Hair transplant stay in Istanbul: the 3 days, step by step

How many days do you need in Istanbul for a hair transplant?

At Klineva, it is three days with two hotel nights. On the first day, you arrive and have the pre-operative consultation. On the second, you have your operation. On the third, the first wash is done at the clinic, the day after the operation, with a check-up before you head home.

All of the clinic’s packages include these two hotel nights and the next-day wash. They differ mainly in the implantation technique and in the level of comfort (hotel, sedation).

You can stay longer if you wish: additional nights are at your own expense, and the team will help you with the arrangements. But these three days are treatment days, not holidays. Talk to your adviser about your dates before booking your tickets, especially if you want to extend your stay.

Day 1: arriving in Istanbul, the transfer and the hotel

At the airport: a driver is waiting for you

You can arrive at Istanbul Airport (IST) or at Sabiha Gökçen (SAW): the clinic’s arrival sheet covers both. Once you are through the checks, the main instruction is to leave the airport at level 0. You then go to the meeting point indicated, give your name and state the name of the clinic. You are then directed to your driver, who takes you to the hotel.

The journey to the hotel

Allow some margin: traffic in Istanbul is heavy. According to the TomTom Traffic Index, it took an average of 22 minutes 54 seconds to cover 10 kilometres in 2025. At evening rush hour, it took 32 minutes 37 seconds. Good news: all journeys between the airport, the hotel and the clinic are arranged by the clinic, and the hotel is 4★ (5★ with the Premium package).

The pre-operative consultation

Day 1 also includes the pre-operative consultation, as stated on the clinic’s page on Sapphire FUE hair transplant. Take the opportunity to talk about your current treatments and your medical history. In the evening, reread the clinic’s pre-operative sheet: our guide Getting ready for a hair transplant covers it in detail, from the month before to surgery day. Then get some rest: day 2 is the longest of the three.

Day 2: what happens on the day of the hair transplant?

This is the central day, and the one that worries people most. Here is the sequence as described by the clinic’s pages and sheets. The timing of each step depends on your case: ask your adviser for your day 2 schedule. PRP (platelet-rich plasma), included in all packages, is also carried out that day.

1. In the morning. The clinic’s pre-operative sheet gives these instructions for the day of the operation. Have a good breakfast, without any ‘stimulants’. No coffee, tea, orange juice, fizzy drinks or energy drinks the day before and on the day of the operation. If you have chosen sedation, a light fast is requested before the operation: you may drink water. Your adviser will tell you the time of your last meal. Choose a shirt or jacket that opens at the front. No sport, no smoking. A driver takes you to the clinic.
2. Blood tests. Your blood is analysed before the procedure.
3. The operation plan. You and the team discuss the area to be treated, the number of grafts, the donor area and the look you want. The practitioner confirms the operation with you. Your new hairline, the front edge of your hair, is then drawn. The donor area is shaved (the area to be grafted too, depending on the technique), and then comes the anaesthesia.
4. The anaesthesia. A Dermojet pre-anaesthetic, a needle-free injection system, comes before the local anaesthetic. Sedation is included in the Premium package and available as an option in the others.
5. The extraction. The grafts are extracted one by one from the donor area, at the back of the head.
6. The implantation. With Sapphire FUE, fine channels are opened with sapphire tips, and the grafts are then placed in them one by one. With the DHI, an implanter pen, the Choi pen, inserts each graft directly.
7. The post-operative appointment. It includes a review and, according to the clinic’s home page, the handing over of your medication.
8. Back to the hotel. The procedure is done on an outpatient basis: you return to the hotel the same day, accompanied by the driver, with your care instructions, and you drink plenty of water.

How long does the operation take?

The clinic states an operating time of 4 to 8 hours, whatever the technique, slightly longer with Sapphire FUE. The American Academy of Dermatology gives the same range, four to eight hours, for a hair transplant. The duration varies from one patient to another, notably with the number of grafts to be placed. Ask your adviser how breaks and lunch are organised.

