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Body Hair has proven to be a valuable resource for those with either extensive hair loss or with an especially limited donor due to previous surgeries. It can on occasion be harvested via Strip in some cases, i.e. pubic or armpit hair for example, but most frequently is harvested via the FUE method.
Body hair can differ in characteristics to scalp hair in terms of colour, coarseness, curl, growth phases, and even the hair to graft ratio. The yield can be slower to grow or lower than traditional scalp hair yield. Usually the growth phase is much shorter for body hair, with the exception of beard hair that cycles much more like scalp hair, so patience is needed when awaiting growth especially with this type of procedure. Some note that when transplanted to the scalp the body hair takes on the growth cycles of the local area over time. This has been noted also in scalp hair transplanted to other areas such as eyebrows whereby patients have been known to report that after a few years the transplanted hair there grows at the same length as the surrounding natural eyebrow hair and does not need to be continually trimmed as in the early stages of growth. There is also a reported softening effect whereby the hair, especially beard, overtime loses some of its coarseness, although this is open to debate but often any transplanted hair can present itself coarser or darker and will refine itself in time.
Coarseness can be an issue if it doesn t match the hair in which it is being placed amongst, and beard hair for example would not be considered a good choice for delicate hair-line work to make an obvious statement. Beard hair is being used however elsewhere on the scalp and often into scar tissue to good effect. It is also a good filler to use in and amongst scalp hair if possible. Although it presents a lower hair to graft ratio than scalp hair, it will often be coarser so in effect give more surface area coverage than scalp hair when comparing hair diameter.
Unlike scalp hair, body hair generally benefits from the hormone DHT (dihydrotestosterone). Some patients who take DHT blockers such as Propecia, have found a diminishing of body hair in both number and quality. This seems to affect the chest, arm and leg hair more so, and to a lesser degree the beard area. If the body hair is severely compromised by such medication, then it would be un-wise to use body hair as a viable transplant alternative, as there would be doubts concerning its efficacy in such cases.
Clinics who undertake body hair transplantation will have varying protocols as to how much to harvest in one sitting, where to harvest from, where to place it, and the ratio of scalp to body hair needed to achieve the best result. A patch test may be required by some clinics, depending on the amount of grafts needed long term, in order to monitor the healing and growth results before both parties commit to larger surgeries.
Body hair transplantation is still relatively new but does appear to be on the increase with more and more cases being published annually and we expect a continued growth with respect of this.
