Growing Trend? Beard Transplants for Hipsters

A full, bushy beard is a sought-after trait for many men. (Image credit: Janna Bantan | Shutterstock.com)

An increasing number of men seeking full, luxurious facial locks are getting beard transplants, at least if anecdotal reports from plastic surgeons can be believed.

Plastic surgeons say more artistic and hipster types in their late 20s to 40s are seeking the transplants, which can cost around $7,000. "They are young people who live in Brooklyn, look cool and hip and tend to work in the visual arts," Dr. Yael Halaas, M.D., a facial plastic surgeon based in New York, told MSN.com. "I've had pork-pie hats in my office and that kind of beige and olive wardrobe they tend to wear."

In beard transplants, surgeons extract hair by the roots from the head (or occasionally from the chest for bald men), then implant them into the face through tiny cuts. This surgery typically takes about a week to recover from, and some New Yorkers are even traveling as far as Boca Raton, Fla., to get their bushy beards started on the sly, MSN reports. Some of the men have trouble growing any beards, while others seek to fill in patchy areas caused by acne scarring, MSN reported. Beards can take up to 10 months to completely fill-in.

Follow Tia Ghose on Twitter and Google+. Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+.

Tia is the managing editor and was previously a senior writer for Live Science. Her work has appeared in Scientific American, Wired.com and other outlets. She holds a master's degree in bioengineering from the University of Washington, a graduate certificate in science writing from UC Santa Cruz and a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. Tia was part of a team at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that published the Empty Cradles series on preterm births, which won multiple awards, including the 2012 Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism.