Beards aren’t just for hipsters and baseball pitchers anymore. Even before pandemic quarantines made millions of men ditch their razors, guys were growing out their beards in increasing numbers. But not every man who wants a beard can grow one. Just as with hair growth on the scalp, your ability can grow hair on your face can be hobbled by your genes. Sometimes, peach fuzz is all you’re going to get.
Fortunately, the same techniques and technology that have allowed men to restore full, natural heads of hair can help them grow beards as well.
How Beard Transplants Work
In a beard transplant, surgeons use a procedure very similar to the primary technique they use to restore hair on the scalp – Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE). Pioneered by the Miami Hair Institute’s own Dr. Paul Rose, FUE is a minimally invasive method of removing and transplanting individual hair follicles for natural-looking results.
In a beard transplant using FUE, the surgeon will use a circular needle called a “punch to extract donor hair from the back and sides of your scalp. One of the many benefits of FUE is that it involves removing follicular units from the donor area in a scattered pattern. This eliminates the visible linear scar often associated with traditional donor strip harvesting.
A significant number of grafts need to be extracted from the donor area to achieve the appearance of a full beard – roughly between 2,500-3,000 individual hair grafts. If you only want to fill in some patchy spots, 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 hair from your donor area, they will make small incisions throughout your beard area. The quality and precision of these incisions will determine the density, direction, and angle of your beard growth.
How Long Will A Beard Transplant Last?
Once your surgeon transplants your follicles, a procedure that should take less than a day, you will walk out of your surgeon’s office with a beard. But prepare yourself for the probability that the transplanted hairs will likely fall out within two to three weeks after your transplant surgery. This is no cause for a panicked call to your surgeon. Losing these hairs is perfectly normal and expected. Those hairs will grow back permanently within a couple of months and you will have the full beard you’ve been looking for.
Once the permanent whiskers grow in, you can treat them as if they were your own naturally grown ones – because they are. You can shave, clean, and trim your beard as if you’ve had it for years.
Are You a Good Candidate For a Beard Transplant?
As with any hair transplant surgery, beard transplants require a sufficient supply of donor hairs. If you are considering a beard transplant, you should consult with an experienced hair transplant surgeon to determine whether you have enough transplant-ready hairs and are a good candidate for the procedure.
Call the Miami Hair Institute For a Beard Transplant Consultation
To learn more about beard transplants at the Miami Hair Institute or to receive a personalized evaluation and treatment plan, contact us online or call our office directly at 305-925-0222.