Apparently it has become a common habit for men of the “hipster” variety to have hair transplanted to their faces, because what’s a “hipster” without a serious beard?

Plastic surgery is a double edged sword. A blessing to those who need it and a curse to those who abuse it. The tabloids are filled with evidence of the latter, celebrities going too far in order to maintain some vestige of youth and beauty, while the more serious forms of journalism are dedicated to the former. We can add “hipsters,” that lowly social group Bay Area residents are forced to deal with on a daily basis, to the list of individuals who are taking advantage of plastic surgery for all of the wrong reasons.

To clarify: the surgery itself is, specifically, for those men who cannot grow facial hair to the thickness or length desired. The procedure costs upwards of $7,000 and is, obviously, a somewhat painful experience. Hair is removed from the patients head, or in some cases from his chest, and implanted via small surgical cuts under the skin of the face. All so the man in question can grow a beard that is both appealing and socially acceptable as being a “true” beard.

The thought of going through a process that costs $7,000, and requires numerous cuts to the face just to be able to have a beard is, bar none, one of the most idiotic decisions a man can make. If a beard cannot be grown than that’s that. There are worse truths in this life. Not being able to walk, or not being able to have children come to mind. Not being able to grow a beard? No, that doesn’t quite measure up.

Some men can’t grow hair on their heads, so they seek out answers and take matters into their own hands. There’s nothing wrong with that, nothing at all. But resorting to a procedure to have hair implanted on your face simply to look more stylish and trendy? That, sadly, is a poor use of $7,000 and a waste of a surgeons time and expertise.

To add to the procedure’s pain and utter stupidity, the hair that is used is extracted from the root of the head or the chest. Is it plucked out individually, with tweezers or something like it? Perhaps the surgeons use a type of wax to hit a larger area of the patients body? All in all it makes the overall process sound more foolish and ludicrous, and that’s saying something.

What kind of world does a person have to live in for this to seem like a good idea? Better to accept that it’s not gonna happen and save $7,000 rather than blowing all of it in the hopes meeting someone else’s idea of what is desirable or “manly.”