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Mideast men go under knife for manly mustaches

Thick mustaches have long been prized in Middle East as symbols of wisdom, maturity



(CNN) —

Thick, handsome mustaches have long been prized by men throughout the Middle East as symbols of masculine virility, wisdom and maturity.

But not all mustaches are created equal, and in recent years, increasing numbers of Middle Eastern men have been going under the knife to attain the perfect specimen.

Turkish plastic surgeon Selahattin Tulunay says the number of mustache transplants he performs has boomed in the last few years. He now performs 50-60 of the procedures a month, on patients who hail mostly from the Middle East and travel to Turkey as medical tourists.

He said his patients generally want thick mustaches as they felt they would make them look mature and dignified.

"For some men who look young and junior, they think (a mustache) is a must to look senior ... more professional and wise," he said. "They think it is prestigious."

Pierre Bouhanna is a Paris-based surgeon who, for the past five years, has been performing increasing numbers of mustache transplants. He says the majority of his patients come from the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Lebanon and Turkey, with men traveling to France to have the surgery performed.

"My impression is more and more they want to establish their male aspect," he said. "They want a strong mustache."

Both surgeons use a technique -- follicular unit extraction -- in which groups of hairs are taken from areas of dense hair growth to be implanted in the mustache area.

Bouhanna said the patients were generally aged between 30 and 50, and were able to fly home the day after they had the procedure, which costs about $7,000 (€5,500) and is performed under local anesthetic.

They are able to wash the next day, had to abstain from shaving for 15 days, and could expect to see full results after six months.


Read more: http://www.wgal.com/news/national/Mideas...z2Dea5pGCs

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Western men with weak facial hair also feel the way Middle Eastern men do, though most wouldn't go to this extent to change it. They just learn to live with it.

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(11-29-2012 06:41 PM)Timoteo Wrote:  Western men with weak facial hair also feel the way Middle Eastern men do, though most wouldn't go to this extent to change it. They just learn to live with it.

All the guys I know with thin facial hair just keep clean-shaven.

Personally, I feel lucky to be able to grow a full beard. Haven't shaved since late October.

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(11-29-2012 10:50 PM)MSW2007 Wrote:  

(11-29-2012 06:41 PM)Timoteo Wrote:  Western men with weak facial hair also feel the way Middle Eastern men do, though most wouldn't go to this extent to change it. They just learn to live with it.

All the guys I know with thin facial hair just keep clean-shaven.

Personally, I feel lucky to be able to grow a full beard. Haven't shaved since late October.

I can grow a full beard, but I haven't done it in years. For years I went with the goutee. I normally go with just a moustache now, mostly because I have a lot of gray in my beard, and the chin part is completely white. I've shaven the moustache off maybe a handful of times in my life, but I think it looks strange - it seems like there's too much space between my nose and upper lip, and my upper lip isn't thick. I think guys with fuller lips look better without the 'stache.

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Yes, there are some serious mustaches in the middle-east. I've never heard of anyone personally getting a surgery for it but I cannot say I'm surprised.

By the way, a mustache like the one shown above ends up "on bottom" in the desert. It's clear that such a mustache would never be fit for any position of leadership.

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My beard is a bit patchy on the sides and doesn't form a full sideburn. Kinda pisses me off as I was expecting it to fully come in by my college years and it never did.

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Muslims have to have beards? I always found that weird. Like something out of Monty Python.

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This is a hilarious thread. I had not heard about this before. But the more I think about it, it makes sense.

Since ancient times, beards in the Near East have signified power and authority. Look at these Assyrian kings from the period 800-500 BC:





Even in ancient Egypt, pharaohs often wore false beards (almost like a wig) as a symbol of authority:




QC

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I always assumed there was a natural selection effect which takes place in Muslim societies.

Those who couldn't grow impressive beards would have fewer children than those who could.

Which means - 1400 years later - most Muslims can grow much more impressive beards than people in the west.

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My beard is turning white, starting around the sideburns.

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(01-06-2014 12:07 PM)Quintus Curtius Wrote:  This is a hilarious thread. I had not heard about this before. But the more I think about it, it makes sense.

Since ancient times, beards in the Near East have signified power and authority. Look at these Assyrian kings from the period 800-500 BC:





Even in ancient Egypt, pharaohs often wore false beards (almost like a wig) as a symbol of authority:




QC

People really think this? Not that Afro hair can be shaped and molded quite easily when its grown out a beard?



But I guess its the same reason that Classic Egyptian women wore wigs even though that tradition is still prevalent among Black women today.

Modern Egyptians have little trace to the ancient times. No Modern Egyptians have links outside of Cairo, Port Said, and Alexandria. Its a tired myth to exclude the obvious fact that Kushite Africans had as much to do with Ancient Egypt as anybody else, they ruled the place during its more important times i the lead up to the area of antiquity. People will think of silly reasons to not acknowledge this. No diss to you of course, its just that history that would state such a thing is bogus as hell. Designs are wraps for hair that coils are as old as old gets and is still prevalent today.

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(01-06-2014 12:44 PM)Roosh Wrote:  My beard is turning white, starting around the sideburns.

Cry me a river. My goatee is almost full white and my sideburns turned white long ago.

Of course, I'm old.

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(01-06-2014 12:44 PM)Roosh Wrote:  My beard is turning white, starting around the sideburns.

I hear you. Next up will be the occasional white hair on your chin. Then your chin will be full on salt and pepper. I sure miss having a week's worth of full black stubble.

On another note, can they do a similar procedure to implant hair to the scalp?

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Can't you just dye your beard?

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(01-06-2014 01:36 PM)kosko Wrote:  People really think this? Not that Afro hair can be shaped and molded quite easily when its grown out a beard?

360 waves - an ancient African hairstyle

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^^^

Kosko:

That may all be true...I wasn't trying or intending to make any ethnological statement on the identity of the inhabitants of ancient Egypt.

I was just mentioning that I remember reading that, on special occasions, an Egyptian pharaoh might (during ceremonies or special occasions) don a "strap on" beard. It was just one of many symbols of authority that the monarch would use, now and then, like a diadem, crown, sceptre, crook, etc., etc. It's no big deal.

It's in the history books and you can verify it for yourself. Check out this interesting article, which discusses it:

http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/beards.htm