My hairline has been rapidly disappearing for the last 5 years. I was bald. I was losing my identity. I have, for many years, always had an eye on the various celebrities who had successful HTs. However, the costs in UK were just too high for me and not a viable option. In early May 2024 a friend suggested that I check out the HT options in Turkey. I thought that he was joking at first but when I did a google search I soon realised that Turkey was the HT capital of the world. Various HT clinics came up during my online search – lots of them. I got in touch with 8 clinics to see what they could do for me. Many came back with quick quotes within an hour with costs of anything between £1000 to £3,500. A couple said that it not worth doing and that I would be wasting my time. Others provided “guarantees” of transplanted grafts between 2000 to 7500. Some even suggested that they would pay for my flights and do my teeth at the same time as the HT. I was confused by all the mixed responses. Further online research of HT clinics in Turkey identified that most of those that I had reached out to meet the definition of a “hair mill” i.e. lots of patients each day and with little, if any, involvement of a real surgeon. This concerned me. Going to a foreign country with the possibility of having a HT being done by unknown people was not very appealing. What would I do if I travelled all the way to a clinic in Turkey and went into the operating room to find that the technicians were all young students and even worse, monkeys? Any business can have a good website with good customer reviews these days. It felt like Russian roulette. It put me off. My deeper research of HT clinics brought me to members of the World FUE Institute. From there I came across Dr Mehmet Demircioglu of the Diamond Hair Clinic. I got in touch with this clinic for a quote. The information that I had back from this clinic was more comprehensive compared to the others. It was personalised. Mehmet Demircioglu’s assessment was that I was eligible for sapphire FUE HT: 4000 grafts to cover my front and mid area. It was not possible to cover the crown area, but I was advised that this may be possible during a second session after a year. The cost included: the surgery, all transfers, 3 nights in a hotel, all medication, a hair care kit and a first wash. I just had to turn up in Istanbul. What made Mehmet Demircioglu different from other clinics that I had engaged with was his “one patient daily” policy. He would be actively involved in the surgery and design the hairline etc. I liked his customer centric approach. It was certainly not the hair mill approach like the others. After a couple of weeks considering my options, and completing my due diligence checks on Diamond Hair Clinic, I decided at the end of My 2024 to book my HT with them. It is true that Mehmet Demircioglu was more expensive than the other clinics that I had quotes from, but I decided that I wanted the certainty of professionalism to ensure that my HT had the greatest chance of being a success. In the morning of 31 August 2024 I arrived at Istanbul airport. A luxury transfer vehicle was waiting for me which took me to the hotel (Tryp by Wyndham Istanbul Topapi Hotel). A lovely modern hotel with great food. I did some tourist sightseeing during the day. There is a tram stop ten minutes away from the hotel called Seyitnizam-Aksemsettin. This tram, which is very cheap, will take you to heart of Istanbul where all the main tourist attractions and shops (e.g. Grand Bazaar) are. If there is only tourism thing that you have time for then I would recommend an evening visit to the Basilica Cistern. It was magnificent under the coloured lights. Early the next morning the transfer vehicle picked me up from the hotel and took me to the clinic. I surprisingly felt very calm. I trusted myself that I had made the right decision. Mehmet Demircioglu met me at the reception. This was a friendly and personalised touch. He spoke excellent English. He then took me to his office to discuss the schedule for the day, and the hairline that I wanted. I recognised, even before the visit, the reality that my hair line options were very limited due to the sheer size of my baldness area. I explained my thoughts and he came up with a suggestion which I was happy with. I remember feeling relaxed. I felt I was in safe hands. Nothing was rushed at all. I met his two other friendly technicians in his surgery team. They could speak little English, but this was not an issue for me since Mehmet Demircioglu was always around. In the surgery room they shaved off my hair (what little I had). Mehmet Demircioglu drew a draft hair line and showed me a mirror. I was happy with the draft, and I gave the go ahead. Lots of pictures were taken at this point which he later forwarded to me. This was a great idea as I can now compare myself before and after the HT. The HT started with a local anaesthesia being applied to my donor area. This hurt. Big time. 8/10 pain. The injections seemed to go on forever, but it was probably only 20 minutes or so. I was expecting some pain from these injections, but this was much worse than I expected. Everyone is different though. Perhaps I have a sensitive scalp. I took the pain like a man; I knew that this pain was only going to be momentary. Everything that you want in life is often on the other side of pain. After these injections, I felt nothing for the entire HT. The technician then proceeded with the donor graft extraction. This took a couple of hours or so. I felt completely relaxed throughout. At lunch time I had a 20-to-30-minute break. A margherita pizza and a can of Iced Tea were provided. It was delicious. I took this time to inform my wife that I was still alive. She does worry. The afternoon session started with the incisions. This was completed by Mehmet Demircioglu. I understood from my research that this was the most critical part of the surgery which will make a huge difference as to whether the HT is successful or not. This took around 2 to 2 2 ½ hours I think. I was so relaxed that I fell asleep. I again felt nothing. After a break to stretch my legs, there was the final part of the procedure which involved the implantation of my grafts. This was perhaps the longest session of all but again I drifted in and out of sleep. This stage was performed by one of his technicians. Mehmet Demircioglu always seemed to be around. I even remember having an amusing conversation with him during this final procedure about his love of spear fishing and his need for a bigger boat. This did show a human element beyond a surgeon’s mask. In all, my recollection of the operation is one of relaxation. If there had been Tibetan bowl music playing in the surgery room then it would probably have been close to a spa experience (but only if they could get rid of the local anaesthesia injections first though!). I was delighted when I saw myself in the mirror after the operation. They did a great job in giving me a natural looking hairline. My identity was back. I had a total of 4200 grafts. After the HT, Mehmet Demircioglu explained the various medications that I would need to take. I personally would have preferred paper instructions at this point since it felt like a lot of information to take on board after a day in surgery. However, Mehmet Demircioglu did then give me his personal telephone number if I had any questions. This was tested the next day when I had an accident in the hotel room when I knocked my head on a shelf next to the desk. My hairline was bleeding which I knew could potentially mean some lost grafts. Mehmet Demircioglu immediately responded to my message after viewing my picture with some re-assuring words. Please do be careful in your hotel room - stay in bed! Looking back, the whole HT experience with Mehmet Demircioglu was stress free. Everything was organised and taken care of. Communications were great before the HT, during and after. Mehmet Demircioglu does put his customers’ wellbeing at the centre of everything. He continues to be available for help and support when it is required, and I have been sending him daily picture updates until the final wash. Mehmet Demircioglu then requires monthly picture updates, but I know that I can contact him any time should I have questions or issues. It is early days in my hair growth journey at the time of this review, but I am happy with my choices. I would have no hesitation in recommending Mehmet Demircioglu to you. Mehmet Demircioglu told me a story of an American customer who believed that people think that you are a loser in life if you have a HT. I disagree. You are in fact winner. Those people who moan about being bald, and do nothing about it, are the real losers. Everything you want in life is on the other side of fear. Don’t delay. There are great HT surgeons out there to help you. Book yourself an appointment with Mehmet Demircioglu and have a different life story.