And what about pain?

The operation is carried out under local anaesthetic. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, most patients stay awake throughout the procedure, with an anaesthetic that simply numbs the scalp. You may still feel pressure or movement, Healthline points out. In the days that follow, the scalp may remain sensitive: the clinic provides painkillers if needed. Nobody can promise a complete absence of discomfort: if pain worries you, tell your adviser before you book.

The first night at the hotel after the transplant

On the evening of day 2, you return to the hotel with your instructions. You have a dressing on the donor area, sometimes a head bandage, normally removed at the first wash at the clinic. The night comes down to a few habits, all taken from the clinic’s instructions:

• Sleep on your back with your head raised, using the neck pillow provided by the clinic or, failing that, a rolled-up towel. For the first 7 days, the newly implanted area must not touch the bedding.
• Do not touch the grafted area and do not scratch it, even if it itches: the grafts are very fragile at first. Wash your hands thoroughly before doing anything near your head.
• Avoid bending forward with your head down, for the first 5 days.
• Drink plenty of water in the first few days: the sheet says 3 to 5 litres a day, to avoid swelling. Avoid overly salty foods for 3 to 5 days and favour a diet rich in natural proteins (fish, meat, vegetables).
• No alcohol while you are taking your medication (until about day 7 after surgery), and above all not with antibiotics. No smoking for at least 3 days.
• Avoid moisture and sweating for 1 month, apart from the prescribed washes: the first one is done at the clinic on day 3.

Mild discomfort, minimal bleeding or bruising is nothing abnormal, states the clinic’s ‘month by month’ page. If in doubt, do not stay alone with your question: write to the team, by WhatsApp or email. At the slightest concern, you can always contact your medical adviser. In an emergency, the emergency number in Turkey is 112, as shown on the clinic’s arrival sheet. Our guide The first days after a hair transplant, from day 1 to day 30 after surgery goes through what follows, day by day.

Day 3: the first wash, the check-up and the journey home

Day 3 is organised around the first wash, carried out at the clinic the day after the operation. Day 3 also includes, according to the clinic’s pages, post-transplant care, a check-up and an explanation of the post-operative instructions. The Post-transplant care page presents light therapy, a treatment offered by the clinic: ask your adviser whether it is planned for you. PRP, for its part, is done on the day of the operation, whatever the package. Then it is time to head home.

Ask for the time of this appointment before booking your return flight, and leave some margin for the journey to the airport. The flight, luggage and the journey home are covered in our guide Travelling after a hair transplant: flying, luggage, getting home.

After the first wash, you wash your hair yourself

From then on, you wash your hair yourself, following the washing instructions provided by the clinic. They provide for a foam spray on the grafted area, then a shampoo, with rinsing always done with cold or lukewarm water, never hot. The steps, the leave-on time and the frequency are detailed in our guide Washing your hair after a transplant. For the care that follows, we recommend the GrowthFactor double serum and shampoo set, whose product page says to start from day 18 after surgery. Until then, follow the clinic’s washing sheet.

Our selectionGrowthFactor serum and shampoo double setTwo boxes of four vials of serum and two GrowthFactor shampoos, which the product page recommends for use after a hair transplant, from day 18 after surgery. This shampoo is different from the one in the clinic’s washing kit (3 minutes leave-on time): follow the instructions for each product.See the product on growth-factor.fr

What the package includes, and what you pay for on top

At Klineva, our packages start under €3,000, and all packages include:

• the operation under local anaesthetic, with a Dermojet pre-anaesthetic;
• PRP, carried out on the day of the operation;
• 2 nights in a 4★ hotel, or 5★ with the Premium package;
• transfers between the airport, the hotel and the clinic;
• an interpreter by your side;
• a medical wash at the clinic the day after the operation;
• 18 months of follow-up after you return.

