Everybody's heard of hair plugs, but did you realize you could get a full beard transplant? A growing number of men in New York and elsewhere are catching on. It's apparently becoming a very popular thing to do, especially in hipster-packed neighborhoods like Williamsburg and Bushwick.
DNA Info recently spoke to a few plastic surgeons who say they've been performing an increasing number of facial hair transplant surgeries. Dr. Jeffrey Epstein who performs the surgery in his Midtown office said that he now averages three beard implants a week, which is a huge spike in popularity compared to a decade ago when he did only a handful per year. It's just become fashionable.
"Whether you are talking about the Brooklyn hipster or the advertising executive, the look is definitely to have a bit of facial hair," said Epstein. He added, "I get a lot of detail-oriented people—artists, architects."
The procedure itself is relatively simple and, actually, not too expensive. Hair is removed from the scalp or sometimes the chest with tiny incisions and then grafted onto the face. Once the roots take hold, the patient can shave his new beard as if it were normal hair, and it will grow back. The cost of the procedure ranges from $3,000 for partial beard implants for patients with patchy beards to $7,000 for full beards for patients who can't grow a beard at all (read: this blogger). You can even take in a photo of your favorite celebrity beard to provide the doctor with some inspiration.
Of course, it's not just vain Brooklynites who would be interested in beard implants. Everyone from people undergoing sexual transitions to Hassidic Jews get the surgery. And actually, it doesn't look half bad. [DNA Info]
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Images via Shutterstock / Dr. Jeffrey Epstein