Facial Hair Transplant

Did you know that facial hair transplants can restore beards, moustaches, eyebrows and even eyelashes? We are subjected to various insults as we move through life, and some of these things can cause the hair in our eyelashes and eyebrows to fall out or to thin our beards and moustaches. In some cases, people may simply desire a thick crop of facial hair, a sign of virility in some cultures. For those that desire it, facial hair transplants can provide hair to virtually any location on the face.

 

 

 

The causes of unsatisfactory facial hair growth are many.  It could be that the individual suffers from a genetic issue where the hair does not grow well.  Trauma due to surgery, car accidents, or even severe stress could be the reason for the lack of hair growth.  For example, some medications or medical treatments can prevent facial hair from growing.  Understanding why the hair loss occurs is one way to determine what procedure is needed to restore the facial hair. Hair loss can be a symptom of a serious illness, so it is important to be evaluated by a physician before seeking a facial hair transplant.

 

 

The facial hair transplant procedure uses the person’s own hair, usually taken from the scalp, and moves it to the desired location. Simply put, a minute incision is made to the area of skin where the donor hairs will be transplanted. Then numerous tiny sections of scalp hair and skin are taken and grafted on to the affected area.  The hairs, once transplanted, are permanent and they will need to be tended just like the rest of the facial hair. 

 

In facial hair transplant, the donor hair should match the destination hair in texture and growth pattern as much as possible.  The grafts are placed in a very specific way so that the hair continues to grow in the proper direction.  To make sure the procedure is undetectable the surgeon makes the smallest incision possible in the graft area so that the facial hair transplant leaves minimal scarring, if any at all.  For older gentlemen gray hair can be used in the graft as well, to help the hair look more natural. To provide an authentic look you may need one or two grafts.  This will help to bulk up the amount of hair in the facial hair transplant area while also providing the opportunity to fill in any gaps that may occur when the swelling recedes.

 

Typically this type of procedure requires 200 to 2200 hairs within the one or two grafts.  Oral sedation is administered to help numb the patient for the procedure, which takes about 3 to 4 hours.  In the first four days a person may experience a crusting around the hair grafts, a bit of mild pinkness, and a little inflammation.  After a few weeks though the area should be back to normal and the results should look as natural as if the hairs had grown there themselves.

The new hair will need to be trimmed and trained to keep it growing in the right direction.  In other words, you will want to shave the area, use a little cream, and trim the hair until you get it looking the way you want it.  Visually it should look just like your original beard or mustache or eyebrow, with the proper care.