Inside Turkey's hair transplant tourism industry

Each year, hundreds of thousands of people head to Istanbul for one particular reason: to get hair transplant surgery.   Here's why ...

Transcript

00:00Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, is perhaps the most popular place for hair transplants

00:09in the world.

00:10It's estimated that over 200,000 people head there each year in hopes of growing their

00:15hair back.

00:16This industry is far from receding.

00:18It's worth upwards of $1 billion a year.

00:22In Turkey, prices range from $1,300 to $3,500 for the operation, while in the US it can

00:28be up to two to four times more expensive.

00:33So here we go, five months after the hair transplant, I couldn't be happier with these

00:38results.

00:39The hairline coming in absolutely phenomenal.

00:40But that's not the only reason why Turkey is a hotspot for hair transplant tourism.

00:45Wait times to even see a surgeon can be much shorter than in the US.

00:48But most of all, in the business of hair transplants, it's all about marketing.

00:53Clinics often turn to social media influencers to help expand their clientele.

00:57So your driver lifts you at the airport in this cool car and brings you to this beautiful

01:00five-star hotel.

01:01The next morning the driver lifted me again and brought me to the Now Hair Time Studios.

01:05These guys are honestly so professional, I recommend it to everyone.

01:28Although hair implantation is an outpatient procedure, it's still surgery.

01:33And those getting the operation have to follow strict post-op guidelines once they get home.

01:38Number one, you cannot smoke and you cannot drink alcohol for a full week after the operation.

01:57This is the first step of hair transplant surgery called follicular unit extraction.

02:08Every time that probe goes into the skin, it pulls out one to two hair follicles.

02:12Tweezers are used to then pull them completely out.

02:14And then you make tiny little pokes into the scalp and you plant each hair one by one into

02:19the scalp.

02:20It takes about six months for them to start growing.

02:23Results are permanent.

02:24Just two and a half weeks later, stitches are removed and his hair is growing, but it's

02:28only temporary.

02:29The hair is already starting to fall out and they're going to completely fall out.

02:33And then four months later, they grow back longer and thicker.

02:36As the industry flourishes, doctors warn that scams are on the rise.

02:41Unqualified practitioners are offering the procedure at lower and lower cost, but with

02:46increased risk for patients.

02:48In this lately regulated industry, there's no official data to know just how many clinics

02:52are out there.

02:53For more information, visit www.FEMA.gov