Bessam Farjo

Medicine, Class of 1988

Dr Bessam Farjo is the Lead Hair Restoration Surgeon and Medical Director, Farjo Hair Institute, Manchester and London, UK.

After qualifying from RCSI, Dr Farjo he embarked on training in general surgery before fate pointed him towards the then burgeoning field of hair restoration surgery.

In 1993, after a hair surgery fellowship in Toronto, Canada, he co-founded the Farjo Hair Institute with his wife, Dr Nilofer Farjo, exclusively practicing hair restoration surgery and medicine in Manchester and later London.

Dr Farjo performs hair transplant surgical procedures for scalp, eyebrows, eyelashes, beard, moustache, sideburns and hairline restoration after trauma or burns. In 1996, he performed what was thought to be the world’s first full beard restoration by hair transplantation on a burns victim.

The Farjo Hair Institute is also a research and education centre, exploring and developing new hair transplant techniques and other potential future treatments, as well as running workshops and seminars.

Dr Farjo was elected the first President from Europe of the USA-based International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) in 2007 and currently serves as Lead International Ambassador. In 1996, co-founded the British Association of Hair Restoration Surgery (BAHRS) and served as President 2002-2004. In 2003 became a Diplomate of the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery (ABHRS) and served as ABHRS Board Director and Examiner 2006-2012.

He is a registered member of the Institute of Trichologists (est. 1902) and served as Board Governor and medical director 2000-2018. In 2006, he was bestowed with the title of Fellow in recognition of contributions to the Institute, as well as research and field advancements.

Since 2000, he has been involved with on-going hair research collaborations with Universities of Manchester, London, Bradford and Durham as well as Unilever plc. Dr Farjo was the Principal Clinical Investigator with Intercytex plc (2003-2009) for the world’s first human clinical trial in hair cell multiplication/cloning.

To date he has more than 100 hair and scalp presentations/publications to his credit at more than 80 different meetings, workshops and conferences around the world. This includes 16 peer-reviewed papers and 11 chapter contributions to peer-reviewed textbooks.

In October 2012, the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery jointly awarded him, with Dr Nilofer Farjo, the prestigious Platinum Follicle Award for ‘Outstanding achievement in basic scientific or clinically-related research in hair pathophysiology or anatomy as it relates to hair restoration’. The only UK recipients in the 26-year history of the society.