In the old days, if you wanted to treat your hair loss, the most prominent solution you had was getting a hair plug.
It was a solution that worked by basically removing or punching out a small circular piece of scalp tissue from the back of your head.
Although the term itself may seem outdated now, each hair that is harvested by modern solutions is, in a way, a hair plug. 💡
Let me explain the difference:
So, back when hair plugs were the current hair restoration method, plugs contained too many hair follicles because pieces of hair were taken in large groups by using big punches.
Naturally, the process would leave huge scars and cause unnatural results.
However, in modern techniques, we harvest hair follicles one by one.
In today’s article, I will explain hair plugs’ modern definition, their surgery, and their costs:
Table of Contents
Let’s start by understanding the surgery:
Understanding The Hair Plug Surgery
In its early years, hair plug surgeries as a hair restoration technique had some differences from their modern version today.
Basically, in a hair plug surgery, the surgeon would use a punch tool with a 4mm diameter to extract round-shaped tissue from the donor area containing more than a dozen hair follicles.
Then, these tissues would be inserted back into your scalp, in the bald sections, which are called a “recipient area.”
As the technique was in its early years, a complete hair plug surgery for an average androgenetic alopecia (AGA) patient would actually take four different sessions and 16 weeks to complete because, in one session, a maximum of 75 plugs were inserted.
👉 So, the extraction and implantation process was much more difficult. Additionally, graft storage by bio-enhancements was a rare commodity in clinics.
And yet, despite all these early setbacks, thousands of patients got hair plugs for the following couple of decades because it was the only technique available until the early 1990s.
Thankfully, the method has healthily involved a lot since then.
Nowadays, when we mention hair plug surgeries, we refer to modern hair transplantation surgeries that have evolved from the early hair plug surgeries.
The most prominent one, FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction), is a hair transplant technique where we individually extract healthy hair follicles from the donor area to implant them in the recipient area. In this method, harvesting and insertion are more precise during the surgery, which naturally lengthens the surgery time.
For its natural-looking results and near-perfect precision, FUE is the most commonly applied method in our clinic.
Combined biological enhancers, such as Liposomal ATP and hypothermosol, 90+% graft survival rate and FULL COVERAGE is possible in 1 or 2 sessions at UnitedCare.
By combining the best of all the advanced options for hair loss, we maintain a 99% success rate in our clinic, which you can be a part of right now:
Maximize the success rate of your hair plug surgery.
Restore your natural look with a Dermatosurgeon now:
In addition to FUE, other methods are possible for hair plug surgeries.
That is why it is important to note that you have to find the right surgeon who has enough experience to apply any of these techniques.
Ultimately, as the effectiveness of your hair plug surgeries can vary based on certain factors, you have to pay attention to them when considering the prices as well:
Factors Influencing the Cost of Hair Plug Surgery
The cost of hair plug surgeries can vary a lot, especially with so many fake clinics and hair mills being around.
👉 However, that does not always mean the most expensive clinic will be the right one.
Ideally, you should search for clinics that show reliable factors while maintaining affordable prices. That is why, at UnitedCare, we follow the principle of creating a balance between quality and pricing.
So, here are the 4 factors you can check to see which factors are affecting your chosen clinic:
1️⃣ Location
Like any other surgical method, the location of your clinic heavily influences the cost of your hair plug surgery.
That is because the cost of running a clinic differs based on which country, city, or even part of the city it is in, with changes in wages, facility costs, equipment, and supply costs.
💡 For example, clinics located in highly populated cities or center parts of the cities tend to charge higher due to the increased surgical and living prices of the area.
Also, the exchange rate and the valuation between the local currency of your clinic and the top currencies, such as the US Dollar, directly play a role in the prices. So, it might make sense for a patient to undergo surgery in another country if the local prices are way too high.
2️⃣ Technique
There are multiple techniques you can choose from for your surgery, with each affecting the price differently.
The two most prominent ones are Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) and Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT).
💠 FUE requires more effort, precision, and time to go through and produces better results than FUT. Therefore, undergoing FUE surgery is more expensive than FUT surgery.
