At simply 19 years previous, Tom Robb seen he was balding and began utilizing hair remedies and medicines, however none of them introduced his hair again.
“I used to joke with my dad that he had extra hair than me at 55 than I did at 20,” Tom instructed The Feed.
Two years later, he was flying to Bangkok looking for an inexpensive hair transplant and he now has a full head of hair, however regardless of selecting a global clinic as a less expensive choice, it nonetheless set him again hundreds of {dollars}.
The entire course of value $11,000, together with lodging and flights. He was quoted $20,000 to $25,000 for a similar course of in Australia.
However some Australian specialists are seeing the fallout of those procedures.
Virtually each week, Dr Russell Knudsen — a hair restoration physician says, he finds himself fixing a younger man’s botched hair transplant after they’d gone abroad looking for a less expensive head of hair however have as a substitute returned with a scar — or a bald patch the place one should not be.
“They’re bald on the again of their head as a result of they have been over-harvested — an excessive amount of hair has been taken out [causing] patching on the again of their head — it is diabolical to repair that drawback.”
Türkiye has turn into a well-liked vacation spot for Australians looking for hair transplants. Supply: Getty / Ozan Kose
Knudsen, the previous president of the Worldwide Society of Hair Restoration Surgical procedure, is worried some males looking for abroad hair transplants are “gullible”: accepting what they learn on the web with out query, and too cash-poor to contemplate safer choices.
“Younger individuals haven’t got some huge cash, and so they’re extremely motivated to get their hair again as a result of they assume [hair loss] makes them look older and unattractive — and they will have bother discovering a companion. It devastates their self-confidence. In order that they chunk the bullet and cross their fingers,” he mentioned.
An inexpensive marketplace for fixing baldness
Tom is considered one of many Australians (sometimes males) reserving flights to nations comparable to Türkiye, Thailand, Mexico and India which offer extra inexpensive hair restoration procedures than Australia and the UK.
Türkiye’s Ministry of Well being as soon as provided tax breaks and reimbursements that allowed its medical business to growth, attracting greater than one million medical vacationers per yr. Comparatively, Thailand’s low-cost working prices and shorter flights make it a beautiful choice for Australians.
Most hair transplant clinics present two companies, FUE (follicular unit extractions), the place hair follicles on the physique are extracted from the again of the pinnacle and changed on areas of balding, and FUT (follicular unit transplantation) — the place a strip of pores and skin is faraway from the again of the pinnacle and particular person hair follicles are positioned in areas of hair loss.
Over a yr after his hair transplant, Tom Robb has no regrets together with his choice to fly abroad. Supply: Equipped
The surgical procedure takes as much as eight hours and entails native anaesthesia, graft extraction, incisions, and implantation. It sometimes takes 10 days to recuperate and after six weeks, most sufferers will see hair regrowth. For some males, it could take six months till they’ve a full head of hair.
A rising curiosity in hair transplants
Whereas knowledge on the variety of Australians who go abroad for hair transplants just isn’t collected, Smile Hair Clinic in Istanbul, Türkiye, instructed The Feed in a press release it treats about 15-20 Australian sufferers month-to-month — a 35 per cent improve since 2021.
Dr Saranon Paisanpan, a hair surgeon from Max Hair in Bangkok, Thailand, mentioned extra Australians, notably aged 30 to 40, had sought his service for the reason that COVID-19 pandemic.
“Now we have so many worldwide sufferers reaching out for data, for reserving, for on-line consultations — and Australians are one of the,” Paisanpan mentioned.
The clinic has been in operation for 10 years and Paisanpan estimates that 40 per cent of his sufferers are worldwide.
Returning with a botched head of hair
Paisanpan mentioned a number of unlicensed clinics function in Bangkok with unqualified employees, which can lead to botched jobs.
“In case you’re punching out an excessive amount of [hair], it could trigger a scar on the again,” he mentioned.
“In case you put the hair follicle within the improper means, you may need messy hair or an unnatural hairline, at all times from unprofessional or inexperienced [doctors].”
Hair transplants sometimes take about eight hours, relying on the strategy used. Supply: Getty / /
On prime of shoddy jobs, many Australians are quoted a value from a Bangkok clinic, solely to seek out they’re requested to pay extra as soon as they arrive, Paisanpan mentioned.
“My message is simply just be sure you select respected hospitals with skilled employees and good opinions.”
Cracking down on unfastened laws
However Thai clinics aren’t the one ones capitalising on males’s insecurity round hair loss.
Türkiye has additionally been a go-to vacation spot for hair transplants, resulting from much less stringent restrictions on clinics earlier than new laws had been launched in 2023.
“The Turkish system relied on the laxity of the laws that had been being introduced by the Turkish authorities. So till they cracked down as late as April this yr, it was principally cowboy city over there,” says Australian physician Knudsen.
Knudsen says relaxed legal guidelines meant clinics may very well be operated by non-medical professionals.
That each one modified in April when legal guidelines tightened on who may function clinics. Stricter laws meant clinics needed to register with the Turkish Ministry of Well being, nominate certified surgeons and submit every affected person’s particulars, together with images and permission to proceed. A US$8000 ($11,600) high quality can be issued to clinics who did not comply.
“The attention-grabbing factor is that the market has contracted dramatically within the final 12 months — probably not due to the laws … however due to the quantity of dangerous outcomes which might be going out round which have trashed their fame to a level,” Knudsen mentioned.
Righting the wrongs of dangerous hair jobs
Knudsen has handled over-harvested hair transplants on sufferers who bought therapy in Türkiye however got “zero recommendation” on the best way to handle future hair loss.
“In case you take most of all of their out there hair after they’re 25 years of age, now we have a diabolical drawback after they begin dropping hair afterward as a result of we have got nothing left to maneuver. And the place it has been moved is usually on the improper place,” he mentioned.
He mentioned the consequences of poorly carried out operations vary from uneven hair development to future points like scarring or an infection.
Knudsen mentioned there are examples of well-done hair transplants in Türkiye.
“There are those who come again from Turkey with good outcomes … the caveat is I do not see the blissful ones.”
A serious threat in travelling abroad is the dearth of post-procedure care, based on the chair of the Journey Drugs Particular Curiosity group on the Royal Australian School of Common Practitioners, Dr Nick Zwar.
“The aftercare is restricted by the truth that the companies are completely different to Australia — and generally individuals do not stay very lengthy after their process,” Zwar mentioned.
He mentioned there’s additionally a better threat of contracting blood-borne viruses and accessing journey insurance coverage that covers medical procedures abroad is tough.
“There is no worldwide authorized framework to help that … [going through] courts within the nation the place you had the process performed just isn’t easy in any respect.”
An consciousness marketing campaign was launched by the Worldwide Society of Hair Restoration Surgical procedure, referred to as Struggle The Struggle to fight the “rising threat” of unlicensed technicians performing hair restoration surgical procedure.
Higher off than bald
Now a yr from his transplant, Tom says it has been among the finest issues he is performed for himself, however nonetheless takes prescription medicines to handle additional hair loss.
“I went from principally bald to having hair and a hairline. I stroll out the door and don’t fret about what my hair essentially appears like. I do not contemplate if I want a hat or if I believe it should be windy or if I must push my hair ahead. It is only a large weight off the shoulders.
“I used to consider my hair each couple of hours and now it is not even a thought more often than not.”
