Awesome experience. I highly recommend Dr. Maral in Turkey.

My normal hair is growing back in a regular pattern and it is beginning to cover the donor area in the back. This area was looking a little thin at first due to all the grafts that were removed. The transplanted hair is going through the expected trauma stage where after growing for a few weeks most of them have broken off and that area is looking pretty sparse. I'm not worries, as this is the normal process and the follicles are all still there and will regrow after a while.
I just colored the gray in my hair (after these photos were taken) since it was starting to come in quite gray. I was told to not color any of the transplanted areas, but that is fine since there is not much there right now. I can really see a distinct difference in my hairline, from the previous (which is growing) to the new hairline which is sparse. It is going to be a big improvement once it all grows in.
The transplanted area in the front is beginning to have a few pimples (whiteheads) as the new hairs are trying to come in. It's hard to leave them and not pick at them, but I'm trying to just wash with shampoo and some acne face wash at night.
The donor area has been a little sensitive to the touch, not is a bad or painful way, just a weird kind of sensation, most likely due to so many follicles removed and the nerves in the skin adjusting to this change.
Most people have told me that they really like the short hair cut and most don't know that I've had any procedure done, unless I tell them. But, I've been very open about it with everyone as I don't want to hide it or be ashamed by doing this. On the contrary, I feel like I am being proactive, doing the best thing to keep my hair, and I'm happy to tell everyone about the procedure.
I hope the political situation in Turkey doesn't deter anyone from going to the Maral Clinic. I would still go!!

The hair feels good and is beginning to grow. Super excited to see how it comes in. There are a few scabs still in the back donor area, but they are not really visible. They should go away soon. The donor area looks a little more sparse now since there was so many hairs removed. Hope that the other hair grows in to cover it.

Will follow up in a few weeks.

