TikTok star Matt Howard is opening up about his decision to receive a hair transplant overseas..
“I went to Turkey for a hair transplant,” Howard said in a video shared via social media on Saturday, September 14. “But I feel like I need to start from the beginning.”
In the clip, Howard explained that he tried to “rock a buzz cut” last year and realized that his hair was “thinning.”
“I was super embarrassed and started wearing hats to hide my insecurity,” he shared. “Male pattern baldness runs in my family so it was only a matter of time til I would go bald too. I started taking finasteride and minoxidil but I didn’t see the results I was hoping for.”
Howard noted that he began doing research, where he discovered that hair transplants in the United States can cost “upwards of $20,000.” At Estenove Clinic in Turkey, however, “you’re looking at around $3,500 — which includes all transportation and a three to four night stay at a five star hotel.”
At the clinic, Howard explained that a new hairline was drawn on his head and he “started to get a bit nervous right before local anaesthesia because I was going to be awake for six hours while they implanted 2,800 grafts.”
Matt noted that he would share his final results with his followers later, while wife Abby Howard wrote in the comments section, “I would love you bald or hairy🫶🏼.”
Matt and Abby, who have amassed more than 5 million followers on TikTok, rose to online stardom by documenting their daily lives for social media. The content creators share sons Griffin, 3, and August, 2, and revealed in August that they are expecting their third child.
As the pair balances parenthood and being influencers, Matt and Abby shared that they recently made the decision to stop showing their children’s faces online.
“Initially, we did have our firstborn’s face online because we were like, ‘We’re going to continue doing everything we’ve been doing. We’ve been vlogging our life, we have a kid now [and] we’re still vlogging our life,’” Matt said on a July episode of the “Two Parents & A” podcast. “Then, we were thinking, ‘OK, there’s digital footprints here,’ and all these things that we’re still learning.”
Abby noted that the decision stemmed from an “abundance of protection,” while Matt added, “It’s crazy because we are truly in the wild west. Someone’s going to [f***] up there. There already have been parents [who] have effed up online, and, like, hurt their kids. So, we’re learning, like, ‘Don’t do that, Good.’ We don’t want to be one of those people that accidentally [post our children]. We want the best for our kids.”