10 things you need to know about a beard transplant

An increasing number of men are today embracing facial hair and beards as it is a global craze and sign of masculinity and not a clean-shaven look. As it takes some time to grow a beard and it can be a challenge for some to even grow stubble, this transplant can be the solution if you are keen on sprouting more facial hair. However before you head to your hair restoration surgeon, here are some important things you need to know.

1. Similar to a hair transplant

A beard transplant is a process and the technique is rather similar to a scalp hair transplant which involves extracting donor hair on the back or sides of the hair. Your surgeon chooses the hair which closely matches your facial hair and then carefully transplants it to the recipient site. The only difference between the two is that smaller incisions are used while transplanting a beard than a scalp transplant. In cases of those with a balding head, your surgeon may extract donor hair from body hair, typically chest hair.

2. Takes time

This transplant procedure takes about 2-5 hours to complete, depending on the area covered and the beard density you are looking for.

3. Hair growth is like facial hair

If you worry if the new transplant facial hair will grow like the hair on your head, don’t. Your facial hair will grow like any facial hair with similar texture and characteristics as your surgeon will ensure the extracted hair closely matches your facial hair.

4. Not only beards

Facial transplants do not mean only the transplanting of beards. You can use it to get a mustache, goatee, or sideburns or just to fill in sparse facial hair and patchiness. If the transplant is to fill out patches, your surgeon will carefully place all donor hair at the right angle and thickness.

5. Practically no pain

Like any scalp hair transplant, the procedure is practically painless. Most of the time, it is conducted using the FUE hair transplant technique where the surgeon cherry-picks the required follicles for the procedure. There is thus no need of making large donor site incisions like in the traditional FUT technique.

6. Fewer hairs means fewer future hair losses

You will have to sacrifice some of your scalp hair to get a beard transplant. You however need not worry about this as it means you have less donor hair to worry about future hair loss with scalp hair treatment.

7. Varied reasons for a beard transplant

Most of the time, a beard transplant is conducted mainly for aesthetic reasons. However, there are cases where it is conducted because of lack of facial hair growth due to injury or surgical scars.

8. Shaving?

It is better to not shave the transplanted hair for the first 10 days after the surgery. This is when the transplanted hair looks more like stubble. You should be aware that there will be hair fall after a fortnight of your date of the procedure.

Do not worry about this as it is the shock phase that paves way for new hair growth to come on the 3rd or 4th month after the surgery. After that, you can decide if you want a scruffy look or if you want to shave whenever you want as the new hair will start growing back.

9. Permanent solution

A very important feature and benefit of any type of hair transplant are that it gives permanent results. You thus need not worry about losing your new facial hair after your transplant.

10. No joking

You may think that a beard transplant is not a big procedure to worry about. Of course, there is nothing to worry about, but it is still a surgical procedure. Though it is very rare, there still is a risk of risks and complications like infection and scars occurring on the face. This usually happens because of poor aftercare or because you had your transplant performed by an inexperienced hair restoration surgeon. This is why you need to do your research and have your transplant performed by an experienced surgeon with many successful transplant cases. Not only do they successively transplant your hair, they can also teach you the right aftercare so there are no risks.