'My mum and I flew overseas to get plastic surgery together. Here's what it was really like.'

When Dalene Howley planned a trip to Türkiye with her son Garett, she left out a few crucial details when she told her 83-year-old mother.

Dalene, from Western Australia, told her mum they were travelling to Istanbul for Garett to get a hair transplant.

But Dalene was also undergoing the knife at the same time, getting an upper and lower eyelid lift, and a deep plane face, neck, and temporal lift.

"I was like, I cannot tell (my mum), because she'll just stress and end up in hospital," Dalene told Mamamia.

"She's 58 and still hiding things from her mum," joked Garett, 28.

While she did indeed try to convince them otherwise, worrying about earthquakes in the country, the mother and son were adamant. The trip had been a long time coming, after all.

Watch: Garett and his mum Dalene on getting cosmetic surgery in Türkiye. Post continues after video.

"I've been thinking about getting a hair transplant now for a few years," Garett told Mamamia.

"My dad went bald when he was 25, so I knew it was coming, but I was putting it off, mainly because I wasn't sure. And then mum was thinking about potentially getting her face done."

Dalene's decision to get a face lift came after noticing visible changes to her skin after menopause, and after working two jobs most of her life.

"I was like, 'You know what? I'm just looking very sad and tired all the time, and I wasn't liking what I was looking at'," she told us. 

So, at the start of this year, the duo started researching overseas clinics.

"It's pretty intense when you're looking, because surgery in Türkiye is obviously a really big thing," Garett said. "There are so many different clinics, and as soon as you inquire in one place, you've got 10 ads coming up on Facebook for the other places."

Garett, 28, got a hair transplant overseas. Image: Supplied

While Garett did most of the research, Dalene was happy to stay in the dark about the intricacies of her procedures.

"I didn't want to know about what they were actually going to be doing. I didn't want to know all the nitty-gritty stuff. I was just thinking about the end result for myself," she said.

Garett added: "[Mum] told me to make sure that everything was going to be okay for her. But I wasn't really nervous."

That was until two days before they flew out.

"I thought, 'I'm just gonna watch hair transplant procedures on YouTube. And I was like, 'Actually, I don't think I want to watch that anymore'."

Despite the spook, Garett and Dalene boarded the plane 48 hours later. They stopped over in Kuala Lumpur before eventually arriving in Istanbul.

Exhausted, the pair were picked up from the airport and taken straight to the medical centre for blood tests and x-rays.

They passed all the tests and, the next day, Dalene was taken in for her procedure.

"The surgeon came through, and he drew all over my face; I popped into my little blue gown," she recalled. "I was like, well, it's all happening."

Dalene before her face lift. Image: Supplied

There was one moment where Dalene considered backing out.

"I said to Garrett, when I was laying on the theatre table, I was like, 'Well, if it was going to be a time, this probably would be the moment when I could put my hand up and say, 'I think I changed my mind'.' But I didn't have any time to chicken out and, before I knew it, I must have been under [anaesthesia]."

She woke up groggy and confused.

"I just remember being fully bandaged up," she said. "I couldn't really see, because I had all the tape on, and then on top of the tape was the padding, and then on top of the padding was the bandages.

"I had Garrett on one side and the nurse on the other. Once they were happy that I had my balance back, I could walk around."

Despite the major surgery, Dalene described the aftermath as relatively pain-free.

"Probably more discomfort, as in, the bandages were quite heavy. And I had this tight skin," she described.

Dalene after her face lift. Image: Supplied

It was then Garett's turn for his hair transplant. Unlike his mum, the 28-year-old was awake for his procedure.

"For the first two hours, I was lying face down while they extracted from the back of my head, from the donor area," he said. "That was pretty fine. The only painful part was being numbed up at the back, but it was basically like the pain of a Botox needle, but there are 50 of them."

It took two hours, during which Garett said he almost fell asleep.

After a break for lunch, the 28-year-old returned to the operating table, this time on his back, for the medical team to work on the front of his head. But something was wrong.

"Again, they numbed me up for that. But halfway through, I think the numbing wore off. So I was like, can I feel this right now or not? And then I was like, actually, I think I can. 'Surgeon, I can feel this'. He's like, 'Oh', so they numb me up some more."

Garett during his hair transplant. Image: Supplied

From there, things went off without a hitch. Garett's hair transplant was done and the pair were discharged from the hospital, preparing to spend the next few days recovering in their hotel.

But the first night proved rougher than anticipated.

"I wasn't able to sleep on the side of my head, normally. The back of my head was sore. Everything was fresh. And I was just laying there, and I was in pain," Garett remembered.

"I think it was 3am; I was crying in bed, and I'm like, 'Mum's just had a facelift. She's on the phone for room service asking to bring ice. She's trying to look after me. And I'm just there in so much pain'. And I'm like, 'Mum's just going through something worse than me. But here I am complaining'."

Garett, who had posted about his and Dalene's surgeries on TikTok, spent the next few days sharing updates with his audience. The videos received a mixed reaction.

Garett and Dalene after their procedures. Image: Supplied

Some people questioned the necessity of the procedures, and said the results looked "scary". Garett, however, defended the decision.

"It kept me busy while sitting in the hotel, replying to hate comments," he said. "I reckon I am one more hate comment from being banned, because I was just fighting back."

Dalene added: "You're always going to have hate, it doesn't matter. Each to their own opinion."

"They can boost my engagement," Garett quipped.

Others were more curious rather than critical, wanting to know the cost of the procedures.

Garett broke it down. Dalene's procedure cost $6,500 Euros ( approx $12,000 AUD), and Garett's cost $1,500 Euros (approx $2,600 AUD). This included the direct private transfers, a two-night stay in hospital, and five nights in the hotel.

Dalene described the recovery as pretty "pain free". Image: Supplied

When it was time to travel back home, there was concern that Dalene would be unrecognisable due to her banadages, bruising, and swelling. But the clinic had prepared for this.

"They gave me a document with my name, my passport, saying I had had plastic surgery, and I just produced that at the customs. I went straight through."

The duo did, however, get stopped by border control. Though, not for the reason they expected.

"The guy just wanted to ask about the hair transplant because he was heading to Türkiye in two weeks to get one," explained Garett.

Now back in Perth, Australia, Garett has returned to work, and his hair is looking "really good".

Garett and Dalene are happy with the results. Image: Supplied

"I'm obsessed with myself at the moment, but it goes through stages," Garett said of his hair.

"So what will happen now is all the hair that they've implanted will fall out, and I'll go back to having my old hairline. Then, for the next three months, nothing will happen. Then, from three to six months, it'll all start to grow. So I probably won't see results for a year, but from what I can see already, I'm super happy."

Dalene, meanwhile, remains bruised under one eye and is expecting to be swollen for another few weeks.

"Her face will start to settle, so probably three to six months will be her final results," said Garett.

Still, the 58-year-old is already noticing improvements.

"My eyes are lovely and big again, whereas before the top skin was sagging and my eyes looked so tiny in photos, and I really had so many lines around my eyes, whereas now it's not there at all.

"I feel like I've got a new face on, to be honest with you, but it's just a younger version of myself."

The real question is, how did Dalene's mother react to the news?

Initially shocked, the 83-year-old has taken things surprisingly well ever since her daughter came home with a face lift.

"Every day she's like, 'it's looking much better! It's looking much better!'" said Dalene. "She's accepted it well, you know, she's a pretty groovy granny."

You can follow Garett and Dalene's recovery here.

Always speak to a licensed medical professional before undergoing any procedure.

Feature Image: Supplied