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Planning to opt for a beard transplant? Dr Mohan Thomas, Cosmetic Surgeon at Cosmetic Surgery and skin Institute,Mumbai, tells you the dos and the dont's. "Beard hair can also be harvested to provide hair density in the moustache and also create a hairline on the scalp in people who have undergone multiple hair transplants and have limited donor area. This is a highly artistic surgery wherein it is very important to create a beard line to match the facial profile hence it is recommended that people should undertake these procedures with well-trained cosmetic surgeons only," says Dr Mohan Thomas. Below, he explains about the procedure, dos and dont's post treatment.
What is beard transplant?
Beard transplant involves strengthening the facial hair growth pattern through transfer of hair follicles from another area on the face or the scalp. Beard as you know is considered a sign of masculinity as well as vitality in almost all cultures since time immemorial. The recent fashion statement by the young cricketers and Bollywood personalities have spawned a new crop of youngsters with well manicured beard. A great shape of the beard can be achieved only if there is good hair density and the hair grows in the right places. Patchiness in the beard can be due to genetics ( runs in family), post injury scarring or due to auto immune disease called alopecia.
Which age group does it?
The age group that Is most interested in beards at the present moment are in their 25-40 year group. The ultimate goal of a beard style is to add contrast and dimension to the face. Different face shapes should highlight certain facial features not every style looks great on every person.
Read:Here's how to grow your beard with care
Brief us about the treatment and the procedure...
The first and the most important aspect in a beard transplant is to assess and understand the final beard pattern which the patient is interested in having. This is important as hair follicles may be limited in the donor area. Once the beard shape has been discussed and finalized, plans are made to harvest hair follicles from areas which will be kept shaven eg. the neck area. Hair can also be harvested from the scalp but the texture and thickness of the scalp hair is significantly different from beard hair.
All requisite pre surgery tests including hormonal tests are undertaken so as to not miss out on any hormonal reasons for beard hair sparcity. Once the patient has been cleared to undergo the procedure, local anaesthesia is infiltrated in the donor area. This is to make the procedure painless as well as reduce bleeding during the surgery. Hair follicles with their roots are then harvested either using hand instruments or mechanized from the pre marked donor areas and are stored in cool saline. Once the required number of hair grafts have been harvested, local anaesthesia is given in the recipient area. Slits are created and the harvested grafts are placed in the slits in such a way that the hair when growing will the direction of natural hair growth.
Read: 7 tips to style your beard the right way
Dos and don'ts post treatment
The most important requirement is that the face is not washed for 5-7 days. Water can be splashed but there should be no rubbing of the area. The healing area will be itchy but should not be picked else the hair graft will come off. Expect bruising and swelling in the area. Medications as prescribed should be taken regularly.
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