Michael Vories, MD

After a lifetime of being plagued by insecurities of the appearance of my patchy beard and bald chin, I chose to take control of the situation and pursue a beard transplant. I was not aware such a procedure was a possibility until several weeks ago when I read a feature about it. The idea that after a lifetime of suffering my embarrassing bald chin, I might actually have a real, full beard inspired me to quickly perform deep research on the topic, which led me to Dr. Michael Vories / Carolina Hair Surgery. Despite my eagerness to improve the appearance of my beard, I’d never had a cosmetic procedure performed on me, which caused me to devote many hours to deep critical thought on the matter. In my complimentary video consultation with Dr. Vories, I leveled all questions, of which he answered with all confidence. My cautiousness gave way to confidence in the procedure and in Dr. Vories.

Before the procedure, Dr. Vories made the details of the procedure very plain. I entered into this with no reservations and no surprises along the way. Being an introvert by nature, the idea of someone poking me with a needle 1,200 times (600 donor area and 600 graft area) seemed so far away from what I’d tolerate, but Dr. Vories exudes a sense of compassion, professionalism and transparency which inspired me to trust him and rightfully so. I have no regrets about this procedure. Dr. Vories performed my beard transplant with all the confidence of a mature doctor who has many years of experience to guide him. The post procedure discomfort was minimal and I required no pain killers. My recovery process is exactly as Dr. Vories described, so again, there are no surprises. What price can one put on empowering oneself with a newfound confidence in their appearance which was previously nonexistent? CHS/Dr. Vories fee was very reasonable. As well as Dr. Vories, his staff have been accommodating and communicative before and after the beard transplant. Throughout this life altering journey, I’ve not felt left on my own by Carolina Hair Surgery at all, which I am grateful for. I feel I should also write that while there are beard transplant providers closer to home in NC, some had poor reviews and dubious histories with the state medical board, while Dr. Vories' stellar reputation made him an excellent choice.

I am now eagerly anticipating the rest of my life with a full, proper beard, for which I will always remember CHS/Dr. Vories in a good way.

Dr. Vories is amazing! He has restored my confidence. His team is so warm and welcoming and I felt instantly at ease instantly. Mike is on the top of all communication even while he was on vacation . I had miminal pain post surgery, I did have swelling under one eye but only for 3 days.. I used motrin around the clock to stay on top of any discomfort. In fact, I only needed the prescription pain med once and that was because I forgot to take my motrin on time.The numbing before surgery was a little unconformable but Dr. Vories uses some type of vibration method that distracts you from the needle. Once you are numb, you will feel no pain. He is awesome at making sure you are comfortable and pain free.Please stop watching Youtube videos because the process is the complete opposite with him. Watching Youtube will have you fearful. The experience was so fast, comfy and worth it!! Please take your life back by restoring your confidence! No regrets, in fact I wish I had the procedure long ago. Thank you Dr. Vories and his team!!!!

I've had two hair transplant, follicular unit extraction (FUE) surgeries with Dr. Vories over the past 7 years. My results were awesome and Dr. Vories made every extraction and placed every graft himself. His clinic and team of technicians are wonderful and my results are proof! Everyone says I appear to be 10 years younger and I've had no discernible hair loss since the surgeries.  Thank you Dr. Vories and Carolina Hair Surgery!

Updated on 6 Nov 2017:
I had option of going to Turkey or India and get HT done. However if hair line in front is not good then any number of grafts won’t work. Dr. Vories did a amazing job with 1500 grafts.

After getting tired of using bangs and side parts to cover my hairline I realized I needed to do something about it. The procedures I looked into were the scalp advancement, and the FUT and FUE hair transplants. After doing my research I decided a FUE hair transplant would be the best choice long-term. I had a great experience with the actual procedure and am looking forward to seeing the results! I will update as I see changes!

Updated on 23 Jul 2016:
The recipient and donor areas seem to be healing really well. I'm surprised how little pain I've felt. The worst I felt was 30 min post-op before I took pain meds. Since then I've felt no pain. Today was wash day #2 and it went really well. My biggest problem is the facial swelling. My face is huge and my right eye is almost swollen shut. I would highly recommend doing this kind of procedure before a weekend so you can hide out for a few days! I definitely could not go to work or social events like this.

