Pekiner vs HLC for beard transplant?

[slimjerky]

I've been doing a good amount of research and i've narrowed it down to HLC or Pekiner.  Bicer I contacted but was hard to get a response.  The main reason I am choosing Turkey is because I feel they do a higher volume of transplants and also it seems they do a lot of beards.  I couldn't find much info on beard transplants from some of the other well known doctors in Europe or any before and after photos.

They both recommended around the same number of grafts HLC (1600-2200) and Pekiner (1600).  The price is mostly the same as well 2.7-2.8.  I hear a lot of good things about HLC but I don't have as much comfort because you don't know which doctor will do the procedure.  Does anyone have any feedback between these two?

My main concerns/questions are below:

1. Angle - I want to ensure the hair grows at an angle down and following my existing hair direction.  I understand the angle is determined by the holes created.

2. Using singles only - I know singles are recommended for beard transplants but I see some doing doubles or even triples.  Does anyone know if either of these only do singles?  I know some doctors split up the hairs into singles if needed.

3. I'm especially worried about cobblestoning.  Any idea how this happens?

4. I want the beard lines to be somewhat uneven, maybe more spread out and sporadic and then it gets more and more dense towards the bottom.  Some of these surgeries look too fake because the beard line is too defined.

5. Do they both use microscopes and same technique?

Edited June 29, 2022 by slimjerky

[A Fue Good Men]

Pekiner worked at hlc before he started his own clinic…his technique will likely be the same. However, I haven’t personally seen any beard work from him. Hlc did beard work on Matt dominance 

[Fue3361]

Have you tried minoxidil * microneedling for 6+ months.  Quite a few people have massive results when combining the two.  
 

Even a scenario where you only get subpar results, it can still lower the amount of grafts you end up needing but a few hundred or more.

[THE TRUTH]

Never seen a lot of beard work specifically from these 2 clinics. 

I don't remember ever seeing a Pekiner beard transplant result. Pekiner does good work for the most part when it comes to hair transplants. However I heard some issues about him such as aborted surgeries and bad behaviour from his rep on a patient who got a bad result on this forum in 2019. 

For hlc, I've seen only 2 beard transplants far. One on the youtuber Matt Dominance  and another one on their youtube channel. They have really mixed reviews here for hair transplants. 

I know both these clinics often use beard grafts for scalp but I have to see more results for the opposite type of surgery so to be honest I have no clue. 

Just keep mind using scalp grafts for your beard may not be the best long term option if you have hairloss to begin with or family history of hairloss...You may need those grafts later for your scalp.

[slimjerky]

11 hours ago, Fue3361 said:

Have you tried minoxidil * microneedling for 6+ months.  Quite a few people have massive results when combining the two.  
 

Even a scenario where you only get subpar results, it can still lower the amount of grafts you end up needing but a few hundred or more.

The possible side effects are scaring me from trying (Aging, bloated face, etc).  That stuff is not good for your body even though some people have good results.  Not worth the risk imo.

[NARMAK]

59 minutes ago, slimjerky said:

The possible side effects are scaring me from trying (Aging, bloated face, etc).  That stuff is not good for your body even though some people have good results.  Not worth the risk imo.

Again, it's only a possibility of that side affect and imo, given the much more permanent results that stick around with you, i would usually recommend people give that a go than blow precious scalp donor on a beard. 

My own beard has a few weak spots i notice but overall i'm incredibly blessed i guess on account of my ethnic background having solid beards but the hairs more thick and coarse, it also begins to curl at certain lengths. Whereas my scalp hair is more medium thickness. 

So hypothetically if you had a huge amount like in your original post of up to 2200, that's a significant amount imo. That's actually more than i just had for my hair transplant which was a shade over 2000 grafts with a complete temple point restoration and lowering of the hairline. 

If you ever bald to a high enough grade and aren't on medication to slow/stop it as much as possible, you may come to regret using scalp hair for the beard. 

Again, it's entirely up to you. It's always an elective procedure and i'm 100% the last person to try stop people self improving except in very extreme sort of cases where somebody may have body dysmorphia and stuff. 

