Regular Member Mane_man2019 Posted December 15, 2019 Regular Member Share Posted December 15, 2019 I have been a long time follower and silent observer on this site for a VERY long time. I am posting my review in order to pay back the many times I relied on this site for information. After years and years of research and deciding if this was something I wanted to do, I FINALLY pulled the trigger in April to make an appointment with HLC Ankara. I researched many clinics and doctors in Turkey and settled on HLC after seeing consistent results and positive reviews from the clinic. The whole process of making an appointment feels extremely informal but I was prepared for this after reading some other detailed reviews. Everything I did was through email (I live in Chicago) and electronically sending a deposit just feels like Im about to be scammed. I was happy to find out that when I landed in Ankara in September it wasn't a scam and I was greeted at the airport with the ride to the clinic. They do provide communal lodging which is a 4 bedroom apartment unit across the street from the clinic. You get your own room with 2 shared bathrooms. You will see other patients at different stages of the procedures in the apartment as well. I was weary of this at first because no one mentioned this, but I came to rather enjoy it. You end up spending a lot of time with your flat mates and bond over the experience. You also get to ask a million questions to those who just had their procedure which calms your nerves. The clinic did provide breakfast, lunch and dinner with additional snacks in the apartment unit. The second day you get up early so you can eat and begin the long day. They do blood work and run all the tests first. Then all of the doctors, technicians and staff call you in to assess your hair and take some photos. Dr. Ozgur leads the discussion and planning amongst the doctors. They then shave your head and draw the plan of what you all agreed upon for the new hairline. This is the stage when they determine the final number of grafts, the density and the total cost of the procedure. At no time did I feel pressured to do more or less grafts and totally made me feel like I was in control of the decision. One of the main reasons I chose HLC was the fact that the procedure is done by actual doctors versus the technicians. I also like the fact that its a manually punch. In my case, I had one doctor that was in charge of the extractions with another in charge of the implantations (same doctors both days). They used a .8mm punch. The first day was 12 hours and was VERY long. The extractions seemed to go quick but the implantations was a test of the mind. Very little pain throughout the entire process except for when they numb you. DONT BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR MORE ANESTHESIA if you start to feel something. They are more than happy to give you more and the last thing they want is for you to be in pain. Everyone is BEYOND nice and is extremely helpful at the clinic. So Day 1 they broke into 2 sessions with a total of 2,141 grafts. Day 2 was much shorter (about 4 hours) where they extracted the remaining 1,064 grafts. Singles: 277 Doubles: 1,257 Multiples: 1,671 They wrap your head after the procedure and make you stay one more night so they can make sure no grafts have come loose after your first nights sleep. After your final check up and post op instructions they send you on your way. I am now about 3 months post op and have documented everything and have been making regular updates to my instagram page and my Youtube channel for those who want to see my detailed recoverable process: Instagram Handle: Mane_Man2019 YOUTUBE CHANNEL (most recent update): I hope this review is helpful and I will try to update from time to time. Here are some additional photos of me before, during and within the first week of the actual procedure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Gasthoerer Posted December 15, 2019 Senior Member Share Posted December 15, 2019 Recipient looking good so far! Do you have donor pics? 400+ grafts in 2018 and 2900 grafts in 2020 via FUE with Feriduni Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Mane_man2019 Posted December 15, 2019 Author Regular Member Share Posted December 15, 2019 Hey there - Sure do! The youtube video shows what it looks like now. It was definitely a little thin at the start (which had me worried) but after the first month, it was not that noticeable. I think a lot had to do with shock loss as well. I basically can't go shorter than a 1 1/2 grade at this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LonelyGraft Posted December 16, 2019 Share Posted December 16, 2019 I think hlc does some wonderful work. did they say there are any rules such as avoiding trimming your recipient with electric clippers? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member CosmoKramer Posted December 16, 2019 Senior Member Share Posted December 16, 2019 (edited) Hey man Nice write-up and videos, it’s rare to see patient posted procedure & progress from this clinic as ive only see their occasional before n after videos on YT, but work on you looks good and clean though. 👍🏻 Good luck with your progress, looking forward to your updates. Edited December 16, 2019 by CosmoKramer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Mane_man2019 Posted December 16, 2019 Author Regular Member Share Posted December 16, 2019 15 hours ago, LonelyGraft said: I think hlc does some wonderful work. did they say there are any rules such as avoiding trimming your recipient with electric clippers? Agreed! I've seen some really impressive work come out of the clinic (Hopefully I'll be another one to add to the list). ha! Yes, in the post op care package they say they really don't want you to use clippers on the recipient area for the first 3 months. They say it's OK for manual scissors but your hair doesn't really grow fast enough for manual scissors to be worth it within 3 months anyway. I have seen people cut their recipient hairs within this time frame, but I think the hairs are still vulnerable from being pulled out by the clipper. I even had a minor mishap at the 1 month mark with hairs being pulled by my watch. At that moment I decided I am definitely waiting the 3 months. