Many men consider that uniform, thick beard is a sign of masculinity and vitality. The younger generations who follow the fashion trends of bollywood celebrity or their cricket icons are especially fond of growing their whiskers. But not everyone is lucky and many young men are unable to grow their beard. Thickness and distribution of facial hair follow a genetic pattern. Patchiness of beard can also be due to some injury or scarring over face. But this is not a problem anymore. With advances in beard and moustache transplant( BMT), all these men can have a full, uniform and dense beard and moustache.
Good Candidates for Beard and Moustache Transplant (BMT)-
A good candidate for BMT is the one who is healthy, nonsmoker and has realistic expectations. The most important pre-requisite is availability of good donor area over scalp. Many candidates who desire for beard transplant also have male pattern baldness and do donor area is limited.
Procedure of Beard and Moustache Transplant-
The procedure of BMT involves removing (harvesting) hair from back side of your head and transplanting them in beard &/or moustache area. The donor hair can be harvested by FUE or FUT technique. But in most men, if donor area is adequate, FUE technique is a preferred method.
Number of Grafts Required For Beard and Moustache Transplant-
This varies significantly from individual to individual. A full BMT will require around 3000 to 4000 grafts. If individual is having some existing, patchy beard then requirement can be less.
Risk Factors Involved In Beard and Moustache Transplant-
BMT is a very safe procedure. It is done under local anesthesia. Though procedure itself is delicate and requires a lot of expertise, serious complications are rare. These are your own hair which are removed from one area and transplanted in another. So chances of allergies, foreign body reactions or similar adverse effects are rare.
Pain During Beard and Moustache Transplant Procedure-
BMT is done under local anesthesia. It is administered with very small needles. Once the area is numb, total procedure is painless. Pain after procedure is also minimal and can be easily controlled with routine painkillers.
Recovery After Beard and Moustache Transplant-
You may experience some swelling in transplanted area for initial 3 to 4 days. There will be scabbing at the site of transplanted hair grafts for 7 to 10 days. After two weeks some or all transplanted hair will shed off. Don’t be scared as this is a normal process and called “shedding phase”. New hair will grow after 2 to 3 months. This shedding phase after BMT is very variable and some individuals do not experience this phase at all.
Dr. Ashish Sangvikar 