Facial Hair Transplants
Facial Hair Transplants (beard or moustache) – in this case of a beard restoration specifically – saw a significant increase around the world over the past year. Beard transplants, just as goatee, moustache, sideburn or eyebrow transplants, are specialist procedures, with outcomes highly dependant on the surgeon’s skills.
Facial hair growth, or lack thereof, and patchiness may be a result of either scarring or genetics. A recent study found that as many as 45% of men have been unhappy with the patchiness throughout their beard and sideburns.
For many cultures, facial hair is a sign of prestige and masculinity.
Men are now seeking versatility in their facial hair. The ability to grow a full and dense beard to desiring designer stubble or a statement moustache allows them to change their look and presence whenever they like.
How does the FUE Beard Transplant procedure works?
The Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) procedure, as used for hair transplants, is also utilised in Beard, Moustache, Goatee and Sideburn Hair Transplants. This method is a minimally invasive procedure used to restore hair density on different areas of the face. The procedure can take between three and nine hours – depending on the area treated and amount of hair required. For example, a goatee may require up to 1,500 hairs, while a full beard may need up to 4,000 hairs.
During the procedure the Surgeon locates the ‘stable zone area’ at the side or back of the head. This is used as the donor area for the beard, moustache or sideburns. Finer hair is typically needed for a Beard Transplant where the donor area is located at the sides of the head. If the patient is balding or is completely bald it is also possible to use body hair such as the chest area for the donor area.
An FUE Beard Transplant is a walk-in walk-out procedure and only local anaesthetic is used to ensure minimal downtime. Once the donor area is located each hair follicle is taken out one at a time using ‘punches’ to cut in and around the follicle. The size of the tools will depend on the size of the follicles required – the finer the hair the smaller the ‘punch’. This part of the process is completed very discretely and will be unnoticeable.
Once this is completed local anaesthetic is administered to the areas of the face for the hair transplant. Careful and skilful attention is used to ensure the extracted hairs are then implanted, one follicle at a time, at the right angle to give highest density and most natural looking results.
