Ninjax

What gster has said is a good idea, but to be honest maya fur is actually ideal for this type of work, as a beard is not too long and can be tweaked fairly easily. The baldness map is also editable quite easily in PS. Ive recently done a 'Craig David' Style on a character at work, it took about 30- 45mins, the result was fine.

As long as your uvs on the head are good then you wont have too many probs.

Jay