Both India and Turkey are often debated as the choice destinations for hair transplant surgery. With countless hair-related puns to its name, Turkey has been crowned the ultimate “hair transplant capital” by many.
Still, for a lot of people, the final consideration comes down to cost, and both India and Turkey are considered inexpensive by many tourists. So, how do you decide between the two? Each country has its pros and cons. In this blog, you’ll learn more about hair transplants in Turkey vs India.
How Much Does A Hair Transplant Cost In Turkey Vs India?
A hair transplant in India might cost around $3,000 (≈ £2,500), and a hair transplant in Turkey can cost $2,500 (£2,000). Therefore, India may be a bit more expensive than Turkey when it comes to transplantation surgery.
The price can, of course, vary depending on how well-known the clinic is (celebrity clinics are likely to charge more), where the clinic is, who will perform your surgery, and how experienced the practitioner is.
In India, a single graft might cost you as much as $3 (£2.50), so the balder you are, the more you’re going to pay. In contrast, in Turkey, you might not be charged per graft.
There are companies (like ours) in Turkey that have fixed prices and don’t charge by the number of grafts, so the average hair transplant cost is between £1,500 and £2,000.
But even if you’re being charged for each graft, a single graft might cost you $1.5 (£1.2) in Turkey. It might not seem much, but, of course, when added up for thousands of grafts, the difference can become significant.
To give you a better idea, here’s a cost comparison for different numbers of grafts.
| Number Of Grafts | Hair Transplant Cost In India | Hair Transplant Cost In Turkey |
| 500 | $1,500 or £1,250 | $750 or £600 |
| 1,000 | $3,000 or £2,500 | $1,500 or £1,200 |
| 1,500 | $4,500 or £3,750 | $2,250 or £1,800 |
| 2,000 | $6,000 or £5,000 | $3,000 or £2,400 |
| 2,500 | $7,500 or £6,250 | $3,750 or £3,000 |
| 3,000 | $9,000 or £7,500 | $4,500 or £3,600 |
| 3,500 | $10,500 or £8,750 | $5,250 or £4,200 |
| 4,000 | $12,000 or £10,000 | $6,000 or £4,800 |
Again, keep in mind that prices can vary a lot. But you must be careful about doing your research no matter how high or low the cost is – it doesn’t guarantee success.
Also, before you book your treatment, be very clear on all the costs involved. In some clinics in India, you might be charged a tax (maybe up to 20%) on each graft.
You should also ask if medications, aftercare, accommodation or transfers are included, as clinics in India and Turkey offer medical travel plans to their patients with such inclusions.
Is It Good To Have A Hair Transplant In India Compared To Turkey?
You can have a good hair transplant in India, provided the facility and surgeon are registered and the latter is experienced in performing transplants. In India, the National Medical Commission (NMC) – a government regulatory body – has issued guidelines for those who perform hair transplants.
They’ve explicitly stated that such surgeries should only be performed by “properly trained and licensed Registered Medical Practitioner (RMC),” preferably by those who have “formal surgical training such as MCh/DNB Plastic Surgery, MD/DNB Dermatology,” Other than that, the medical centre should also be a “hospital with facilities to treat indoor patients.”
The NMC also has an online “Indian Medical Register” on which you can check whether or not a doctor is registered by asking for their registration name, number, year, and state. Black market clinics are a problem in the hair restoration industry in many countries, which is why you must do your research when finding a good clinic and surgeon.
In Turkey too, there are regulatory bodies for medical facilities and surgeons, such as the Ministry of Health and the Turkish Medical Association. The parts of the surgery where follicles are collected and incisions are made are done by the following professionals only:
- Physicians or specialist physicians with a “hair transplantation practitioner” certificate.
- Specialist physicians in “plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgery, skin and venereal diseases.”
- Physicians or specialists with a “medical aesthetics certificate.”
Those physicians or healthcare professionals with a “hair transplant assistant practitioner certificate” can place the grafts into the incisions themselves.
Turkey’s 2003 Health Transformation Program (HTP) was particularly instrumental in improving the country’s health system. It also focused on improving the status of Turkey as a centre for international health tourism for people in “Europe, Middle-East, Africa, Central Asia and Russia area.”
That is one reason why Turkey has a competitive edge over India. For the number of years that hair transplant surgeons here have been catering to medical tourists, they’ve also become quite experienced. Therefore, you can easily get the best hair transplant in Turkey (provided you find the right surgeon!).
Is A Hair Transplant Procedure In Turkey Better Than In India?
As far as the procedure technique is concerned, there’s not much of a difference between India and Turkey. Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) and Follicular Unit Transplant (FUT) are the two popular transplantation techniques. But since FUT leaves a linear scar, FUE has become more popular.
In FUE, individual hair follicles are taken out from the back and placed into the balding areas via small incisions. Now, of course, other than the technique, the “procedure” itself also entails the use of different tools and exactly how the surgeon approaches each case.
DHI and Sapphire hair transplants, which use special tools (an Implanter Pen and Sapphire blades, respectively), are offered in India as well. But one might argue that Turkish surgeons have more experience because there are more health tourists seeking restoration surgery there; having operated on patients of different ethnicities, they have greater knowledge of how to treat and approach varied cases.
Turkey is also closer to the States, the UK, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, therefore, its geographical location also makes it easier for patients to come here. With longer distances to travel to India, the flight costs can be higher, which will also make the surgery more expensive in India.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, both India and Turkey have a big medical tourism industry, but there are some notable differences. Turkey has become more renowned for its hair transplants because they’ve slowly become almost ubiquitous there. People roaming around with their heads bandaged on streets and airports is a very common sight.
It might also be cheaper than getting this surgery at a high-end clinic in India. Moreover, Turkey’s location gives it an edge, since it’s closer to many countries not just in Europe but also in Asia. But no matter where you’re getting this surgery, you must (must) do your research to make sure you’ll undergo this surgery safely and successfully.
