The Current Why men are travelling to Turkey for hair transplants
Feb 9, 2026
Glen Jankowski, a psychology researcher on men's body image and author of Branding Baldness, and John Paul Brammer, a Brooklyn writer who shared his own transplant story in GQ. They explore why Turkey became a hair-transplant hub. Topics include medical tourism, consult culture and clinic experiences, the history and marketing of baldness, risks and regulation, and the social pressures pushing men toward cosmetic fixes.
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Consultations Became A Compulsion
- John Paul Brammer obsessively attended free hair transplant consultations during college as a way to process anxiety about his hairline.
- He later traveled to Istanbul for a paid procedure and described feeling numb and liberated afterward.
A Bald Party To Break Shame
- John Paul held a 'bald party' before his procedure where guests wore bald caps and read about body anxiety.
- The ritual helped him relieve shame and made the eventual procedure feel less momentous.
Commercial Marketing Rebranded Baldness
- Negative branding of baldness grew significantly in the 20th century alongside commercial anti-baldness products.
- Pharmaceutical marketing shaped perceptions and increased distress among balding men.
