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Why so many men go to Turkey for hair transplants

Phil Edwards | January 13, 2026



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Sources and more here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/147908105/

Note: At 4:00, I used an image for Norman Orentreich that was incorrect. Unfortunately, I can’t automatically fix this on Youtube. Here’s his 2019 NYTimes Obituary (with a photograph). https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/21/business/dr-norman-orentreich-dead.html

Why has Istanbul become the global capital for hair restoration, and what actually happens when you fly across the world for a new hairline? In this video, I consult with Dr. Ken Anderson of the Anderson Center for Hair to uncover the technological revolution that changed the industry—specifically the shift from old-school “plugs” to Follicular Unit Excision (FUE). We break down exactly how this technology works and why it allowed the market to explode, moving from a niche medical procedure to a massive global industry.

But technology is only half the story; the rest is a mix of aggressive economics and government policy. I investigate the “techno-geopolitical” factors at play, including how the Turkish government subsidizes advertising and travel to drive down costs. To understand the patient experience, I even put myself through the consultation process with a popular Turkish agency, breaking down the massive price difference between the US and Turkey and revealing how these agencies recruit men looking for a confidence boost.
Finally, we look at the hidden risks of medical tourism that Instagram photos don’t show you. From technicians performing surgery without medical degrees to the lack of accountability for botched results, we analyze whether the massive savings are actually worth it. Before you book a flight to Istanbul, we explore the reality of the “hair mill” industry and why experts argue that keeping your optional medical care local might be the smartest investment you can make.

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Written by Phil Edwards

Comments

This post currently has 47 comments.

  3. @koraytugay

    January 13, 2026 at 8:16 pm

    This video was pretty pointless to be honest. "revealing how these agencies recruit men looking for a confidence boost" What else were they going to do? And why did you share complications for breast surgeries in the last part, when the topic was on hair transplant? And why did not you show the other side? People who were happy with the whole procedure?

  6. @WalterBurton

    January 13, 2026 at 8:16 pm

    Daughter child brought up THIS EXACT TOPIC this past weekend at a holiday party. She was snickering about guys at her work.

    So, not only is my phone spying on me, but Phil Edwards is spying on me! 😳

    😂😂😂

  8. @ahwhite2022

    January 13, 2026 at 8:16 pm

    I used to fly through Istanbul all the time. Started to really see those transplant guys in the airport around maybe 2015 or so. Fascinating to see someone dig into this.

  9. @aagguujjaa

    January 13, 2026 at 8:16 pm

    For aesthetic procedures I would rather go to a highly rated clinic in Turkey where they handle thousands of cases, instead of a clinic say in Alabama, or Kansas.

  12. @nisantasicoocugu216

    January 13, 2026 at 8:16 pm

    As a Turk! İm a 3.semester student of Medicine in the Koç University.
    Turkey's healthcare system has a performance score far above European Union and American standards.
    To study medicine in Turkey, you need to successfully graduate from the Mathematics and Science departments of high school.
    Then, you need to take the "University Entrance Exams" and be among the top 5,000 candidates.
    (Every year Average 2 millions student joining this exam)

    After all these stages, once you are accepted into a university's medical department, you study for one year in a "Preparatory Class".
    After completing the Preparatory Class, your 6-year, 12-semester medical education begins.

    Starting from the 3rd year of your 6-year medical education, you begin clinical courses in "Training/Research Hospitals" and learn almost all clinical training in detail from real cases.
    At the end of the 6th year, you graduate and your 2-year mandatory "General Practice" period begins.
    After two years of experience as a General Practitioner in the Emergency Department, you take the "Medical Specialization Exam," and depending on your score, you begin your "Assistant Physician" program, which lasts between 4 and 8 years depending on the clinic, working alongside Professors and Specialists in the clinic where you aim to become a Specialist Doctor.
    By the time you complete all this, you'll be around 40-45 years old, but you'll have become one of the world's most competent and successful physicians in your field of study.

    TURKİSH HEALTH SYSTEM IS A WORLD EXAMPLE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL FREE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, COVERING ALL 85 MILLION CITIZENS AND PROVIDING HIGH-QUALITY DIAGNOSTIC AND TREATMENT SERVICES IN HOSPITALS EQUIPPED WITH THE NEWEST AND MOST MODERN EQUIPMENT.

    BTW!
    I think the person in the video, who was marking the text on the A4 papers with a yellow Stabilo pen, has a serious "accommodation" problem. I don't know if he's aware of his "accommodation" problem. I think he must have been diagnosed with "myopia" and advised to use glasses or contact lenses designed to minimize his myopia. Indeed, what struck me most throughout the video was his ability to underline the lines above the text due to his "accommodation" problem.

    I think he's interpreting the upper part of the eye lens as the target point due to superior frontal deviation. Besides this, it's a common problem for people with type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, those who regularly use opioid sedatives, and those who use cocaine and amphetamine-type stimulants to experience focal deviations, cataracts, and similar problems, as well as macular degeneration.

