This technique is used to improve the density and aesthetic appearance of facial hair including the beard, moustache, eyebrows and side profiles.
Many people do not realise that a facial hair transplant is a real possibility, not least that more and more men from around the world are adopting this technique. It’s no surprise really, after all, transplanting hair into the beard, eyebrows or somewhere else on the face is fundamentally no different from transplanting into the scalp. Optimal conditions must exist for the transplanted follicles to survive and thrive, but that’s nothing a competent hair transplant surgeon can’t handle.
Why get a facial hair transplant?
A man’s beard is intristically linked with his masculinity. In response to the increasingly androgynous ‘metrosexual’ culture of the 21st century, thousands of men are turning the tide with a return to a wholly male style, perhaps in some sort of mass declaration of manhood. Whatever the reason, and we’re sure there are many, one thing is for certain – more men than ever want to look like ‘real’ men and portray a masculine appearance, complete with the ultimate male symbol of course, the beard.
The main application for this technique is for men who are unable to grow a satisfactory beard. A lot of men just don’t have enough follicles in the right places, and until the arrival of facial hair transplants, there wasn’t much a man could do about it.
It is important to note that no form of surgery can assist with the growth rate of your beard, but we can certainly increase its density and remove bald or sparse patches that may be bothering you.
What about alopecia?
Whether or not this technique can be used to combat alopecia, is the subject of much debate. For sure, it depends largely on the circumstances of the patient. Ultimately alopecia is an auto-immune condition that causes your body to think that your hair follicles are a foreign body, and subsequently sends out white blood cells to attack them. No-one knows for sure why this happens, however there is strong evidence to show that alopecia does not discriminate between normal and transplanted hair follicles.
The most common form affecting facial hair is called alopecia barbae. If this is your condition, a beard transplant is probably out of the question for now. If you have alopecia areata, as long as the symptoms do not affect your beard, a facial hair transplant to thicken your beard using head hair is a possibility.