Ultimately you could have a competent team dissect multi grafts into singles but you will need to probably keep doing research to find just the right fit if you go through with it. 

[sukh123]

1 hour ago, slimjerky said:

The possible side effects are scaring me from trying (Aging, bloated face, etc).  That stuff is not good for your body even though some people have good results.  Not worth the risk imo.

this is a bit like finasteride scaremongering, these side effects like bloated face and aging is so far fetched. 

[slimjerky]

20 hours ago, NARMAK said:

Again, it's only a possibility of that side affect and imo, given the much more permanent results that stick around with you, i would usually recommend people give that a go than blow precious scalp donor on a beard. 

My own beard has a few weak spots i notice but overall i'm incredibly blessed i guess on account of my ethnic background having solid beards but the hairs more thick and coarse, it also begins to curl at certain lengths. Whereas my scalp hair is more medium thickness. 

So hypothetically if you had a huge amount like in your original post of up to 2200, that's a significant amount imo. That's actually more than i just had for my hair transplant which was a shade over 2000 grafts with a complete temple point restoration and lowering of the hairline. 

If you ever bald to a high enough grade and aren't on medication to slow/stop it as much as possible, you may come to regret using scalp hair for the beard. 

Again, it's entirely up to you. It's always an elective procedure and i'm 100% the last person to try stop people self improving except in very extreme sort of cases where somebody may have body dysmorphia and stuff. 

Ultimately you could have a competent team dissect multi grafts into singles but you will need to probably keep doing research to find just the right fit if you go through with it. 

I get what you're saying, but i'm pretty confident I won't go bald because of my mother's father.  There's always a risk though.  From the beard transplants i've seen, 1500-2000 seem to be on the lower end. I've seen much more, mainly guys that barely have any facial hair at all.  I have a decent base with some patchiness.  I did email Pekiner and he mentioned that any multi grafts get separated using microscopes.

[slimjerky]

20 hours ago, sukh123 said:

this is a bit like finasteride scaremongering, these side effects like bloated face and aging is so far fetched. 

It's not fear mongering.  There are actual studies of minox affecting colllagen.  Trust me, i've done tons of research and there are numerous reports of eye bags, dark circles, and wrinkles, even despite stopping usage.  

[NARMAK]

5 minutes ago, slimjerky said:

I get what you're saying, but i'm pretty confident I won't go bald because of my mother's father.  There's always a risk though.  From the beard transplants i've seen, 1500-2000 seem to be on the lower end. I've seen much more, mainly guys that barely have any facial hair at all.  I have a decent base with some patchiness.  I did email Pekiner and he mentioned that any multi grafts get separated using microscopes.

I would serious urge you to not go by "my mothers fathers a Norwood 0 so i'll never bald" because hair loss is genetic and from BOTH sides of the family. You may have been lucky so far, but i can assure you from my very own family that not all siblings are the same. My younger brothers for example, one had diffuse thinning and his crown area affected and there's a near 2 year gap. The brother younger than him by a year has started showing diffuse thinning too but looks more diffuse in the middle of his hairline. Part of it may be genetic and part due to vitamin deficiencies etc. but myself, i didn't really have obvious diffuse thinning, kept a pretty strong-ish Norwood 2 sans temple points for near 10 years. So it doesn't always run the same even between siblings.

7 minutes ago, slimjerky said:

It's not fear mongering.  There are actual studies of minox affecting colllagen.  Trust me, i've done tons of research and there are numerous reports of eye bags, dark circles, and wrinkles, even despite stopping usage.  

You know what else contributes to those issues? Getting older. 

Again, it's entirely up to yourself to manage what you feel comfortable with but i always feel there's got to be a balancing of information and then people can make a truly informed decision. 

Ultimately everybody should make and stand by their decisions they choose. I guess just being on a site like this though, it's easy to sometimes see the wisdom in not rushing to decisions as a patient and end up in a worse situation requiring repairs which are financially as well as emotionally a toil. 

