Hair transplant abroad

Is it safe to travel abroad for a hair transplant? Having a hair transplant abroad may seem like a good idea. The main reason why some people choose to go to countries such as Turkey, Hungary and Mexico for their hair transplant is usually the price of the operations and the quality of the service. But are the savings worth it?

Hair transplant prices by country

Hair transplant Turkey	1750 €
Hair transplant Tunisia	1850 €
Hair transplant Poland	2400 €
Hair transplant Hungary	2800 €
Hair transplant Germany	3000 €
Hair transplant Spain	3300 €
Hair transplant Mexico	3500 €
Hair transplant France	6400 €
Hair transplant Dubai	6800 €
Hair transplant United Kingdom	9500 €
Hair transplant Ireland	10500 €

What is a hair transplant?

Hair surgery (or hair transplantation) involves taking the strongest hair from the back of the head on the crown (which grows in “follicular units”) and moving it to the front of the head. This means that you may not be an ideal candidate for baldness treatment if you have very little hair.

If the donor area is sparse, it will be difficult to obtain enough hair to cover the sparse areas of your head.

An official report states that two thirds of men suffer from hair loss (alopecia) before they reach their thirties. And by the time they reach 50, the majority of men (85%) will have considerably less hair.

Spending a lot of time writing and making YouTube videos about men’s hair and hair care, the problem of hair loss has always been a subject that has interested me. That said, I’m less concerned about it than I used to be. Why should I worry?

If I start to lose my hair, I know that there are procedures to help me slow down the loss, or restore the loss through hair transplants abroad.

There are two hair transplant methods:

1. FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction)
2. FUT (Follicular Unit Transplant).

FUE is more expensive because it involves moving follicular units one by one, whereas FUT involves moving a small strip of scalp from the donor area and replacing it in the recipient area of the skull.

FUE allows the clinician to ensure that the hair falls out naturally and that the hairline is as beautiful as possible.

What is the difference between hair loss and baldness?

Hair loss and baldness are in fact two distinct problems.

Hair loss can be triggered by a number of factors, including stress, the food you eat, certain medications and even the way you wash your hair.

True ‘baldness’ is a genetic problem that generally worsens with age. It can start at any age, even before 20.

Interestingly, baldness (which isn’t just a male problem, women suffer from it too) usually starts at the front of the head and at the crown; whereas the hair at the back of the head (on the crown) is the least likely to stop growing, as it is genetically programmed not to fall out.

Also read: Complete guide to hair transplants

How much does a hair transplant abroad cost?

The FUE method is an effective but painfully slow process. And time is money.

The FUE method cannot take more than 8 hours a day. The patient may need several days of treatment. This explains why in Europe, you can easily pay up to (and more!) €45,000 for a hair treatment in a reputable clinic.

The FUT method is less expensive. It involves removing a thin strip of hair from the back of the head, which is then hidden by joining the remaining scalp, causing a scar. Follicular units are harvested to fill in thinning areas at the front of the head.

In 2011, Wayne Rooney reportedly paid $15,000 for his first treatment at a clinic in Manchester and did more work to ‘fill in’ the new areas.

See also: Hair transplants for the stars

Low-cost hair transplants

Hair transplants have become the most popular operation in medical tourism. Turkey, Poland and Hungary are all seeing a significant increase in the number of patients from Europe.

At this price, you get an all-inclusive package: Flights Taxi Hotel Operation

However, costs in Europe have become much more competitive as the number of clinics offering this operation increases. There are no fewer than 75 clinics dedicated to hair transplants in Paris. In addition to dedicated clinics, there are over 100 hair loss clinics, which offer everything from massage and medication to acupuncture to alleviate the problem.

More and more people are seeking effective treatment in Eastern Europe and Asia, where prices can be up to 90% cheaper than clinics in their home country.

In fact, requests to clinics abroad more than doubled (105% growth) year-on-year from 2016 to February 2017, thanks in particular to the All-Inclusive packages offered by clinics in Turkey.

What is an All-Inclusive package?

An All-Inclusive package offers a medical trip with controlled expenses:

• Transfers from the airport to the hotel and from the hotel to the clinic
• Medication before, during and after the operation.
• Accommodation in a 4-star or 5-star hotel
• A native translator
• Free online follow-up services

This type of package allows people interested in an FUE or DHI hair transplant to plan their trip to Turkey knowing in advance the total cost of their expenditure.

Before and after photos

Hair transplants abroad: where do Europeans go?

Turkey has the largest share of the medical tourism market for hair treatment. It is the most popular overseas destination for Europeans. It receives 70% of the world’s demand for hair treatment.

While this is an impressive statistic, patients’ budgetary constraints are pushing them to go even further, booking trips to India and Thailand in search of cheaper treatments.

Closer to home, Spain and the Czech Republic have also begun to compete with Turkish clinics, offering all-inclusive medical tourism packages that include accommodation, airport hotel clinic transfers and even Europe-based follow-up clinics for added simplicity.

Hair transplant surgery is a very interesting subject that is attracting the attention of more and more men. With an increase in demand for hair treatment, the industry is set to continue its growth…

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