Virginia hair clinic claims it can grow new facial hair with permanent results

May 27, 2016

A clinic in Virginia Beach, Virginia, claims to have solved the problem of patchy facial hair growth by transplanting hair from the back of the head
The procedure surgically removes a strip of hair and tissue and cuts it into hair grafts, which are placed on the face
Virginia Surgical Center, which carries out the treatment, said it can be used on the chin, upper lip, eyebrows, sideburns and for beards
Beards and mustaches have had a resurgence in popularity with celebrity fans including Ryan Gosling, Leonardo DiCaprio and Jake Gyllenhaal

Miranda Bryant For Dailymail.com

Published:
07:25 EST, 27 May 2016

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Updated:
08:21 EST, 27 May 2016

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The booming popularity of facial hair – whose celebrity adopters include Leonardo DiCaprio, Jake Gyllenhaal and Ryan Gosling – has inspired a renaissance of men’s grooming.

But for men who struggle to grow their hair, attempting to cultivate a full beard or a mustache can be a constant source of frustration.

A clinic in Virginia Beach, Virginia, claims to have found the answer in the form of facial hair transplants, reports NewsChannel 3.

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Solution: A clinic in Virginia Beach, Virginia, claims to have solved the problem of patchy facial hair growth using hair transplants, pictured

Transplant: The clinic, whose patients include Allen Anderson, pictured before and after treatment, left and right, surgically removes a strip of hair and tissue from the back of the head

Process: The clinic, pictured treating Christopher Thomas, 23, then cuts the strip into hair grafts, which are painstakingly placed on the face

The procedure removes a strip of hair and tissue from the back of the patient’s head – called ‘donor hair’ – which is then cut into hair grafts and placed into the appropriate area on the face.

The method is most commonly used on the chin and upper lip for mustaches and goatees but can also be used on beards, eyebrows and sideburns.

Linda Carnazza, owner of the Virginia Surgical Center, said they take the hair from the back of the head because that is a ‘permanent’ gene.

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Versatile: Linda Carnazza, owner of the Virginia Surgical Center, pictured, said the procedure can be done on the chin and upper lip as well as for beards, eyebrows and sideburns

Removal: Linda said they take the hair, pictured being extracted, from the back of the head because that is a ‘permanent’ gene

Financial hit: The process, pictured being carried out on eyebrows, costs between $3,000 and $7,000

‘When you take it from here and move it to the face or move it to the eyebrows or the chin or your beard, that’s a permanent gene, you never lose it,’ Linda told NewsChannel 3.

The process, which costs between $3,000 and $7,000, takes hours to complete and the results are not instant – the first hair is predicted to come after three or four months. It can take up to 11 months to come fully.

Linda said: ‘At our other clinic in DC, we’ve gotta do, I don’t know, five a month, six a month – facial hair, full beards, mustaches; eyebrows are very common.’

Time-consuming: The process, pictured during the hair extraction phase, takes hours to complete and the results are not instant

Progress: The first hair is predicted to come after three or four months after Christopher’s transplant, pictured. It can take up to 11 months to come fully

Christopher Thomas, 23, underwent the procedure to add hair to his eyebrows – after he shaved them off as a child and they did not grow back properly – and mustache, which he has struggled to grow.

He said when he first went to the clinic he did not believe it could be true. ‘When I first got here…I was just like no way. This has got to be like some myth,’ he said.

According to the Virginia Surgical Center website, it is ‘very common’ for men to have ‘patchy’ beards.

Hairy: Beards and mustaches have had a resurgence in popularity with celebrity fans including Ryan Gosling, pictured

Beard club: Other facial hair supporters include Leonardo DiCaprio, pictured left, and Jake Gyllenhaal, pictured right

Allen Anderson, who is so committed to his facial hair that he belongs to a beard club, decided to have a facial hair transplant a few months ago because although he could grow a mustache and goatee he could not achieve a full beard.

He had a few areas of his face filled in with transplant hair and said he is now considering going back for more.

‘If you want to do something there’s often, in modern society, they’re often ways to find ways to achieve what you want,’ he said.