  13. @avg_viewer

    January 13, 2026 at 8:16 pm

    Medical procedures can fail anywhere including US with horrible looking end results.

    Also if there's any complications occur which can happen with a US surgery too, it'll still cost more to visit US hospitals than going back and forth to Turkey second time.

    Everyone is free to get an opinion from US doctors but none will give 100% guarantee as it's a medical procedure.

  15. @thenakedsuperhero1926

    January 13, 2026 at 8:16 pm

    stop telling people not to go overseas if they want a hair transplant, you have literally no idea the toll it has on them given you have a full head of hair. You aren't a medical professional. Plus there are equal if not more bad cases of medical malpractice in the US than there are over there. you are just proving that you chose to follow a bias given you looked at one single paper on the matter at the end of your video. thumbs down

  16. @PringleSn1ffer

    January 13, 2026 at 8:16 pm

    This will be one to listen to… I can't look at the screen at all knowing their is going to be pictures of fresh hair implants 🤮.

    EDIT: NVM, it was too gross even just listening to it.

  19. @BobDevV

    January 13, 2026 at 8:16 pm

    I don't need to watch to tell you why it is so popular, the reason is simple:
    You can pay for a two way trip, get a transplant and pay less than what would you pay for several visits in your local clinic – that is for US.
    For the rest of the world it is similar plus it is probably rare to find transplant clinic locally in other countries.

  23. @kevinfleischer2049

    January 13, 2026 at 8:16 pm

    BUT what will happen is, that those "cheaper" less trained, "not as qualified" providers, will get A SHIT TON more experience in doing the simple thing, so they get better than the previous doctors despite lacking the formal training.

    Same happened with eye surgeries in india, where this "mc donalds of eye treatment" provided extrem cheap treatments but by doing so, gathered the real most important dimension: Experience through repetition!

  29. @Hippydaze35

    January 13, 2026 at 8:16 pm

    Hmm, I get that making sound decision n weighing the risk n benefit is smart, but to lean in further to discourage folks from going over there for the procedure just comes across a bit heavy handed n my view. I don’t think u hv presented any strong compelling reason/s to lean in as much as u did. I didn’t hear anything saying that their system of doing things is more inherently dangerous than getting it done in the states or Europe. nor did u show anything that demonstrated turkey had horrible success rates compared to other places, or other similar type arguments. Instead u noted a complaint of how a doctor may hv a team set up, noted hw they subsidize the industry (America has plenty of subsidized industries—and consumers still get overcharged) and a general concern of post-op complications.
    Overall I appreciated the video, just think u should’ve not placed ur hand on the scale so much at the end…

  31. @robynmorris6388

    January 13, 2026 at 8:16 pm

    It's crazy to me that people will go to these lengths (no pun intended) for a hair transplant. I mean to each his own but in this day and age who cares? Nothing wrong with being bald.

  35. @mdwyerfoo

    January 13, 2026 at 8:16 pm

    This is maybe a small thing, but there's some training value in third-world medical tourism. More than a decade ago, I was one of the first people in America to get a Phakic Intra-Ocular lens implanted. It's a kind of contact lens that goes inside the eye. But although I was one of the first in America, I was faaaaaaar from the first in the Americas. My surgeon had been installing these lenses for months south of the border looooong before I was dozing in his chair.

  38. @JohnDoe-pi3op

    January 13, 2026 at 8:16 pm

    My next door neighbour (mid 20s Arab guy) when to turkey to get one (from Canada) and apparently it failed. The best place for any cosmetic surgery is California, say what you want about money but they know what they’re doing and have higher standards

  39. @Iwo2485

    January 13, 2026 at 8:16 pm

    I have no clue why you're suggesting that this is an American thing. It's not. It's a British thing. The men you see on social media are British and have been travelling to Turkey for decades for this purpose and others. In the UK, Turkish cosmetic services for men (and women) have been advertised extensively in daily rags like The Sun and The Telegraph for a long while and it also has gotten popularised through word of mouth. It's actually ~not~ economical for an American to make the same trip because there aren't the same deeply discounted flights to Turkey for Americans. It would cost them much more. The reason it's cheap for Brits is because all the services–airline, hotel, and clinic collaborate to reduce the costs–knowing that if they lower prices, they'll make up for it by attracting loads of British customers, many of whom will become repeat customers and many of whom will recommend the experience to their family and friends.

  40. @daviddang82

    January 13, 2026 at 8:16 pm

    What bout in Cancun? I’m seeing ads for hair transplants in Cancun by Turkish experienced doctors. I’m from US and it would be a shorter flight to Mexico than turkey.

  46. @TheFreeRanger.

    January 13, 2026 at 8:16 pm

    This guy is full of shit! You’re just shilling for overpriced western institutions trying to keep the sheep from escaping. The video was about “hair transplants”. How about you just share data on mishaps specific to FUE transplants in Turkey. Instead you mislead viewers by generalising about surgical procedures. I bet there’s probably more mishaps happening in the USA!

Comments are closed.

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