Generally, doctors do not prefer hair transplants using body hair. However, in some cases, they may have to perform a hair transplant with body hair.
What Is a Body Hair Transplant?
If there is no potential donor area on your scalp, your doctor will look for a potential donor area during the procedure that will save you from baldness. This procedure, known as body hair transplantation, is the removal of hair follicles from body areas outside the scalp. However, some factors such as the quality, texture, or thickness of your hair, donor area density, and the experience of your surgeon are also of great importance to achieve a good result.
Can Body Hair Be Used for Hair Transplant?
Hair transplant is a rapidly developing field where surgeons are constantly looking for the best strategies for a more aesthetic and natural result. This procedure typically involves removing follicles from a safe donor area of the scalp and transplanting the scalp to areas where they are needed. But there are a limited number of follicles that can be removed from the donor area. In other words, a maximum of 6000 hair follicle units can be taken from the donor area. This is not a sufficient number to get satisfactory results, especially in cases of severe baldness. In such cases, hair follicles are removed from other body areas such as the beard, chest, arms, and legs of the patient and these areas can be used as additional donor areas.
Which Areas of Body Hair Are Ideal for Body-Scalp Transplant?
In a hair transplant, the first and most preferred area as a donor area is the beard after the scalp. Beard hair is stronger and thicker than other parts of the body. However, the areas of the face that give the best hair are the area that is distributed along the chin. The hairs that come down from the neck area and up the face do not tend to be as thick as the scalp. However, these hairs may not grow for that long.
After the hair of the nape and beard area of the person is removed, the hair may still be insufficient. As an additional graft in this case, the best alternative among other options is a hair transplant with chest hair. Chest hair is much thinner than hair on the face or scalp. Therefore, your doctor prefers your chest hair to make your front hairline look hairy.
There are other areas that your doctor can use as a donor area in a hair transplant. But the hairs in these areas are quite thin and suitable only for transplantation to the front hairline and temple peaks. These areas include arm, armpit, pubic, and thigh hair.
The Technique Used in Hair Transplants
In your hair transplantation process, your doctor takes the hair grafts from your nape area, which usually has a high hair density. If there are not enough hair follicles in your nape area, your doctor will have to alternatively remove hair follicles from other parts of your body. At the same time, your doctor will perform this procedure under local anesthesia.
First, your doctor makes a circular incision in the skin surrounding the graft. In the next step, it removes the hair follicles. Your doctor places the removed hair follicles in a special solution. In the last step of the procedure, your doctor places your hair follicles in the recipient area.
Fears Related to Hair Transplant Procedures Using Body Hair
There are some important differences between the scalp and body hair. It is useful to know these differences before starting the hair transplantation process so that you do not encounter an unexpected situation in the process. The factors that most affect whether your hair transplant is successful or not are the environment, color, and thickness of the transplanted hair.
The concerns that exist for patients who receive hair transplants using body hair are:
- The difference between scalp hair and body hair is high,
- The possibility of feeling pain during the removal of body hair,
- The possibility of a mismatch between scalp hair and body hair,
- Risk of hair loss two or three years after the procedure.
The biggest disadvantage you may experience in this process is that your scalp hair is stronger and stronger than your body hair. Patients who naturally have hair transplants with body hair are worried about the possibility that these hairs can be easily shed later. But if more hair transplants are done than you need, you won’t face such a risk.
Hair Transplant Using Body Hair Turkey
If needed, your doctor can use your body hair in a hair transplant in Turkey. However, body hair can provide more density in the transplanted area. Your doctor uses the hair in your nape area behind your head as a donor graft. If the number of grafts is not sufficient, your doctor will perform a hair transplant using your body hair.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use leg hair for a hair transplant?
Hair transplantation from your leg hair can be performed if there is not enough hair in your head area or if it is not deemed appropriate by the physician. Although it is not much preferred, this method is also an effective method and application in terms of hair transplantation.
Can hair transplants be done using pubic hair?
In the hair transplant process, your doctor may remove a hair follicle from your pubic area. However, this field is often used as the last choice. Before the pubic area, your doctor removes a hair follicle from your chest, beard, and nape area. If your hair follicles taken from these areas are not enough for transplantation, you may have to use the pubic area as a donor area.
Can body hair be transplanted to the scalp?
Hair transplant is a rapidly developing field where surgeons are constantly looking for the best strategies for a more aesthetic and natural result. Thanks to the technologies developing every day in this area, body hair can also be used for hair transplantation. Your doctor decides which body area you will use as a donor area during the procedure.