Hasidic Jews Pay $7K for ‘Beard-Transplant’ Therapy

Image by getty images
Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn are reportedly paying thousands of dollars for facial hair transplants that allow them to have fuller beards.
New York City plastic surgeons say observant Jewish men are among the prime markets for their procedure that runs up to $7,000, DNAinfo reported.
“Whether you are talking about the Brooklyn hipster or the advertising executive, the look is definitely to have a bit of facial hair,” Dr. Jeffrey Epstein, a facial plastic surgeon who has performed the procedure for 12 years, told the web site.
It’s not just Hasidim that are seeking a fuller facial look. Beards and mustaches are becoming hipper as young men seek alternative looks.
Hasidic Jews tend to come in for denser sidelocks, doctors told DNAinfo. Other clients include men who have struggled since adolescence to grow proper beards and women undergoing sex changes to become men.
Facial hair transplantation restores hair to areas where hair growth is thin or missing. It can be performed on beards, sideburns and cheeks, though the most common places are the goatee and mustache areas, Epstein says on the website for his Foundation for Hair Restoration medical practice.
Did you know that only 2% of Forward readers donate to support our nonprofit newsroom? That 2% make it possible for millions to read the Forward without a paywall or subscription — removing any barriers to the full and fair Jewish story.
But while the Forward is free to read, it isn’t free to produce. Big stories — like deep dives into the antisemitism data, political scoops or reporting trips to college campuses — take months of research and fact-checking. All while we keep you informed of what you need to know each day.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Forward Publisher & CEO
