Sideburn hair transplant is a specialised procedure that addresses either the absence of sideburns — in patients who naturally lack them — or the loss of sideburn coverage due to alopecia, scarring, or previous facial surgery. It is also requested by patients undergoing gender-affirming facial hair procedures.
The sideburn is the strip of facial hair that descends from the temple and connects the scalp hair to the beard. Its shape, density, and exact extent vary enormously between individuals — from a thin strip at the temple margin to a dense, full sideburn covering the entire pre-auricular area. Sideburn design should be based on what is natural for the patient’s face and what they want to achieve, not on a generic template.
Donor hair for sideburn transplants is typically taken from the scalp — single or two-hair follicular units that most closely match the characteristics of native sideburn hair. The growth direction of sideburn hair runs forward and downward, and graft implantation must precisely follow this direction to produce a natural result.
The challenge is that scalp hair grows faster and longer than sideburn hair, meaning transplanted grafts will need periodic trimming. Patients should factor this ongoing maintenance into their decision. Some surgeons use finer body hair for sideburn transplants to better match the natural calibre and growth rate of facial hair in this zone.
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