Comparing Istanbul Hair Transplant Clinics; Nishane Flagship Visit; Barnes Fragrance Fair in London

Happy Sunday, Blue Princes, and happy mother’s day to the mamas. Happy last week of work to my world-class mom in particular; she’s spent four decades bringing babies into the world, and by this time next week, she’ll be (as the Brits say) a pensioner. Proud of you, mom! ❤️ Can’t wait to host you here later this year.

We’re freshly returned from Istanbul, where we were documenting a hair transplant of my lifelong friend for Blue Print’s YouTube channel. (26K+ subs btw!) (Also happy birthday to that friend; I too had my transplant days before my birthday… it’s the best gift to yourself!)

Let’s get into the bits and bobs of the week. And as I’ll repeat later in this letter: If you’re in London next weekend, please stop by the Barnes Fragrance Fair on Saturday. I’ll be on a 2pm panel (Men Smell) but will be mixing and mingling all day. Hope to see you (and smell you) there!

On Hair Transplants in Istanbul: How Clinic Size Impacts Your Experience

When it comes to choosing a hair transplant clinic abroad, obviously you have to weigh things like their cost, hospitality, communication, and of course their posted before/after photos (make sure you see a candidate whose case looks like yours). But another thing to weigh is the size of the clinic itself, and how that impacts your choice.

I noticed a couple major differences about the clinic we went to for my friend’s transplant (Cosmedica) and the one that André and I went to for ours (Serkan Aygin). And everything had to do with the clinic size. This time, the clinic was much much smaller.

Istanbul has a reputation as being a “hair mill”, and one argument that your local surgeons hurl against cosmetic tourism is that you might “feel like a number” or that you’re just on a conveyor belt in an assembly line.

That’s kind of what it felt like at the larger clinic—the one André and I went to (in 2023 and 2020 respectively). But with that, it also felt easier for me (as Andre’s +1) to linger in the facility while he was getting operated on. It felt buzzy, like a startup, with tons of young people in their marketing, PR, finance, and intake departments hustling around, as well as all of the actual technicians themselves. But at the same time, it meant less attention from the doctor himself. We got face time when it came to drawing on the hairline, a quick drive-by mid operation, plus the followup assessment, but little actual conversation with him. (His role is supervisory except for the clients who pay premium for his hand.) That clinic had a fleet of vans for airport and hotel shuttles. When I went alone for my hair transplant, I even had an entire van to myself every leg of the way.

At the smaller clinic (where we went this time), things move a little more slowly, but not for bad reason. Most notably, the doctor did all of the incisions himself; his team managed the extractions and implantations, but he deployed a small-sapphire-tipped pen to open the new channels where the follicles would relocate. (That yields more precision; our large clinic administered a Choi pen that cuts + implants in one quick motion, thus saving time.) At this clinic, the days felt longer from the sideline, because there were only ever 1-2 people working on my friend’s head at a time, whereas with mine and André’s, there were as many as 6 working on us at once. Logistically, the small clinic can only move a few actual transplant patients through there in a day, but each of those people gets more quality face time with the doctor himself—outside of the treatment, I mean. He felt way more accessible and part of the patient process. Then again, the clinic felt less “+1” ready; they had a small cafe and plenty of waiting area as well as wifi; we were well tended to with lunch in both spots, but I noticed that most +1s left the small clinic for the day (or just stayed back at the hotel in the first place), and often times the patients share van transport—which can form a nice camaraderie, I’ll admit.

Also, in terms of being a +1 to someone else’s procedure: Both clinics offered all kinds of other cosmetic procedures. The large one had what felt like an entire hospital connected to it, while the small one felt much more like a regular clinic in any big city. During André’s procedure, I moseyed into the large facility next door and just “ordered” some mole removals on the spot. They also did a blood test and got me some isotretinoin for acne. At the small clinic (the one from this visit), there was definitely the option for ad-hoc botox and similar quick treatments like mole removals, but it felt very much “book it in advance”. Both offer things like rhinoplasties and the likes too, but if you are thinking of accompanying someone on a visit and want to know how to kill time, maybe it’s a great chance to re-up on botox or something. (It’s like ~$200 per zone. More $ than you might think; the Turkish Lira is hurting yes, but inflation has also hit.)

In summary: I don’t mean to suggest one clinic is better than the other. I think my friend is going to have equally awesome results as André and me. Just know that you have options for the experience you prefer. The price shouldn’t fluctuate too much, especially not compared to what it would cost you stateside. (Most stateside experiences would likely mimic the small-clinic option we had this past weekend, with closer attention from the doctor themself. I would love to shadow / document a stateside procedure next—interested parties, take note.)

Nishane Istanbul Flagship Visit

One highlight of the Istanbul visit was the two hours spent at Nishane’s flagship store; this is Turkey’s premiere niche label, and I’ve had a handful of their scents for a while (including the samples of the entire assortment through 2023). But as is always the case, the in-person visit and an explanation of each collection really helped form some closer connections to the label.

In this case, it was my first introduction to their “X Collection”, which reimagines all of their 6 best sellers in lighter, more “everyday wear” expressions, since Nishane is notorious for its long-lasting, heavy-projection scents.

Here’s the short-form summary of the visit; I intend to do a more proper YouTube spotlight in the near future. The comments on this TikTok video suggest that the label has some serious loyalists who can’t seem to agree on a favorite from the assortment… everyone has an affinity for something else, which in my book is a true mark of success.

@blueprintgrooming

Want to discover the best Nishane scents? Take a tour through their collections at Nishane’s Istanbul flagship boutique in the Nişantaşi n... See more

We took home Hacivat X and Papilefiko after this visit (the latter from master perfumer Dominique Ropion). Here’s our growing family—Ani is my other favorite, from the masterful Cécile Zarokian.

New Products of Note: Olaplex, Wahl, Korres, and More

There are two major launches this upcoming week that I am excited to cover (so I’ll share both of those next Sunday), but in the meantime, here are some new SKUs that arrived at Chez Moi.

These include: Two Wahl head-to-toe groomers; Olaplex’s fine-haired formulations of their classic shampoo/conditioner; three radiance boosters from Manuela Picard, a men’s assortment from Korres; longevity supplements from Niance; and, of course… Drake’s Summer Mink EDP.

Of the Olaplex shampoo + conditioner specifically: I know the brand is on hard times following but I still love this brand; their classic bond maintenance conditioner was too dense for André’s hair, so he’s getting cozy with this lighter option.

And speaking of Korres: I have a new favorite lip balm… their Yoghurt SPF 20 balm which may be an EU exclusive given it has SPF. So, add that to your must-buys next time you’re in the EU (their Athens store is a terrific pitstop too, btw—especially to huff the scent lineup from their brother label, Naxos Apothecary. I recommend the fresh-patchoulied Chora EDP, which despite its cassis bud top notes, does not smell like cat pee… I DIGRESS.)

FWIW, you can get other Korres yoghurt lip balms stateside—non SPF ones—I rec the mint!

See You in London: Barnes Fragrance Fair May 17

Alright, once more: the Barnes Fragrance Fair is this Saturday in London. Stanley Tucci lives in Barnes, so at the very least, maybe you get to see The Tooch buying produce as you walk from the Tube.

LMK if you’ll be there—I’d love to say cheerio!