[Dillpickle123]

I would try to minox if I was you It worked perfectly for me if the males in your family have beards you can get one too minox accelerates the process I started using it at 19 and by the time I was 20 my beard went from being wispy to a thick beard just with consistent use of minoxidil on my face worth a shot low risk of “aging” thousands of people use minoxidil with no such affects 

[Gatsby]

I like the beard results of Dr T Barghouthi from this forum to be honest.

[Dillpickle123]

On 7/1/2022 at 2:15 PM, slimjerky said:

It's not fear mongering.  There are actual studies of minox affecting colllagen.  Trust me, i've done tons of research and there are numerous reports of eye bags, dark circles, and wrinkles, even despite stopping usage.  

[Dillpickle123]

Just now, Dillpickle123 said:

On 7/1/2022 at 2:15 PM, slimjerky said:

It's not fear mongering.  There are actual studies of minox affecting colllagen.  Trust me, i've done tons of research and there are numerous reports of eye bags, dark circles, and wrinkles, even despite stopping usage.  

I would try then consult with someone like barghouthi 

[Gatsby]

1 hour ago, Dillpickle123 said:

I would try then consult with someone like barghouthi 

Yep. @DrTBarghouthi has shown excellent work in beard results! 👌

[Knarff]

Hello, did you try to contact Dr Bicer via What’s app?

I booked a beard transplant with her in January 2023.

Edited July 5, 2022 by Knarff

[MachoVato]

On 6/29/2022 at 5:01 PM, slimjerky said:

They both recommended around the same number of grafts HLC (1600-2200) and Pekiner (1600).  The price is mostly the same as well 2.7-2.8.  I hear a lot of good things about HLC but I don't have as much comfort because you don't know which doctor will do the procedure.  Does anyone have any feedback between these two?

 

If I recall, when I was there, Dr. Akin did the beard work on a patient that was there. 

Matt Dominance had his beard done at HLC. He has a couple videos. Here's a good one.

 

[slimjerky]

On 7/4/2022 at 2:45 AM, Gatsby said:

Yep. @DrTBarghouthi has shown excellent work in beard results! 👌

Thanks, ill check out some of his work.

[slimjerky]

On 7/5/2022 at 4:36 AM, Knarff said:

Hello, did you try to contact Dr Bicer via What’s app?

I booked a beard transplant with her in January 2023.

I could try that, I initially did email.  What made you select Bicer?  I don't think i've seen any beard transplant photos she's done.

[slimjerky]

On 7/1/2022 at 5:27 PM, NARMAK said:

I would serious urge you to not go by "my mothers fathers a Norwood 0 so i'll never bald" because hair loss is genetic and from BOTH sides of the family. You may have been lucky so far, but i can assure you from my very own family that not all siblings are the same. My younger brothers for example, one had diffuse thinning and his crown area affected and there's a near 2 year gap. The brother younger than him by a year has started showing diffuse thinning too but looks more diffuse in the middle of his hairline. Part of it may be genetic and part due to vitamin deficiencies etc. but myself, i didn't really have obvious diffuse thinning, kept a pretty strong-ish Norwood 2 sans temple points for near 10 years. So it doesn't always run the same even between siblings.

You know what else contributes to those issues? Getting older. 

Again, it's entirely up to yourself to manage what you feel comfortable with but i always feel there's got to be a balancing of information and then people can make a truly informed decision. 

Ultimately everybody should make and stand by their decisions they choose. I guess just being on a site like this though, it's easy to sometimes see the wisdom in not rushing to decisions as a patient and end up in a worse situation requiring repairs which are financially as well as emotionally a toil. 

I get that the mother's father's thing isn't the only determining factor.  I would think that being in my early 40's i would have seen at least some hair loss by now but it's a risk i'm willing to take.

Yeah, that's why i'm still doing research on doctors.  One of the most important things for me is that the surgeon does the entire procedure and not techs but that doesn't seem very common.

[HairCrazy666]

 

On 7/5/2022 at 2:36 PM, Knarff said:

Hello, did you try to contact Dr Bicer via What’s app?

I booked a beard transplant with her in January 2023.

@Knarff how was it?