Elective surgery of the month

Guys, if you're suffering from facial follicle frustration, this one's for you!

Turkey's cosmetic surgeons have for years offered hair implants to those who are balding on top. Now hair transplants for the face are growing in popularity, cosmetic surgeons and tourism agencies say, with men from the Middle East, Europe and Asia coming to Istanbul seeking a virile addition for the upper lip.

The procedure uses a technique called follicle-hair extraction, in which doctors remove clusters of hair from the more hirsute areas of the body and implant them along the lip or cheeks to magnify a mustache or beef-up a beard.

Performed under local anesthetic, the surgery takes around five hours and can cost up to $5,000, cosmetic surgeons say. Tourism agencies have begun offering "transplant packages" combining facial-hair operations with a shopping vacation in Istanbul or beachside retreat on the Mediterranean coast.

. . .

The mustachioed and bearded stars of Turkish soap operas—wildly popular across the Middle East, North Africa and the Balkans—have helped repopularize facial hair as a symbol of virility and machismo. Surgeons say many patients request the full-bodied mustache worn by Turkish singer Ibrahim Tatlises, which has long set the standard for top-drawer whiskers. Another popular style is the stubble beard worn by Turkish TV show heartthrob and model Kivanç Tatlitug, surgeons say.

. . .

The grand mustaches of Turkish lore are these days a rarer sight in Turkey's gleaming office blocks and sprawling shopping malls. But many Turks still balk at the prospect of surgery to thicken one's whiskers.

"Personally, I'd be suspicious of a Turk who couldn't grow a mustache," said Cengiz Altug, a salesman from Istanbul who has worn a bushy mustache for 35 of his 56 years. "But if foreigners need to come anywhere for the operation, it should be here. The Turkish mustache is still the envy of the world."

There's more at the link.

I can see it already.  We've had mustache styles known as handlebars, and Fu Manchus, and toothbrushes, and many more.  Now we're going to have the Turkish Delight!





Peter