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Men are spending thousands on beard transplants

Men said they had spent up to £14,500 on beard transplants

Alexandra Sims
Friday 02 October 2015 17:42 BST
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The number of beard transplants performed has risen from 1.5 per cent of all hair restoration procedures performed internationally in 2012 to 3.7 per cent in 2014
The number of beard transplants performed has risen from 1.5 per cent of all hair restoration procedures performed internationally in 2012 to 3.7 per cent in 2014 (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)

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Men are spending thousands of pounds to fill in their patchy beards, as the number of beard transplant procedures increases dramatically.

Men surveyed by The New York Times said they spent up to £14,500 on beard transplants to achieve a fully groomed look.

A man, referring to himself only as Ray, said he had undergone three rounds of transplants between 2011 and 2013, costing £14,500 in total.

“I don’t really even care that much if people know that I’ve had the transplants,” Ray, 53, told The New York Times.

“I just don’t want them to know how much I’ve spent on it, because then they’ll think I’m crazy.”

Other men reportedly spent £2,600 and £6,600 on transplants at surgeries across the US.

Joe Armos, a 28-year-old paramedic living in Miami, said he had spent £4,600 on a full beard transplant from side burns to chin as he believed his patients would trust him more if he had a “stronger, manlier look”.

The number of beard transplants performed has risen from being just 1.5 per cent of all hair restoration procedures undertaken internationally in 2012 to 3.7 per cent in 2014, according to the nonprofit medical association, International Society of Hair Restoration.

Dr Jeffery S. Epstein, a hair restoration surgeon with offices in Florida and New York, told the New York Times that he now performs around three transplants a week, compared to five 10 years ago.

During a beard hair transplant procedure, tiny hair follicles are harvested one-by-one from a donor area of the body and then transplanted to the chin. The transplanted hair typically starts growing in immediately and usually patients can shave two weeks following the procedure.

Vincenzo Gambino, president of the ISHRS said: “While a clean-shaven appearance is still popular, beards are now very trendy among more males than ever before thanks to their resurgence in Hollywood and among professional athletes.”

“For those who prefer a fuller beard or more facial hair, beard hair transplants offer excellent results.”

Beards are becoming so popular that scientists at the University of New South Wales have warned we have hit “peak beard”, with facial fuzz being so widespread that it is no longer unusual enough to be attractive.

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