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Mane_man2019 Posted December 16, 2019 Author Regular Member Share Posted December 16, 2019 12 hours ago, CosmoKramer said: Hey man Nice write-up and videos, it’s rare to see patient posted procedure & progress from this clinic as ive only see their occasional before n after videos on YT, but work on you looks good and clean though. 👍🏻 Good luck with your progress, looking forward to your updates. Hey CosmoKramer - Appreciate the note. I agree. I wish there was more here from HLC for people to see. A while back I thought there was more on here but I can't seem to find any of the reviews. It's a big reason why I decided to document and share my journey. Hope it helps! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Melvin- Admin Posted December 16, 2019 Administrators Share Posted December 16, 2019 Nice, i've been following you on Instagram, thanks for posting on here. 1 I’m a paid admin for Hair Transplant Network. I do not receive any compensation from any clinic. My comments are not medical advice. Check out my final hair transplant and topical dutasteride journey: View my thread Topical dutasteride journey Melvin- Managing Publisher and Forum Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q&A Blog. Follow our Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, and YouTube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LonelyGraft Posted December 16, 2019 Share Posted December 16, 2019 Are you on any treatments to prevent further loss? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member yesplease Posted December 16, 2019 Senior Member Share Posted December 16, 2019 What’s your age? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Mane_man2019 Posted December 16, 2019 Author Regular Member Share Posted December 16, 2019 1 hour ago, LonelyGraft said: Are you on any treatments to prevent further loss? Hi LonelyGraft - Prior to the procedure I was using Rogain foam 2x a day and 1mg of Finasteride. After the procedure I am just taking Finasteride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Mane_man2019 Posted December 16, 2019 Author Regular Member Share Posted December 16, 2019 1 hour ago, yesplease said: What’s your age? Hi Yesplease - I am 33 years old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Mane_man2019 Posted December 18, 2019 Author Regular Member Share Posted December 18, 2019 New Update on Week 10 and my second haircut (still not electric clippers on the top). I went much shorter this time on the sides (1 1/2 grade): 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Mane_man2019 Posted December 30, 2019 Author Regular Member Share Posted December 30, 2019 Week 11 Update: It might be me but I think Im starting to see some of those fuzzy hairs thicken up a bit. That coupled with my hair getting longer is making "my patch" seem less noticeable. It's still visible but hopefully in a few months will be covered! Happy to answer any questions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Mane_man2019 Posted January 8, 2020 Author Regular Member Share Posted January 8, 2020 Week 12 update and 3rd haircut! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member CosmoKramer Posted January 8, 2020 Senior Member Share Posted January 8, 2020 Nice progress! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member duchaine Posted January 9, 2020 Senior Member Share Posted January 9, 2020 is it just a matter of lighting, or did your hair turn grey (from black) after HT? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Mane_man2019 Posted January 9, 2020 Author Regular Member Share Posted January 9, 2020 3 hours ago, duchaine said: is it just a matter of lighting, or did your hair turn grey (from black) after HT? Hi Duchaine! Haha this made me laugh as it's a very good observation. I dyed my hair before and took a break after the hair transplant. You'll likely notice in future videos my hair will be back to its dark color. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Mane_man2019 Posted January 12, 2020 Author Regular Member Share Posted January 12, 2020 Week 13 Update - Starting to see some additional thickness. Hoping this is on track for being at week 13? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member CosmoKramer Posted January 15, 2020 Senior Member Share Posted January 15, 2020 On 1/12/2020 at 6:43 PM, Mane_man2019 said: Week 13 Update - Starting to see some additional thickness. Hoping this is on track for being at week 13? Progress still looks on track. When do you plan on dying your hair again (will you do recipient area hair as well?)? What dye do you use?....I tried the Just for men shampoo dye last year but didn’t help much and I don’t want to use stronger hair dyes dye to the crazy harsh chemicals in them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Mane_man2019 Posted January 16, 2020 Author Regular Member Share Posted January 16, 2020 On 1/15/2020 at 2:53 AM, CosmoKramer said: Progress still looks on track. When do you plan on dying your hair again (will you do recipient area hair as well?)? What dye do you use?....I tried the Just for men shampoo dye last year but didn’t help much and I don’t want to use stronger hair dyes dye to the crazy harsh chemicals in them. Hey there! I am doing it through the Just For Men shampoo as well. If you use it daily it will work but your hands will be dyed. I don't know if I would use anything else at this point. I'll post if I do. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Mane_man2019 Posted January 24, 2020 Author Regular Member Share Posted January 24, 2020 Week 14 & 15 - Wanted to show different lighting with still frames. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member duchaine Posted February 5, 2020 Senior Member Share Posted February 5, 2020 any news? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member bigtyivier2k2 Posted February 6, 2020 Regular Member Share Posted February 6, 2020 Seems like HLC Ankara is the best in Turkey currently? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member duchaine Posted February 16, 2020 Senior Member Share Posted February 16, 2020 Mane...where are you?!?!!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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