The Premium package adds a 5★ hotel, sedation and 9 months of GrowthFactor care, with the double serum and shampoo set and the biotin supplements.

What you need to arrange yourself

• Your plane ticket, to be booked once the date has been agreed with the clinic.
• Meals, drinks, tips and your purchases – the list of what the package includes does not mention them. Ask whether breakfast at the hotel is included.
• Additional nights, if you extend your stay.
• Your days off work for these three days of the stay and the return journey.

On the paperwork side, according to France Diplomatie (in French), French citizens do not need a visa for a tourist stay of up to 90 days in any 180-day period. Klineva asks for an ID card or a passport valid for at least 6 months after the date of entry into Turkey. Before booking, check the expiry date of your document. With another nationality, the entry rules may be different: check the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs visa information or contact the Turkish consulate. The article Preparing your trip to Istanbul from France covers the journey.

What can you do in Istanbul between appointments?

You are not stuck in your room, but a freshly grafted scalp does not cope well with direct sun, wind, rain and sweating. The clinic’s sheets ask you to protect it from bad weather and to avoid moisture. They also ask you to give up sport and any effort that makes you sweat, such as running or brisk walking, for 1 month. The same period applies to swimming pools, the sea, the sauna and the hammam. The programme follows from that.

For a quiet walk, the GoTürkiye travel guide presents about a dozen parks and gardens in Istanbul, some of which are described as less crowded than others. If your adviser allows it, choose one near the hotel and only go at the end of the day, in the shade. With Istanbul’s traffic, a distant park quickly becomes a long expedition.

Stick to sensible travel habits: UK government travel advice recommends extra vigilance in tourist areas, notably in Istanbul, where street robbery and pickpocketing are common, and asks you to keep your personal belongings secure. And if the city appeals to you, give it a trip of its own once the restrictions have been lifted.

Communicating on site: the interpreter and WhatsApp

You do not need to speak Turkish. The clinic provides an interpreter so that you can talk to the team without difficulty. The whole process runs from the first exchange of photos to the 18-month follow-up.

Before you leave, you talk to an adviser by WhatsApp or email. Once there, keep the team’s contact details and the clinic’s arrival sheet with you. This sheet also lists the local emergency numbers: 112 for emergencies and 155 for the police.

Before you book: the questions to ask your adviser

This guide gives the order of the steps, not the time of each one, because that depends on your case. Before booking your tickets, put these questions in writing and keep the answers:

• What is the exact schedule for my three days: recommended arrival time, reporting time on day 2, appointment time on day 3?
• How long is the operation expected to take for my number of grafts, and how are breaks, lunch and drinks organised?
• Is sedation included in my package? If not, on what terms?
• Which medication and care products will I be given, are they included in the package, and what post-transplant care is planned for day 3?
• Is breakfast at the hotel included, and where is the hotel in relation to the clinic?
• Who can I contact, and how, if I have a question at night at the hotel?
• Can I extend my stay or come with a relative, and on what terms?
• At what time can I plan my return flight on day 3?

Don’t have figures for your case yet? Send your photos for a free diagnosis, by WhatsApp or by email: an adviser will get back to you within 24 hours, and you can put these questions to them.

In brief

• Duration. Three days and two hotel nights: arrival and consultation, operation, first wash, then home.
• Day 2. Blood tests, operation plan, shaving of the donor area, local anaesthetic, extraction and implantation: 4 to 8 hours of operating time stated, back at the hotel the same day.
• First night. On your back, head raised, without touching the grafted area, drinking plenty of water.
• Day 3. First wash at the clinic, post-transplant care, check-up and reminder of the instructions, then home.
• On site. A driver for your journeys and an interpreter by your side. Only short, quiet walks are possible, with your adviser’s agreement, without sweating, and sheltered from sun, wind and rain.
• At your expense. Your plane ticket, additional nights and your spending on site; ask what your package includes for meals.