Beards – they’re not just for hipsters and members of ZZ Top anymore. An increasing number of men are sporting facial hair. But not every guy who wants to grow a beard can do so. As with hair growth on the scalp, genetics can put a roadblock between you and your ability to grow hair on your face.
Fortunately, the same technology and techniques that have restored full, natural, and healthy looking hair to hundreds of thousands of men can help guys grow beards as well. Like hair transplants, beard transplants facilitate the growth of facial hair in men who can’t grow a full beard on their own.
Where Does the Hair Used in a Beard Transplants Come From?
Beard transplants involve a procedure very similar to the primary technique we use to restore hair on the scalp – Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE). Perhaps the world’s most widely used hair transplant method and one pioneered by our very own Dr. Paul Rose, FUE is a minimally invasive way to remove and transplant individual hair follicles for natural-looking results.
Using FUE, your hair transplant surgeon will extract donor hair from the back and sides of your scalp with a circular needle called a “punch.” The “extraction” part of FUE involves removing follicular units from the donor area in a scattered pattern to eliminate the linear scar associated with traditional donor strip harvesting.
To achieve the appearance of a full beard, a significant number of hair grafts need to be extracted from the donor area – roughly between 2,500-3,000 individual grafts. If you are only looking to fill in some patchy spots or grow a goatee, you won’t need as many grafts as you would for an entire beard.
How Are Donor Hairs Transplanted in a Beard Transplant?
Once your surgeon extracts the donor hair, he will make small incisions throughout your beard area. These incisions will determine the density, direction, and angle of your beard growth. The precision and quality of the incisions play a significant role in the quality and appearance of your beard, so your surgeon’s skills and attention to detail are of the utmost importance.
How Long Does a Beard Transplant Take and How Long Will It Last?
Once your surgeon transplants your hair follicles, a procedure which should take less than a day, you will leave your surgeon’s office with a beard. But prepare yourself for the likelihood that the transplanted hairs will likely fall out within two to three weeks after your transplant surgery. This is no cause for alarm or a panicked call to your surgeon. The loss of these hairs is perfectly normal and expected. Within a couple of months, however, those hairs will grow back permanently and you will have the full beard you wanted.
Once grown in, you can treat those permanent whiskers as if they were your own naturally grown ones, because they were. You can shave, trim, and clean your beard as if it had been there for years.
Are You a Good Beard Transplant Candidate?
As with any hair transplant surgery, beard transplants require a sufficient number of donor hairs, so patients who are thinking about a beard transplant need to consult with their surgeon to determine whether they have enough transplant-ready hairs and are a good candidate for the procedure.
Call the Hair Transplant Institute of Miami For a Beard Transplant Consultation
To learn more about beard transplants at the Hair Transplant Institute of Miami or to receive a personalized evaluation and treatment plan, contact us online or call our office directly at 305-925-0222.