Beard transplant
For a lot of guys, growing a beard isn’t as simple as avoiding a razor and letting nature take its course. Stubble doesn’t always grow uniformly on the face, resulting in patchy facial hair instead of a stylish beard.
Or, you may have inherited genes that make any type of beard growth practically impossible.
But just as you can transplant your own hair to the top of your head to tackle a receding hairline, you can also try a beard implant if your facial hair follicles aren’t cooperating.
A doctor will first need to evaluate your skin and hair to make sure you’re a good candidate, and then you’ll have to decide if it’s worth the expense.
Like any medical procedure, there’s not a 100% guarantee you’ll be happy with the results. Beard transplant scars are always a risk.
But if you can find a qualified provider, it may be worth at least investigating whether a few hours in a doctor’s office can provide a beard to last a lifetime.
What is a beard transplant ?
A beard transplant is just that: Hair is taken from one part of the body and transplanted to your jawline and wherever you want your beard to grow.
That sounds simple enough, but it’s a rather involved process. There are 2 main approaches a dermatologist can take:
Follicular unit extraction (FUE): This approach is done by harvesting complete follicular units one at a time from the donor area. FUE is less painful, which may explain why it’s the more commonly performed procedure
Follicular unit transplantation (FUT): For this approach, a dermatologist cuts a small strip of tissue from the back of the head and removes the hair follicles from that tissue.
A follicular unit is a small grouping of several hair follicles that may emerge through the skin through the same exit point.
Both procedures take anywhere 2,000-5,000 hair follicle grafts or more from the back of the head, usually level with your ears, or a little lower, and implant them on the face.
A graft is a hair follicle that’s transplanted.
What’s the procedure like?
 
1.    Harvesting
Whether you’ve chosen to have a FUE or a FUT, your dermatologist’s first step will be to shave the area on your head that’s being harvested.
This gives them a clearer view of the hair follicles. Before the harvesting begins, you’ll be given a local anesthetic, so you won’t feel the harvesting or the implantation.
 
2.    Implantation
Once the follicles have been harvested from your head, the surgeon will inject a local anesthetic into the area of your face where the implants will be placed. Then, the dermatologist will implant each follicle into your facial skin, shaping your new beard the way you and the doctor agreed on prior to surgery.
 
3.    Recovery
You’ll need a day to recover from the beard implant surgery. Tiny crusts may form around each newly implanted hair follicle, but these should flake off within a few days.
After about 7 to 10 days, you should be able to start shaving normally and trimming your new beard.
A word of warning, however: Your new beard hairs may fall out after 2 or 3 weeks. This is normal, and new hair should grow in to take their place.
Home care instructions
Your dermatologist will give you home care instructions. These may include the use of antibiotic ointment for your scalp and face.
Some activities to avoid for at least the first several days include:
swimming
exposure to direct sunlight
smoking
using sauna or hot tub
strenuous physical activity, especially anything that’ll cause a sweat
touching, rubbing, or scratching the harvested or transplant areas
You may be advised to not wash your face for a few days or at least avoid scrubbing. Your skin will be sensitive and itchy, but to avoid irritation and infection, try to leave it alone.
Potential side effects
Your face and scalp may also experience the following side effects:
swelling
redness
tightness
numbness
temporary scabs or crustiness
Scarring in the donor area is common, but often your natural hair growth will cover it up. FUE leaves many small, often-unnoticeable scars. FUT, however, leaves a long singular scar on the back of the head.
The transplant areas on your face shouldn’t experience any scarring, but there will be some temporary scabs. If crustiness, redness, swelling, or irritation continues after a couple of weeks, be sure to tell your doctor.

Who’s a good candidate for this procedure?

Because hair follicles are harvested from the back of your head, it’s important that you have healthy hair follicles in this area.
This location tends to be among the last areas to go bald, so even if you’re starting to lose some hair on top, you probably still have healthy growth on the back of your head.
Your transplant dermatologist will examine your scalp and determine if there are enough follicular units to transplant.
If there doesn’t appear to be enough hair follicles to harvest, your doctor may recommend alternative treatments.

How do you know that a beard transplant is successful?

Regardless of the type of procedure performed, within 3-4 months, the transplanted hair follicles should be settled into place and growing.
You’ll know the beard transplant was successful if, at 8-9 months, you have a full, healthy beard that you can treat as though it had been there all along.
While both FUE and FUT can produce natural-looking beards, FUT beards tend to be fuller.
This is because more follicles are usually harvested when a strip of skin is removed. So if your goal is a thicker-looking beard, consider FUT.
Beard transplant failure is rare and is usually the result of improper harvesting from the donor area. This is why it’s important and worth paying more to choose an experienced hair restoration dermatologist.

Are there any precautions or side effects to be aware of?

After surgery, the harvested area on your head and the implanted area on your face will need special care. Both sites should be kept clean.

How painful is beard transplant?

A beard hair transplant is a relatively painless procedure since it is performed under local anesthesia. You may experience minor discomfort during the surgery, slight inflammation, and redness for a few days, which subsides automatically.

What is the best age for beard transplant?

It's really up to you. You won't harm anything by having a beard transplant at a young age. But if you're just a bit more patient, your facial hair will likely thicken on its own as you approach age 30.

Can I shave my beard after transplant?

We don't recommend shaving until at least 10 days after beard transplant surgery. Because your face may be red, tender, or swollen at first, you'll need to be extremely gentle the first few days.

Does beard transplant leave scars on face?

You can expect a degree of scarring in the donor area for both an FUE and FUT beard transplant. An FUE beard transplant leaves small scars where the hair follicles have been taken from – these are often unnoticeable and are adequately covered by normal hair grown to a length 1-2 mm.

Can I shower after beard transplant?

Again, you may normally shower at any time; however, make sure not to apply direct pressure from your shower head to your face until day 7 following your procedure. The tiny crusts where each graft was placed will fall off at around 3-7 days.

How do you sleep after a beard transplant?

Sleep on your back and not on your stomach. The back should be in an upright position. The head and back should be elevated at a 45 degree angle. Avoid sleeping on your stomach since it will damage your transplanted hair and increase swelling.