Beard transplantation: Operation Details and Best deals in Turkey

Beard Transplant

The stage of growing a beard can be stressful for some men after going through puberty. In fact, peer influence and cultural and social norms can also play a significant role in shaping a man’s view of facial hair in general. Hence, having a hairless face, patchy spaces and holes in the beard, or even missing hair parts due to scars can be nightmarish especially if you are aspiring to grow a uniform beard that complements your overall masculine look. 

Due to many factors (including hormonal disparities) not every man can have a shiny, great looking beard by only quitting daily shaving and letting nature take its course. However, solutions do exist. Specialists came with a way to transfer healthy scull hair follicles to the beard area in order to stimulate growth there.

In this case we are talking about a beard transplant, which is an efficient, minimally invasive, and painless procedure, provided that you do your research and choose a trustworthy specialist to give you a new beard. 

How is Beard Transplant done in Turkey?

To simplify the process, a beard transplant is all about taking hair from a perfectly healthy donor area (which is usually in the back of the skull) and transplanting it in the jawline or in the area where the patient wishes to grow a beard. Yet, as straightforward as it may seem the transplant procedure is thoroughly precise and can only be performed by experienced medical staff and in sterilised, well equipped professional settings.

The transplant procedure consists of planting single hair follicles (sometimes two) into miniscule incisions in the designated area in a very delicate and extremely precise manner, and in the exact direction of the natural growth of the patient’s facial hair.

On the other hand, the surgeon in charge of the transplant can choose one of two well known approaches to extract hair units (which to be prepared and then placed in the designated area):  

• Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE): This method relies on harvesting hair follicles from the donor area one by one. The FUE can be less painful which explains why it is so popular among Turkish surgeons.
• Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT): Using this technique means that the surgeon takes a part of tissue from the harvesting area and then pulls out the needed follicles separately in preparation for the transplantation process.

Types of anaesthesia used for Beard Transplant in Turkey

During the beard transplant procedure the medical specialist can rely on two methods, namely, local and sedation anaesthesia.

• Local Anaesthesia:

It is a method that consists of injecting the upper layer of the skull skin (after shaving and sterilising the injection spot of course). The patient will experience a manageable amount of pain at the time of receiving the injection and it will recede within the next 10 minutes. 

Afterward, the patient will feel relaxed while the doctor performs the transplant.

• Sedation anaesthesia:

The sedation method is executed prior to the local anaesthesia process by injecting the anaesthetic solution via the vein. Once the anaesthesia takes effect, the patient will sleep for approximately 15 minutes in order not feel the pain of the head injection that we mentioned earlier.  As soon as the 15 minutes pass through the patient will not have to go through any pain for the duration of the entire procedure including the phase of local anaesthesia.

 The importance of the donor area

The donor or cultivation area plays an essential role in the success of the beard transplant process. As such, the doctor responsible for carrying the transplant is required to evaluate the hair density in that spot in order to decide whether to proceed with the operation or not.

The back of your head would probably be the harvesting area thanks to the quality and strength of hair there; which not only contributes to optimising the results of the procedure but also enhances the quality of future hair growth in the beard.

 The number of hair follicles to be transplanted per area

Customarily, the surgeon will work on setting down 350 to 500 hair grafts for the moustache area, 600 to 700 for the entire goatee, 200 to 250 for each sideburn, and 300 to 700 for a cheek beard.

The duration of a typical Beard Transplant

The duration of the transplant varies slightly in accordance with the number of extracted hair follicles for transplanting and the breadth of the area to be treated. However, the entire procedure takes between two-to-eight hours in general.

Recovery time

Roughly, the recovery will extend over three months, and will also include the process of losing the transplanted hair units (15-30 days after surgery) and regrowing brand new beard hairs.

Also, it is important to mention that around five days after receiving the transplant, the patient will notice small crusts around the aforementioned incisions. At this stage, the beard area needs to be kept completely dry.

Are you eligible for a Beard Transplant in Turkey?

If you are over 18 and you do not suffer from health issues you definitely can undergo the transplant procedure safely. Typically, men who have inadequate growth of hair on their beard can enhance their follicles’ vitality through having a hair transplant in that area. 

However, patients who suffer from discernable hair density weakness or gaps of hair, or did not manage to grow the desired beard after puberty can expect visible and gratifying results.

 When do you really need a Beard Transplant in Turkey ?

In fact, a beard transplant procedure can be a solution for numerous problems that affect the appearance of a man’s chin, look unpleasant, and even might cause inconveniences.

We talking here mainly about :

• The total absence of hair growth in the beard area
• Disagreeable beard shape
• Holes in the beard
• Discoloration in the beard hair
• Non homogeneous pilosity
• A very light growth in the moustache zone

So if you are concerned with the aforementioned issues a beard transplant can be very helpful.

Health problems that prevent you from having your Beard Transplant  in Turkey

Although practically anyone can have a beard transplant, there are cases that prevent specialised medical practitioners from performing the procedure.

