Hair Loss Studies

Top 20 Hair Loss Studies of 2023

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Two very interesting new hair loss related videos on YouTube this week yet again.

Top 20 Hair Loss Research Studies of 2023

Just like in 2021 and 2022, Dr. Jeff Donovan (Canada) has again come out with a list of his top 20 hair loss research studies of 2023. This doctor always has very interesting insights in his videos.

It is too bad that he devotes 6 of the 20 to alopecia areata (AA), a condition which afflicts just 2-3% of all hair loss sufferers. In contrast, androgenetic alopecia (AGA) accounts for 90-95% of all types of hair loss.

Of course I am not downplaying the much worse suffering of AA patients. Their patchy to total scalp hair loss and sometimes total body hair loss (including eyebrows) really stands out. However, luckily for many of them, new FDA-approved JAK inhibitors have really worked well and are almost a cure. Albeit with the potential for very serious side effects.

Dr. Donovan is also impressed with other 2023 published studies related to:

  • The need for scalp biopsies in black women with hair loss.
  • COVID-19 and telogen effluvium, and COVID-19 vaccination related hair loss.
  • Tinea capitis fungal infection of the hair.
  • Nonscarring alopecia.
  • Folliculitis decalvans.
  • Lichen planopilaris.
  • Scarring alopecia.
  • Centrifugal cicatricial alopecia.
  • Acne keloidalis nuchae.
  • Dissecting cellulitis of the scalp.
  • Discoid lupus.

This leaves only 2 out of his top 20 studies of 2023 relevant to AGA. Very disappointing. One of these is two is about female pattern hair loss monotherapy with 5-alpha reductase inhibitors and minoxidil. The other from Spain examines the safety of low-dose oral Minoxidil in patients with hypertension and arrhythmia. A concern that has prevented many people from trying out the popular hair loss treatment.

Advancements in Regenerative Medicine for Hair Restoration

Of more relevance to us androgenetic alopecia sufferers is Dr. John Cole’s great new video on advancements in regenerative medicine for hair restoration. A summary with slides can be read on T-Lab’s website.

Dr. Cole has given valuable feedback to me many different times over the past decade. In areas that include platelet-rich plasma (PRP), exosomes, adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs), stromal vascular fraction (SVF) and more.

In this video, he breaks out the key autologous, allogeneic and xenogeneic cell therapies for hair loss. This includes PRP, platelet lysate, platelet rich fibrin, SVF, mesenchymal stem cells, amnotic membrane, wharton’s jelly, cord blood, exosomes and extracellular matrix.

Hair Transplant Turkey

Top 10 Hair Transplant Clinics in Turkey

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Turkey Hair Transplant
Turkey hair transplant patients in a Turkish Airlines flight.

Top 10 Hair Transplant Clinics in Turkey

I do not believe in any kind of lists that rank the top 10 hair transplant surgeons or clinics in a country. However, this has become a major and effective marketing tool for numerous clinics.

This week, I got two Google Alerts about new articles related to “the top 10 hair transplant clinics in Turkey” in 2024. Considering that Turkey’s hair transplant industry was valued at $2 billion in 2022, this is perhaps not so surprising.

However, most foreign patients who go to Turkey (or Türkiye) for a hair restoration procedure tend to come from nearby Europe or the Middle East. Asian customers have also grown in importance in recent years.

But both the two articles I saw this week were published in US newspapers:

  1. Wisconsin State Journal.
  2. Saint Louis Post Dispatch.

Considering the massive hair transplant costs differences between developed and developing countries, it is not surprising that people from rich countries often travel abroad to get their hair restored. However, Turkey is not a developing country. Yet the price of a hair transplant in Turkey is comparable to that in any poor country with much cheaper labor costs. A bit surprising.

In any event, the reason I wrote this post is because the two top 10 lists of Turkish hair transplant clinics got published on the same day (December 14, 2023). And the two URLs I posted above have the same marketing agency name (“brandavestudios”) encompassed.

However, the names of the top 10 clinics vary:

Wisconsin State Journal List (sponsored article, provided content by United Press):

  • Hermest Hair Clinic.
  • Nimclinic.
  • HLC Clinic.
  • Asmed Clinic.
  • AHD Clinic.
  • Pekiner Clinic.
  • Cosmedica Clinic.
  • Medical Hair Clinic.
  • Dr. Serkan Aygin Clinic.
  • Smile Hair Clinic.

Saint Louis Post Dispatch List (sponsored article, provided content by United Press):

  • Medart Hair Clinic.
  • Dr. Serkan Aygin Hair Clinic.
  • Smile Hair Clinic.
  • Sapphire Hair Clinic.
  • Buk Clinic.
  • Cosmedica.
  • HLC Clinic.
  • Dr. Ozlem Bicer.
  • Dr. Resul Yaman.
  • Vera Clinic.

So the surgeons or clinics that appear on both lists are as follows:

  1. HLC  Clinic.
  2. Cosmedica.
  3. Dr. Serkan Aygin Hair Clinic.
  4. Smile Hair Clinic.

A October 2023 sponsored article in the Hindustan Times on the top 10 hair transplant clinics in Turkey had 9 of the same 10 names as in the first list above.

Of course a clinic being on all of these lists does not indicate anything other than their being able to afford such sponsorship. The same goes for press releases that any of use can purchase too.

Do your Research

As I have mentioned in several past blog posts, please do thorough research before going to get a hair transplant in a foreign country. See my past gruesome warning about a hair transplant gone wrong.

Some of the surgeons and clinics in Turkey are truly world class. However, large numbers of patients go to unknown unproven back-alley type places in Istanbul or Ankara and get severely damaged.

Just a week ago, “The Irish Times” newspaper had a crazy article titled:

“Fighting baldness: ‘We’ve stopped repairing transplants from Turkey. They’re so badly mutilated“.

The below quote is from a well known local Irish hair transplant surgeon:

“The transplants coming back from Turkey are so bad now that I’ve actually stopped repairing them. They’re so badly mutilated.”

Some of the Turkish clinics have massive social media followings. For example, “Hair of Istanbul” has over 4 million followers on Instagram. Cosmedica and Smile Clinic both have over 1 million followers. Vera Clinic has 400,000 followers. Of course many businesses can easily purchase followers and artificially increase their relevance.

In contrast, Bosley Medical (US) only has 19,000 Instagram followers. This in spite of being the most well known hair restoration center in the US since its founding in 1974. They currently have 25 surgery centers across the US.