Updated on 23 Jul 2016:


Updated on 25 Jul 2016:
The swelling is finally going down. My swelling was the absolute worst day 3 and 4. My entire face was swollen and my eyes were half shut. Today my face is looking more normal but I am noticing yellow bruising all over my forehead and down my temples. The pain still isn't bad. I have the most discomfort in my donor areas. I started massaging those areas gently today and it feels really good! As far as the grafts go I have seen about 5-10 hairs come out but no bulb so I am not too worried-- just very excited!

Updated on 27 Jul 2016:
Feeling really good today and swelling is mostly gone. I still have yellow bruising around my eyes and temples but it doesn't bother me. My only complaint is dull pain in the donor areas, especially at night. I was able to easily remove about 70% of the crusts when I washed this morning. It feels so much better not having those thick right crusts making everything so stiff! There are a couple scabs that concern me but they're very small. I wore a hat for the first time yesterday to do some light exercise. It only hurt where I have a scab, but when I adjusted it, it was fine. So far so good!

Updated on 28 Jul 2016:
Today I washed my hair more vigorously with my hands the same way I wash the rest of my hair and it felt so good to get in there and massage and get those crusts out. I have lost many of the hairs (which I realize is normal) and several native hairs too. I'm not too concerned. I'm getting more and more excited about the permanent hairs coming in now that I can kind of visualize what they'll look like.

Updated on 30 Jul 2016:
My scalp is still pretty sensitive in general. My donor areas are sore but I'm not taking anything for it at this point. My recipient area doesn't hurt today. Yesterday it was very sensitive and it felt uncomfortable to wear a hat. I exercised three times last week but I'm definitely not 100%. So far I've lost around 100 hairs. I don't know what was shedding and what was graft loss. Before my scabs began shedding I took close up pictures of my hair and counter 30 something hairs that were just lying on the scalp, bulb and all, so I'm afraid I lost those ones at the get go. Attached are pictures I took tonight. I'm hoping I'm one of the 5% who's transplanted hairs just keep on growing without falling out, but I'm not gonna hold my breath!

Updated on 31 Jul 2016:
I've had several people ask what the donor sites look like. Here's the only one I can find easily. I have six of them and they're all very well hidden by my hair. This is what they look like today, day 11. You can see the procedure didn't leave me with bald spots-- the doctor took the hair randomly so as it grows back you won't be able to tell.

Updated on 2 Aug 2016:
Today is the first day I've felt completely normal. I went on a run today and felt great. Up until now when I would physically exert myself I felt a lot of pressure in my head and around my grafts. I think I've really healed! I still think I've lost 100+ hairs but what's left looks and feels great. I'm excited!

Updated on 13 Aug 2016:
Day 24: No pain at this point. I visited my doctor at three weeks and he said I can treat my hair now as if I never had a transplant. I've done a good amount of light massaging since which has felt amazing and helped some of the dead hairs shed. I'm not sure if you can see in these pictures but some of the hairs appear to be significantly longer than others and instead of being course are very soft. I think there is a chance that these hairs actually "took" and have actually begun growing. I'm really happy so far!

Updated on 18 Aug 2016:
More shedding-- more growth. It's becoming clear which hairs are growing. You can see the longer thick transplanted hairs that get thinner and lighter as they get to the scalp. Happy so far!

Updated on 18 Aug 2016:


Updated on 26 Aug 2016:
It's been just over 5 weeks and most of the hair has fallen out, which my doctor told me to expect. You can see that some is growing pretty long. I'm surprised some hairs just started growing right away. I drew arrows to point out some of those longer hairs. The donor areas are impossible to find-- not even my hairdresser found them. The skin in the recipient area, however, looks pink and a little bumpy. I read that people with fair skin can have redness for a couple months post op. The small bumps are either from hairs pushing up and or irritation. I wear hats and headbands all the time and I think the skin gets a little irritated. It's my understanding that as long as I don't get persistent pimples it will clear up on its own.

Updated on 1 Sep 2016:
Nothing new or terribly exciting this week. I aim to provide pictures every week so others can see my progress in real time. I found this website extremely helpful so I'm trying to pay it forward!