Let me start by saying to anyone researching hair transplant, the whole process is shockingly easy, it’s not painful, and it is totally worth it. Keep in mind that the photos of the process look much worse that it actually is.
Dr. Tugrual Maral and his team of professionals have this procedure down to an exact science and they do this everyday (except Sundays). They handled all the details, from my initial email consultation, to arranging the hotel and all transportation, so the only thing that I had to do was to book my round trip flight to Istanbul and bring the payment for the procedure. I will go into detail about the procedure later, but just had to start this review by saying that I was so happy that I chose Dr. Maral and that I highly recommend them for anyone considering a Hair Transplant. My experience: I’m 47 and I’ve always had a high hairline (big forehead), but I have a Grade 3 hair loss meaning that the crown is starting to show in the back and my hairline is receding. It’s not terrible, but seeing the history of hair loss in my family (my father & cousins who have all lost most of their hair) I know what the future holds for me. Living in Los Angeles, I went to the Bosley hair clinic for a consultation. They still do the procedure by removing a strip of the scalp for the donors, which leaves a scar, unless you pay 25% more to do the MicroFUE for individual grafts. For 1800 grafts, it was going to cost over $12,000. This was out of my budget, so I stopped thinking about doing Hair Transplants. Until my friend found someone who had flown to Turkey and had the procedure done there (with Dr. Maral). Turns out that several people here had followed suit and also done it there with great results. Based on these recommendations, a friend in his 30’s went to Dr. Maral. After I saw his results (about 5 months later), I was convinced this was a great option for me. I emailed Dr. Maral my photos and got an immediate response with a detailed analysis and recommendation to do 3500 grafts at a cost of 1800 Euros (about 2100 USD). I booked my flight to Turkey on Turkish Airlines (pay the extra fee to sit in the exit row for more leg room!) and sent them my itinerary. From that point they scheduled my appointment, arranged the hotel and all the transportation. When we arrived in Turkey, I got a text message as soon as we got off the plane telling us where to meet. Within 5 minutes, they were there to take us off to the Hotel. The airport in Turkey just opened in April 2019 and it is spectacular. The largest in the world (except the China airport that just opened) and it has every high end shop you can imagine. Anyway, the Dedeman Hotel was nice, but not quite the 5 star hotel that you might find elsewhere. The rooms were clean but the beds were quite firm. Breakfast was included each morning and offered a large selection of good food. Procedure day: It began with a quick transport to the clinic and consultation with Dr. Maral who inspected my hair (for the growth pattern) before they shaved it all off. I have never shaved my head, so this was a little scary. Then, he took photos and marked the areas for the transplants. We discussed and agreed to his suggestions, as I fully trusted his professional opinion as to what would look the most natural. I took a couple of pills they gave me (probably for pain & to calm down) then we began. The clinic was very clean, bright and everyone was very friendly. I felt very comfortable and in good hands. Jasmine worked on me first. Based on the Dr’s outline, she measured and made more exact marks of transplant areas. Her years of experience in doing this were evident as she was very detailed in making sure that the hairline was not too low where it would move with my facial expressions. Then, we moved to the operating table. I was expecting this part to be painful, but surprisingly it was not bad. They used a little thumbtack like device to click around the marked areas. Then, followed with injections around the outlined areas, much like you would get at the dentist when getting a filling. I felt a little pressure and slight sting, but it was over very fast. She began by removing a sample of grafts to determine the size of the donors. Then she proceeded to cut the holes in the transplant area to count how many grafts they would need to fill in the areas. This took a while and she determined that I could handle 4100 grafts. (Wow, that would have cost me close to $28K at Bosley!) After she finished, the next team moved in. One technician drilled the grafts and then another removed them. She had a device that sounded like a vacuum that drilled a small circle around the hair follicle. Again, this didn’t hurt at all as the anesthesia had kicked in, but it sounded like a knife cutting a crisp apple. It was kinda weird. I was laying face down for this process and it took several hours. The Dr checked in on the process from time to time. After they finished removing all the grafts, they bandaged up the donor area and we took a break for lunch. They brought in a very nice lunch for me and the other person who was also having the procedure done in the next room. After lunch the two technicians went to work inserting the grafts into the transplant area. Each started on the outsides and worked their way to the center. They finished by filling in the crown area. This part took another 4 hours. (I was there from 10am to 6pm!) They bandaged up my donor area, gave me a set of pills to take for the next 3 days and gave me care instructions for the evening. Then, the driver took me back to the hotel. The funny thing is that this procedure is so common in Turkey, we saw over 2 dozen men in the hotel and walking around Istanbul with bandages on their heads. Nobody says anything about it. We did order room service that night and stayed in. The USD is so strong that our room service meals for 2 including desserts cost only $20! The hardest part of this whole process turned out to be sleeping because you can’t let your head rest on the donor or transplant areas for the first night. So, they gave me a travel like neck pillow that raises my head off the pillow. It still didn’t hurt any, but was a bit uncomfortable on the neck. No washing or touching the head on next day, but the shower had a handheld which made it easy to wash my body. They picked me up in the morning to go back to the clinic for the follow up where they removed the bandages. It bleed a little and this was a bit uncomfortable at first, but then it stopped. They gave me washing instructions, lotion and shampoo to use for the next two weeks and a special hat to wear in case I was self conscious about the new look. Nothing can touch the grafted areas for 4 days. No more bandages needed. The Dr. inspected everything and then we were off to explore the city of Istanbul. The next night I was able to sleep on a regular pillow and let the donor areas in the back touch, but not the grafts on the crown or the front. This night was better (but the beds were still too firm for my taste). The next morning they were there to take us back to the airport. The drivers were great and so friendly. I couldn’t have asked for better service!! The Istanbul airport was incredible. Tons of high end shops, lots to see, and secure!! We went through 9 security check points before arriving at our plane. It was great. And, Turkish airlines was awesome, the best food and service I’ve ever had, even in economy class, it was better than Business or First on many other airlines. After returning home, I was greeted with an email from the clinic with all the detailed instructions on my follow up care, which is a good thing because I had forgot some of the details. The days following the procedure, the donor areas and the transplant areas began to scab. It didn’t itch, but sometime felt like a fly was crawling across my head, ha! I had to wait 3 days before touching or washing. On the fourth day, the process is to dab on some lotion and let it sit for 10 minutes to soften the scabs. Then, lightly dab the shampoo and rinse with low pressure water. After the first week, then I was able to gently massage the shampoo. The hair was already starting to grow back and the transplant areas felt a bit crusty, like I was wearing a cap. At about 12 days, most of the crusts/scabs had come out in the shower and my head now looks like I just trimmed it short. The transplanted hair looks just like the rest of my head and nobody would even know that I had anything done. I will post some photos of the process and continue to follow up as my hair grows back. Again, to anyone contemplating doing this, I would recommend you contact the Maral clinic for a consultation. It is worth flying to Turkey to have the best people perform this procedure. I highly recommend Dr. Maral and his team of professionals!