to make whatever choices they want about legal cosmetic medical treatments, my personal inclination comes down on this side.
As a woman, I’ve never really understood the widespread disparagement of male baldness, and I personally feel that not wanting to date bald guys (or short guys, for that matter) is mostly just a toxic-femininity cultural prejudice. Still, I guess everybody’s got the right to make their own choices there too.
Just a counterpoint to the “just shave it” line - shaved heads do not lot good on everyone. I am a skinny guy, with hollow cheeks and jutting cheekbones. Mackenzie Crook level of skinny.
I shave my head and people do not think “cool guy” - they think “cancer patient”. It does not look healthy at all. Head shaving is absolutely not a “one-size-fits-all” solution to hair loss and I really wish people would stop trying to bully every man with hair loss into shaving his head.
I think that’s fair enough; head shaving isn’t going to suit everyone, but people suggesting it have a valid point - it does suit a lot of people, and it is a better solution than cosmetic surgery; the societal norm that men need a full head of hair is itself like a form of bullying and is pressuring people to take unnecessary and unhealthy risks.
I can’t comment on the hair transplant thing, but I do know several friends and family who have gone to Turkey for cheap cosmetic treatment such as breast reduction, teeth veneers, and also have a sister who lives in Instanbul and knows the healthcare system.
There’s no question that you can get good cosmetic treatments at a fraction of the cost you might find at home, but as others have said, it’s the follow up that’s the issue. Because there’s every chance something could go wrong, and you then have the choice of either an expensive remedy at home, or an expensive flight back to Turkey.
Be aware, also, that in-patient care (if that would be required) is very ‘functional’. They have nurses to look after your medical needs, but other ‘comfort’ services, such as meals, are expected to be provided by visiting family or friends. So you would need to take someone with you.
I’m also in the camp of ‘no hair is better than bad/fake hair’, but appreciate you think otherwise.
A friend used a wig with a little hair and some scarf to hide the join. It worked very well. I wonder if there’s a more masculine equivalent to the scarf.
Sure. And some of those women wear head scarves and others just go bald.
I very much take the stance that it’s your hair to wear, or not, as you desire. And if someone purchases a wig/weave/whatever then it’s their hair just as anything else they might purchase.
Some guys just don’t really have the skull/head shape and skin condition to pull it off. Everyone cites the usual Hollywood stars or celebrities but those are guys who were good looking to start with and who have a dome worth seeing. It’s definitely not a universal constant that shaving your head is going to improve things just because you’re thinning/balding.
Well, bullying is never a good idea, of course. Moreover, IMHO natural coiffures look just fine on a lot of balding men, and that includes the oft-disdained “Ben Franklin”, where a balding guy lets his remaining hair grow long.
Everybody absolutely should do what they like with their own hair. I just think that when considering choices that are expensive and potentially detrimental (e.g., transplants, wigs, dyes), it’s a wise idea to ask oneself how much one honestly likes this option and how much is just social conditioning that it’s somehow “shameful” to appear visibly balding or gray.
Some of those guys look good because their head is completely shaved and even polished so it looks smooth and shiny. They may not look as good unpolished and when there’s three days of stubble up there. In short, it’s yet another personal maintenance item, just like shaving my face (which is a chore I would gladly give up, if there was a way to remain permanently smooth),
I would love to rock the “Ben Franklin”, but my dome won’t just COMMIT to the balding process. If I let my hair grow out, “thin” hair up top annoys me, and I can’t figure out a way to shave ONLY that area that doesn’t make matters worse.
So I just shave it all! (Speaking of, the Gillette Baldly razor, while it has a stupid name, is GREAT for head shaving).
