A woman travelling from Istanbul dubbed her flight “Turkish Hairlines” as she filmed the sea of bald blokes post-hair transplant.
It was estimated that one million people went to Turkey for a new hairline in 2022, attracted by the substantially cheaper costs compared to the UK – so its no surprise that flights back from Istanbul might look a bit odd.
In a viral TikTok video, viewed an astonishing 9.3 million times, influencer Anna Malygon gave her followers a glimpse into the peculiar sight aboard her aircraft, with rows of men donning the signature red-dotted scalps, markers of where hair was lifted to fill out thinning thatches.
With various grafting techniques available depending on the patients degree of hairloss, UK clinics can charge anywhere from £7,000 to a hair-raising £20,750.
In contrast, Turkey offers these follicle fixes at £1,500 to £6,000.
One commenter quipped under Anna’s TikTok: “Is it illegal to wear a hat or something?” But, according to the New Jersey Hair Restoration Centre, post-op patients are advised to avoid any sort of headwear for at least 10 days, leaving these men with no choice but to flaunt their new barnets.
Others chimed in with similar experiences from their trips to Turkey. One traveller shared: “Coming back from Istanbul to Napoli the plane looked like a hospital.”
Another added: “We were visiting all the museums and sights [in] Istanbul and basically saw the same thing.. lots of hair transplant patients walking around (during their week post-op monitoring stay).”
Some even said the video was making them think about booking in a Turkish hair transplant for themselves. Another comment read: “The more I watch TikTok, the more I want to go to turkey to get my hair done even though I have a full head of it!”