Updated on 8 Sep 2016:


Updated on 8 Sep 2016:


Updated on 8 Sep 2016:


Updated on 12 Sep 2016:


Updated on 13 Sep 2016:


Updated on 21 Sep 2016:


Updated on 25 Sep 2016:
I trimmed some of the longer hairs because the transplanted hair is much darker and thicker than the new growth and it looked funny. I'm overall very happy and thankful that I already have growth. Looking forward to the three month mark!

Updated on 29 Sep 2016:
I'm noticing new hairs. They're short and fine and I'm really excited about it. The only hairs I saw previously were the ones that never fell out and just kept growing. Very excited!

Updated on 8 Oct 2016:
Around the 2 1/2 month mark. I wanted to include these pics because you can see my face shape and what a difference the transplanted hair makes. You can see the hair is starting to fill in and I love how the new hairline frames my face.

Updated on 22 Oct 2016:
Hair is filling in... Mostly in the temples

Updated on 12 Nov 2016:
The place where I had the least amount of hair before surgery was my right temple, and that area has filled in the most so far. I dyed my hair this week because my new growth is a couple shades darker than my natural hair that had lightened up from sun exposure. It's so weird! As you can see the new growth is darker than my eyebrows. I had my colorist dye the new hair and my native hair so the the new growth wouldn't look so odd!

Updated on 25 Nov 2016:
Filling in nicely, especially on the left temple! I am so thankful for Dr. Vories... This procedure has seriously been life changing. My self esteem has never been higher. I also have to say that I highly recommend the FUE-- I have had no hair loss or scalp tightness that people with FUT have brought up, and my donor areas are thick and full. I have always been able to hide them easily. Plus, not a single hair was removed and wasted. I am already thrilled with my results!

Updated on 25 Dec 2016:
I began bleaching my hair at the 4 1/2 month mark. My skin is very fair and I wanted less contrast between my skin color and hair color. With the lighter color I've actually been able to wear my hair off my face. The new hairs grew 1 cm in the past 3 weeks (based on the dark new growth I measured), and the hair that was shaved down in the donor areas is around 3-4 solid inches now. I'm going to continue to color my hair lighter, at least until the new growth grows long enough to blend with the rest of my hair.

Updated on 12 Jan 2017:
Loving what I'm seeing so far

Updated on 2 Feb 2017:
So happy with my hairline and it's only been 6 months!

Updated on 2 Feb 2017:


Updated on 19 Apr 2017:
It has been almost 9 months since my procedure. The new hair growing in is course and wiry and a couple shades darker than my natural color. I read that it can take several hair cycles for the hair to come in the same texture and color as native hair. I color the hair and use a very small flat iron to even out the texture. That being said, I am glad I had the procedure done. I look forward to the hair growing softer and lighter in color in the future. For the time being I don't mind putting a little effort into styling it. It really isn't that hard. I also love that I can wear my hair back.

Updated on 19 Apr 2017:
Amazing, right? :)

I waited until I long after the 1 year results to post. I'm a 41yo male with standard MPB that was especially severe on the crown. I had a consult with Dr Vories. He did such a natural job working with my swirly crown that no believe me when I tell them. It's not overdone. I had FUE, and it was very effective.

My first hair transplant was in February 2020 at Anderson center for hair in Alpharetta. I went amd got 1750 with artas Robot. It looked really good but thought since I was a Norwood 6 I would go and get another fue. Hindsight I should have gone back to Dr Anderson amd his team. Unfortunately I went closer to home to Dr Vories. I got there and we decided to do 2500 grafts. He drew the hairline etc amd did it all manually. As he was going along I noticed on the right side of my head he was focusing strongly on .. like was getting a lot more grafts but he assured me that was not the case. Anyway fast forward a few months later. The hairline that I greatly feared showed up. I don’t know if it was the way he did it the angles he put them in or what but it looks horrible. I have a terrible frontal hairline now. I went to shave it but I realized that shaving it you can still see it and it has a raised area along the whole front which I assume is what the call cobblestoning. So now I’m stuck amd don’t know what to do. I feel like I have to go to an expert in fixing BAD transplants now. It’s very sad that a professional could leave you looking like this. Seems as he would atleast pay for his error at another clinic for me because I sure don’t feel comfortable going back there. Any suggestions?