These cases include :

• Advanced diabetes
• Serious heart problems
• Diseases transmitted through blood
• Acute renal failure or hepatic failure
• The presence of a skin disease in the cultivation area
• Coagulation irregularities
• Dire anaemia

Treatment phases in Turkey step by step

The way from deciding to get a beard transplant to actually having the hair follicles implanted successfully in the patient’s jawline can bring along numerous details. Indeed, the patient carries through, alongside the medical team, numerous steps to guarantee an effective, problem-free realisation of the transplant surgery.

Prior to the transplant process

As an initial step, the patient is required to send photos of the beard area from several angles (including right and left sides), in addition to another photo of the designated harvesting area (usually the back of the skull). This way, our experts can have a first look into the case.

It is important to mention that the patient’s hair should be preferably short with the aim of having a better idea about the number of hair units to be cultivated. 

Into the transplant process

• Face to face consultation with the doctor 

A meeting with the doctor is to be fixed in the clinic, during which the physician gets to physically evaluate the patient, ask in details about his medical history, and reach a mutual understanding about the number of follicles to be extracted and planted in the beard.

• Blood test

Later, a blood sample will be extracted from the patient to be tested, in order to detect any diseases or infections that may halt the whole procedure.

The transplant surgery

• Shaving

After completing the initial process successfully, the patient will be admitted into a sterile hair transplant facility, where he will get his head shaved partially or completely (depending on the case).

• Sterilisation

Next, the beard and donor area are to be thoroughly sterilised in preparation for the following steps.

• Anaesthesia

By this stage, the anaesthetic solution is prepared and injected carefully in the upper skin of the skull, causing a minor feeling of discomfort that goes away very fast.

• Follicle harvesting

Using a micro-motor tool (a special medical device) the doctor initiates over a period of 1-2 hours the extraction process and places the harvested follicles in a medical solution to preserve it adequately.

• Beard line drawing

The doctor, then, draws the desired beard shape while making sure to maintain specific focus on the face features, the location of follicles transplants, the age of the patient, and the compatibility of the transplant with the density of hair   on all sides of the jawline.

• Incision stage (opening pores)

The pore opening phase takes approximately an hour, during which the doctor uses a precise blade to make tiny incisions to expand the pores from 1 to 1.3 mm in the targeted beard area, while keeping an eye on the exact angle of hair growth.  

• Transplanting hair units

Over the next 2-3 hours the doctor starts transplanting the hair units into miniscule incisions in the empty beard space until fully covering it.

• Bandaging donor area

Once the doctor completes the transplant procedure, he bandages the back part of the head (the donor part) in order to minimise the risk of infection. 

It is noteworthy that the bandages also allow the patient to sleep without worrying about having that area exposed to pillow germs for instance or facing discomfort while laying down in bed.

After the transplant process

As soon as the patient receives his beard transplant, the process of recovery starts. During this stage, it is crucial for the patient to strictly adhere to the doctor’s instructions and take prescribed medicines including anti-inflammatory remedies and pain relievers in order to get the best results. 

 Should you be worried about complications or permanent side effects ?

As in the case of any surgical or medical intervention, patients may be concerned about their health and well being during and after the procedure. However, complications like infections and bleeding are rare to occur after beard transplant surgeries.

Conversely, patients may notice that some transplanted follicles become inflamed in addition to some minor scarring in the cultivating area that will be eventually covered with grown hair.

Are there any temporary inconveniences after the surgery?

After the surgery the patient is very likely to experience temporary feelings of unpleasantness as the area of transplant may undergo the following changes: 

• Swelling of the face over a very limited lapse of time (few days)
• Temporary headache over the first 24 hours
• Discharging Anaesthesia through urine and sweating fluids
• Dandruff
• Redness 

Nonetheless, the aforementioned side effects are usually expected to last for no more than 7-10 days. 

How much will a beard transplant in Turkey cost you?

In Turkey, a beard transplant costs roughly between 1900$-4500$, which can be considered the most affordable in Europe. On the other hand, doctors in some European countries can charge for a similar procedure between 7000$-15000$.

The following table  demonstrates the difference of prices between several European countries compared to Turkey:

Why does Turkey offer very competitive prices?

According to recent statistics released by the Association of Tourism and Travel Agencies in the Middle East, 150 to 500 hair transplants (including beard transplants) are performed in Turkey every week, at a time when, the Council on Foreign Economic Relations Board estimates the value of Turkey’s hair transplant industry at $1 billion.

These numbers can explain by itself why Turkish clinics can offer such affordable prices. In fact, Turkey is one of the most reputable hair transplant destinations, which means that aesthetic clinics there got the chance over years of experience to develop packages and interesting offers for patients.

Nonetheless, Turkey’s economic orientation to support domestic manufacturing of medical products explains why beard transplant costs are controlled if we take in consideration that shipping, logistics, and customs fees are redacted from the final pricing stage.