Ahoy, Mateys!

Sometimes the Cap’n gets messages in bottles from swashbucklers who have one conundrum or another. And the Cap’n bein’ the Cap’n (someone who always loves to opine) endeavors to answer those questions with a bottle full of answers – even if that means he has to study up on a subject (this cuts into his drinking time after all).

This time, several lads (and some lassies) have asked about beard transplants.

Now, pirates, I’m sure you’ve heard about hair transplants. In the olden days, when a mighty buccaneer would stare into his cabin’s looking glass and notice a receding hairline or an incoming bald spot on the top of his head, he might scream in agony and then race to the nearest hair transplant guru. Said guru would then cut into the back of the swashbuckler’s head – that part of your scalp is called the “donor zone” ‘cause the hair is quite resistant to falling out – and remove a strip of hair. That strip would then be implanted where it was needed the most. Needless to say, this type of procedure worked well on some lads and not so well on others. On the downside, it leaves a bloody scar on the back of your head (which you can, hopefully, cover with hair) and the implant might (or might not) take. If it doesn’t take, you’ve spent several thousand dollars and only bought yourself a scar. On the upside, ye might have a full head of hair again.

This procedure has been refined over the years and now they can even take the hair follicle by follicle. In other words, ye don’t have to deal with a huge, raised scar in your “donor zone” anymore. Needless to say, some enterprising pirate had a lightbulb moment and said to himself: “hey, if it’s good for the hair, it must be good for the beard, too.” And, thus, beard implants were born.

Now, matey, if yer thinkin’ about a beard implant, here is what ye need to watch out for:

• Do go with the newest technology, ‘cause ye don’t want to have a huge scar. It also hurts less than the old-fashioned way. (Not that I’d know… I’ve heard that…. From other people… Very much other people.)
• Ye can’t just take hair from yer “donor zone.” Even though some hair gurus might try and talk ye into it. The reason is: the hair on yer head and yer beard hair have very different textures and consistencies. So if ye only implant hair from yer scalp, it’ll be very obvious what’s going on ‘cause the new “beard” hair won’t blend well. You’ll have the best results with a blend of donor zone hair and your own beard hair. (Most men don’t have enough beard hair to only use it for a beard transplant.)
• Ye need to be aware that this isn’t just one office visit and then forget about it. Sometimes it needs several visits. Often there is redness, swelling, bruising and a certain amount of pain as well as danger of infection. So ye wanna be sure that this is really what ye want and ye need to have some downtime after the procedure to heal up.
• Always be sure to do yer research and don’t just go to the first pirate that tells ye he knows what he’s doin’. Yer face is at stake here. Do yer homework.

In general, before going under the knife and spending tons of yer hard-earned gold doubloons, ye might wanna try more holistic ways first. The Cap’n has opined extensively about things ye can do to get a thicker, healthier beard. Ye can read it all here in these blog scrolls:

https://blackbeardformen.com/thicken-your-beard/; https://blackbeardformen.com/testosterone-for-your-beard/; https://blackbeardformen.com/expect-perfect-beard/; https://blackbeardformen.com/the-healthy-beard/; https://blackbeardformen.com/grow-beard-quickly/

Good luck on yer beard journey, mateys. The Cap’n and his crew are always here to help.

May fair winds fill yer sails.

Cheers,

The Cap’n