A beard transplant, also called a facial hair transplant, is a surgical procedure that harvests hair follicles from one part of the body and transplants them into the mustache, beard, and sideburns. The procedure creates a thicker, fuller beard.
The transplanted hair is usually taken from the back of your head, toward the neck, where the hair is fullest and looks most like beard hair. Dr. Cameron Chesnut, a dermatologic surgeon in Spokane, Washington, says facial hair is unique. It’s thicker, and there’s often variability in color and texture from hair in other regions of the body. “The most important choice is to identify the most matching characteristics, wherever those may be. These locations are most often the back of the head and neck but can come from any other matching terminal hairs,” he says.
When it’s placed by a skilled hair transplant surgeon, transplanted hair will grow like beard hair and should look natural, even though it may show slight color differences. Men with curly hair are able to use their scalp hair for a beard transplant, since the donor hairs often take on the characteristics of the regional hairs once they’re transplanted.Â
How long you want your beard to be also plays a role, but a shorter, trimmed beard or a five-o’clock shadow look allows more flexibility with the type of hair transplanted.
