Facial Hair Transplant

Facial hair transplant is an excellent option for men who want a more full and robust mustache, goatee, or beard.  The transplant takes hair from the back of your head and transplants it into areas where the hair is sparse.  Once transplanted, your hair will grow just like the rest of your facial hair and can be trimmed, shaved, and styled just like the rest of your facial hair.

About

Facial hair transplantation is performed using either the FUE or FUT harvesting method from the back of your head where your hair is naturally resistant to DHT, the hormone that causes male pattern baldness.  This area is known as the donor area, and when hair is harvested from the donor area it maintains the property of being resistant to DHT.  This means that the transplanted hair is permanent, and will continue to grow for the rest of your life.

Benefits

Many men feel self conscious if they have less facial hair than average or if their facial hair distribution is patchy.  Facial hair transplantation can fill in these gaps and increase density in areas where the hair is thin, providing a much fuller appearing beard, making men feel more confident and more attractive.

Candidates

Most men are candidates for beard transplantation.  The two primary limitations would be inadequate density in the donor area to allow for a harvest or skin problems on the face that would lead to difficulty performing or adequately healing from the transplant.  These limitations are rare.  Nearly all men are candidates for facial hair transplantation.

Personal Consultation

If you are thinking about a facial hair transplant, contact Premier Hair Restoration for a complimentary consultation with Dr. O’Dea.  He will discuss your goals for facial hair transplantation as well as evaluating your donor area and discussing your family and personal history of hair loss in order to make the most appropriate plan for use of the available donor hair.

Preparation

Preparation for facial hair transplantation is fairly minimal.  Dr. O’Dea will perform a pre-procedure evaluation and will then send prescriptions to your pharmacy for you to pick up prior to the procedure as one medicine should be started the day before your surgery.

Procedure

The procedure has five main phases: planning, anesthesia, harvest, site creation, and implantation.  The planning phase involves using an erasable grease pencil to mark your face to create a shape and style of beard that you desire.  This is adjusted as many times a we need until you are happy with the design.  Only then do we trace the design with a more permanent skin marker.  After that, local anesthesia is applied to the donor area to allow for the harvest.  Grafts are harvested using either the FUE or FUT harvesting method.  Once the grafts have been harvested, anesthesia is performed in the recipient area where the grafts will be placed.  After the recipient area is anesthetized, recipient sites will be made using a small scalpel to create an incision into which the grafts will be placed.  The planning phase and the creation of the recipient sites are the two most important parts of a hair transplant of any sort.  This is where the art meets the science.  Dr. O’Dea will create the recipient sites in a highly skillful manner to create the most natural appearing transplant possible.  This requires the use of curves, inconsistent spacing between the incision sites, and minor imperfections as it is these aspects that make the transplant appear natural.  Smooth lines and perfect spacing make a transplant easy to spot because it looks fake.  Our goal is to give you the most natural appearing transplant possible.  After the recipient sites are made, the grafts are placed into each site individually.

Recovery

Recovery from a facial hair transplant is similar to recovery from a scalp hair transplant.  Two to three days should be spent resting to avoid accidentally pulling out grafts as they are easy to pull out for the first two to three days.  After this time period a crust will begin to form which will fall off after seven to ten days.  After the crusts fall off you can resume full normal activity.  Pain is usually mild and can be easily treated with either over the counter pain medications or more mild prescription pain medication such as tramadol.

Results

Once the grafts heal and the hair begins to grow the transplanted area will look much more full and dense than it did prior to the procedure.  This is your hair and will grow just like the rest of your facial hair.  You can cut it, shave it, and style it however you see fit.

Cost of Non-Surgical Hair Restoration

Cost for a beard transplant is slightly higher than the cost of a regular hair transplant due to the added difficulty of working in the face, typically around $5.50 per graft.

FAQ