Facial hair transplants are commonly done, for fuller beards or thicker eyebrows. For a beard transplant, the process is very similar to a hair transplant, using hair from the back of your head to transplant onto your beard, giving it a natural appearance.

Sparse beard hair can be distressing for many men, and a beard transplant is an easy option for them. A beard transplant may also be desirable for an AFAB wanting to achieve more facial hair.

Am I a candidate?

You might be, provided you are:

-Atleast 21 years of age (I would still say wait till you’re 25)

Best results are in people with:

-Thick hair over the donor area (back of the head)

-Lighter coloured hair

-Non-smokers

How?

• Anesthesia- Local anaesthesia is given, making the procedure completely painless.

• Donor area- The hair in the donor area is trimmed to about a 2mm length. Individual hair follicle units are carefully extracted from the back of the head by one of two techniques- Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) or Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT). We perform FUE as it is a more advanced and better technique, although more a more skilled and tedious process for the operating surgeon.

• Recipient area: The follicles that are extracted are then transplanted onto the recipient site meticulously. The angle at which each hair comes out of the skin is positioned according to the other hair in that area. The most natural looking beard shape is then created

• A dressing is then applied over both the donor and recipient areas

After the procedure:

• ⁃You may experience minimal pain for the first one or two days after the procedure

• ⁃Small crusts may be visible at the follicular openings for about a week, after which they fall off

• ⁃You may gently wash your hair after 2-3 days

• ⁃You will be given certain medications after the procedure. You may need to use topical minoxidil on a long term basis.

• ⁃You can expect the implanted follicles to start to grow by 3 months, and full grown hair at 8-12 months

• ⁃You can resume work by about the second or third day of the transplant, and you can even start exercising after a week of the transplant.

• ⁃The results of a hair transplant are permanent, and last you a lifetime

Who should you go to?

-MD or DNB (degrees) or DVD or DDVL (diploma) in Dermatology

-MCh Plastic surgery

-MS General Surgery

-MS (degree) or DORL (diploma) in ENT

No other degrees are qualified to perform hair transplantation in India according to the Association of Hair Restoration Surgeons, India.

Another question to ask your doctor, is whether they themselves will be present during the surgery. In many clinics, the procedure is done by technicians and staff, and the doctor is not even present. So be sure that your doctor is present and not just a name.

I don’t live in India. Can I fly in and out for just a hair transplant?

Absolutely. You can fly the day after the procedure. We have packages for people travelling for the transplant, where we provide accommodation and transfers during your stay. 

Keep one or two days allocated for the procedure (if the number of grafts is very high, we may split your procedure over two days to cover the entire balding scalp). You are free to travel the very next day of the transplant.