However, although FUT is less expensive than FUE, it leaves a huge scar on your scalp, which is why most modern clinics use FUE.
On average, an FUE surgery costs 25% more than a FUT surgery.
Additionally, there is also Direct Hair Implantation (DHI), a modified version of FUE that yields better results:
💠 The main difference between DHI and regular FUE is that the channel opening and implantation are simultaneous with DHI implanter pens.
DHI is more expensive than FUE because;
*️⃣ DHI is executed with a bigger operating team,
*️⃣ DHI requires more expertise,
*️⃣ Advanced DHI Pens are expensive,
*️⃣ and only the surgeon can implant grafts (but in FUE, after the surgeon opens channels with proper angles and depths, 2 technicians insert grafts into these openings).
At UnitedCare, DHI is 600€ more expensive than Sapphire FUE. Alternatively, combination surgery (DHI and FUE together) is only 300€ more expensive than Sapphire FUE.
On average, DHI at UnitedCare varies between 2600€ – 4000€ depending on the all-inclusive package customizations.
Ultimately, the choice of technique depends on how much your scalp’s condition and your surgeon’s recommendation, which is why getting a consultation is crucial.
3️⃣ Bio-enhancements
Let me first clear one common misconception about hair plug surgeries: The surgery and the surgery technique alone do NOT guarantee safety or success.
To maximize your surgery’s success rate, you will need two supportive steps:
✅ Applying bio-enhancements,
✅ and preserving the extracted follicles in the right conditions until implantation.
➡️ Starting with the first, bio-enhancements provide grafts the best medium for survival, recovery, and growth.
When they are used in an ideal surgery, we label it as bio-enhanced hair restoration, which naturally increases the cost of surgery as well as its effectiveness.
Achieving a 90+% graft survival rate is possible with biological enhancers, such as Liposomal ATPv and hypothermosol. However, without them, around 10% of grafts may die even after a flawless surgery.
➡️ Secondly, storing the biologically enhanced grafts in the right conditions is crucial in keeping them alive until implantation.
These right conditions are called “organ preservation solutions” and are used between the steps of the surgery process.
During surgery, live hairs are taken out of the body and left without glucose and oxygen. At this time, they are exposed to external pressure, forcing cells to use energy to remain intact.
Even if they are implanted very soon, they are not connected to blood vessels for days. So they are susceptible.
⚠️ Furthermore, most clinics make graft storage mistakes: They use extracellular storage solutions such as saline or ringer’s lactate and lower the temperature to 4°C, which puts a lot of pressure on live cells.
So, the method of how your hair is stored can affect the surgery’s success and cost as well.
At UnitedCare, we use intracellular solutions, helping cells stay alive for days outside the body. They increase graft survival rates significantly.
The mix we use to store grafts is the perfect combination of custodial, PRP, and some other solutions.
We also classify your grafts to achieve the most natural result possible:
🟢 Single hairs are used to draw the frontal hairline.
🟢 Doubles and triples are implanted further back.
4️⃣ Surgeon
Regardless of the prominent techniques and supportive bio-enhancements present in the clinic, ultimately, your hair’s fate lies in the hands of your chosen surgeon.
So naturally, while you are choosing a surgeon you can trust, you should also notice that the surgeon will be the final factor in affecting the prices.
FDA-approved skills and years of experience are not easy for any surgeon to achieve. Thus, they will have every right to set higher costs in accordance with their achievements.
👉 Choosing a qualified doctor, and even better, one that is a dermatologist, is vital for securing your hair’s health. Although they may be more costly, remember that fixing a failed surgery from an inexperienced surgeon will instead cost you more with the second surgery.
Finally, when we put all these factors into display, we can get a picture of the average prices:
Average Worldwide Costs of Hair Plug Surgeries in 2024
In our list, we’ve specifically chosen the 7 countries that have the most searched for hair plug and restoration surgeries worldwide, ranking them from the lowest price to the highest.
However, you can get a broader range of prices from the picture above, along with our calculations that include the yearly inflation rates and exchange rates in accordance with the US dollar since the statistics of 2021:
Let’s look at each country in a bit more depth to explore per-graft prices and the top clinics of every country.
