Beard-to-Scalp FUE Transplant Advantages and Disadvantages

Despite fast advances in the quality and efficiency of hair restoration, a shortage of sufficient hair to transplant has always posed a barrier for hair transplant surgeons. The utilization of hair from other places of the body can build the hair reserve, which can then be utilized to restore balding areas. In many male patients, beard hair is the next best thing to scalp hair. Beard hair shares many characteristics with scalp hair, making it an excellent candidate for scalp hair replacement in many patients.

Benefits of Beard-to-Scalp Hair Transplant

The selection of patients with a supply and demand mismatch is critical to achieving a positive outcome and, ultimately, satisfied patients. Here are a few benefits of beard-to-scalp FUE hair transplant that help the surgeon decide whether or not the beard is a realistic alternative.

• Scalp supply and demand mismatch

Almost everybody with this mismatch with average or better-than-average beard hair could benefit from more hair that the scalp donor area cannot provide. Using the beard as a donor's hair allows the surgeon to save donor hair from the typical scalp-safe zone for more important places like the frontal hairline, temporal points, and brows.

• Thicker hair shaft

Beard hair is typically considerably thicker than scalp hair, allowing for increased volume in transplanted parts. This thickness difference is particularly noticeable in patients with very fine scalp hair, in whom beard hair could be employed as the primary source to replace balding parts of the scalp.

Many men who shave their faces perceive facial hair to be undesirable, and eliminating it is a source of relief for them. Even those who grow beards want to get rid of the hair under their chins and necks.

Drawbacks

Although beard hair can provide more possibilities for many men who had not previously considered it, beard-to-scalp hair transplant has limitations and issues.

1. Some men with sparse beard hair do not have enough beard hair for the procedure. The average number of hair follicles per follicular unit or graft is typically lower than scalp donor grafts. Less hair per graft means less total covering. Beard hair per transplant is typically closer to one. This number is normally around two or more in scalp hair grafts.
2. Although coarse beard hair is advantageous to some individuals who require greater bulk, it can be problematic in areas where hair is naturally finer, such as temporal points, brows, and the frontal hairline. For this reason, it is preferable to use beard hair as filler in the top and crown areas.
3. Beard hair has a decreased anagen-to-telogen ratio. This means that beard hair follicles spend less time growing and more time in the Telogen, or resting phase. This reduces the number of hairs that appear at any given time in transplanted places while decreasing the benefit of using transplanted hair to cover other areas.
4. Hair transplantation with facial follicular extraction can be more difficult.  The skin, in particular parts of the face, is much more dynamic, making graft extraction more challenging. Changes in the angles of the facial hair-bearing areas and difficulty accessing certain places might exacerbate the complexity.

Patients should be informed that their beard hair acts differently, and their expectations should be adjusted accordingly. A thicker beard hair shaft is advantageous for people who require greater bulk on the top and crown portions. This advantage might sometimes outweigh beard hair's shorter anagen/telogen ratio, particularly if the scalp donor hair is exceptionally fine.

Folliculitis, redness after a few days, pitting in specific locations, and abscess formation in the donor area are the only minor complications of beard-to-scalp hair transplant.

A person with ordinary or above-average facial hair density can get approximately 3000 grafts from the areas beneath the chin and neck alone. If a patient agrees to remove all of his facial hair, the number can be increased.