Starting with the most affordable:
(the prices are based on the FUE technique)
Turkey Hair Plug Cost (Avg: $2056)
For a hair plug surgery in Turkey, the average price per graft is $1.03, while the average price for a 2000 graft FUE hair plug is $2056.
By increasing the number of grafts or exchanging the currency, we can see how much cheaper the prices in Turkey are in more depth:
| 2000 Grafts | 3000 Grafts | 4000 Grafts | 4500 Grafts | 5000 Grafts | |
| Dollar $ | 2,056$ | 3,084$ | 4,113$ | 4,627$ | 5,141$ |
| Euro € | 1,923€ | 2,885€ | 3,847€ | 4,328€ | 4,809€ |
| Sterlin £ | 1,673£ | 2,509£ | 3,346£ | 3,765£ | 4,183£ |
| Indian Rupees ₹ | 171,259₹ | 256,888₹ | 342,603₹ | 385,418₹ | 428,232₹ |
So, the average 4500 graft FUE hair plug surgery cost in Turkey is 4627$.
The top clinics for hair restoration in Turkey are UnitedCare Clinic, Asmed, and Dr. Serkan Aygin’s Clinic.
By having such highly-renowned clinics at the most affordable prices worldwide, Turkey also clears out the concern of creating a balance between cost and quality.
That way, you can comfortably choose FUE without even considering less effective choices such as FUT due to concerns over prices.
Why so cheap?
Turkey offers the lowest prices out of all the countries on this list, so the question is:
Are the prices this low because of poor-quality hair plugs?
On the contrary, Turkey is home to top hair clinics globally and world-renowned and award-winning surgeons due to its rich background in hair plugs and health tourism.
The two main reasons for the low prices are:
1️⃣ The global devaluation of the Turkish Lira and,
2️⃣ the competitive landscape in the country.
The best part is that these benefits are just one click away. You don’t have to go any further to restore your hair to its good-looking times:
Restore your natural look without breaking the bank:
Check out UnitedCare’s transparent hair plug pricing.
India Hair Plug Cost (Avg: $2781)
India has an average hair plug per graft cost of $1.89, and it costs around $2781 for a 2000-graft hair plug surgery.
The top clinics in India are Apollo Hospital Indraprastha and, BLK Super Speciality Hospital in Delhi, and Dr. VJs Cosmetic Surgery Clinic in Visakhapatnam.
Germany Hair Plug Cost (Avg: $6061)
According to the study, a 2000-graft hair plug surgery in Germany costs $6061 on average, while the average cost per graft is $3.03.
The top hair clinics in Germany are Meoclinic Hospital in Berlin and Praxis Dr. Moheb in Hamburg.
United Kingdom Hair Plug Cost (Avg: $6819)
In the United Kingdom, the average cost of a 2000 graft hair plug surgery is $6819, as the per-graft cost is $3.41.
And 3000 hair grafts cost $10,229 in the UK.
The top hair plug clinics in the UK are Harley Street Healthcare, The D’Souza Clinic, and the Kensington Hair Clinic.
Australia Hair Plug Costs (Avg: $10,512)
In Australia, the average per-graft cost for a hair plug is $5.26. The price of a 2000 graft surgery lands somewhere around $10512.
The top hair plug clinics in Australia are The Crown Clinic, Hair Restoration Syndey, and Gro Clinics.
USA Hair Plug Costs (Avg: $12,767)
The average cost of a 2000-graft hair plug surgery in the entire US is $12767, with an average per-graft cost of $6.39.
The average cost of a 4500-graft FUE hair plug surgery in the USA is 28726 dollars, which is significantly higher than the worldwide average cost for a FUE hair plug.
👉 In comparison to the country with the lowest cost worldwide, Turkey, the cost of an average of 2000 graft surgery in the US is almost 5 times more expensive.
⚠️ However, I should warn you that since the United States is a large country, the average price can vary according to the city or the state where the clinic is located.
Canada Hair Plug Costs (Avg: $14,777)
Canada has some of the highest hair plug prices in the world, with a per-graft cost of $7.39 and an average 2000 graft surgery price of $14,777.
The top Canadian hair restoration and plug clinics are HairForever, Toronto Hair Transplant Centre, and Nova Medical Hair Transplant Centre.
Hair plugs in Canada are among the most expensive in the world. Look at the comment of a UnitedCare patient who flew from Canada to Turkey to have an affordable and high-quality hair plug surgery:
“I would have paid about $35000 in Canada to receive a similar procedure.”
-David G. 🇨🇦 who came to Turkish UnitedCare Clinic for hair plugs.
Now that you have seen all the potential countries and costs, there is only one thing left to mention:
Which one should you choose?
In my experience, there is only one true answer: Whatever feels right for you.
All the countries we’ve listed in this article host experienced surgeons with impressive portfolios, so wherever you go, you’ll be in good hands. You can expect a full head of hair after the hair restoration procedure. ☘️
However, if balancing affordable costs with high-quality surgeries is your primary requirement, then there is a clear winner in the list:
Affordable Hair Plug Surgeries in Turkey
If you’re searching for affordable costs or reliable hair plug surgeries, Turkey will be among the first to pop up.
The only thing to pay attention to now is to make sure you find the right clinic for you in Turkey.
Don’t worry, though, because I know two things you can check in that regard to find one you can trust:
✅ Just make sure you meet your physician beforehand (preferably a dermatologist) and have them answer any questions you have,
✅ and look for a clinic that can restore your natural look by accepting only one patient in a day.
Simple, right? And even more is possible with UnitedCare:
👉 At UnitedCare, we accept only 1 patient a day regardless of the chosen method.
Our budget-friendly process begins with a free one-on-one consultation with our expert dermatosurgeons to determine your suitability.
💊 Our holistic approach provides advanced technologies and bio-enhancements to ensure you do not need another surgery.
We use intracellular solutions (a.k.a bioenhancements), helping cells stay alive for days outside the body. These solutions increase graft survival rates significantly. 💉
Most importantly, our care assistant/patient manager is in contact with our patients even before and after the surgery, ensuring that your surgery results become permanent. 🍀
Affordable costs, a holistic approach, and experienced dermatologists on-site are here to provide you with the right solution.
Want to learn if you are suitable for a hair plug surgery? Get a FREE consultation:
Find out how you can restore your hair’s health now:
Restore your natural look with a modern hair plug surgery.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the difference between traditional hair plugs and modern hair transplant techniques?
In the old days, traditional hair plug surgery was a solution that worked by basically removing or punching out a small circular piece of scalp tissue from the back of your head. Although the traditional term is outdated now, each hair that is harvested by modern solutions is, in a way, a hair plug. So, nowadays, when we mention hair plugs, we actually refer to modern hair transplant techniques. The difference is that in the traditional method, plugs contained too many hair follicles because pieces of hair were taken in large groups using big punches. Naturally, the process would leave huge scars and cause unnatural results. However, in modern techniques, we harvest hair follicles one by one, minimizing the scars significantly.
How long does it take to see the full results of hair plug surgery?
In the most modern methods, hair plug surgeries are performed along with biological enhancers, which can ensure a 90% graft survival rate in 1 or 2 sessions. The first results show up around 6 months post-surgery, and at 8 to 10 months, your hair’s length and thickness will be clearly visible. Finally, once you pass the 12-month barrier, you can be proud of your full results.
Are there any risks or side effects associated with hair plug surgery?
Modern hair plugs are a relatively safe surgery method, but like every other surgery, a slight chance for some side effects is possible. The list generally comprises having big scars after surgery, a low graft survival rate (due to wrong graft preservation solutions), or an unnatural look. However, you should note that almost all of these risks are directly tied to not choosing a proper clinic with reliable surgical team experience. To avoid them, pre-surgery research and a one-on-one consultation with the clinic’s leading doctor can be your guarantee.
References
“Total cost of a hair transplant in select countries worldwide in 2020 and 2021”, Statista, in Cooperation with Medihair, Source
For each country’s average pricing since 2021, individual yearly inflation rates and exchange rates in accordance with the US dollar have been updated to achieve the current prices by 2024.
