Can Body Hair Be Transplanted On The Head?
Typically, hair transplants redistribute the existing hair on the scalp, the back hair is moved to the front, where the scalp is balding. However, when the scalp lacks sufficient hair, surgeons may turn to other hair stores that can “donate” to the balding areas, which is when body hair transplants come into play.
In this guide, you’ll learn if and how body hair transplants are possible, how they’re performed, and if they are better than traditional scalp transplants.
It is possible to transplant hair from the body to the scalp. This is typically done using the FUE (follicular unit extraction) method of hair transplantation.
However, not just any type of body hair can be transplanted to the scalp. More specifically, the “terminal hair,” which is thicker, coarser, darker and longer, is used for body hair transplantation in contrast to the thin, fine, short and lightly-coloured vellus hair.
Nevertheless, using body hair for scalp hair restoration is usually considered a last-resort. That’s because body hair has a different characteristic from scalp hair and so, as far as the yield and naturalness of the result is concerned, it might not be as good when body hair is used.
Body hair transplants have been around for a while. In fact, did you know that they were done almost a century ago?
In 1939, a Japanese doctor, Dr Shojui Okuda, published groundbreaking research on hair transplantation in the famed “Okuda Papers,” originally titled “Clinical and Experimental Study of Living Hair Transplantation.”
In his study, Okuda mentions harvesting hair from the eyebrows, axilla (armpits), pubic areas and the scalp but found that of all, scalp hair “gave him the best results.” However, interestingly, he had also performed body hair restoration, such as for patients with pubic hair loss and eyebrow hair loss. He’d even experimented with transplanting hair from the scalp of the patients into their arms.
Body hair transplantation, therefore, isn’t anything new. It has, in fact, been around for quite some time. Only because of a language barrier and the beginning of the Second World War the year Okuda published his work, it remained largely unnoticed until it was found by Dr Yoshihiro Imagawa and then translated in the early 2000s.
Who Is Suitable For A Body Hair Transplant?
In cases where the patient lacks sufficient donor hair, a body hair transplant may be recommended, provided the patient is hirsute (hairy).
Typically, as many as 6,000 grafts can be safely harvested from the donor area of the scalp. However, if a patient has aggressive hair loss, such as Norwood Stage 5, 6 or 7, they may not have enough hair in their donor area to ensure adequate coverage. In this case, your surgeon may use body hair as the donor area for your transplantation.
Similarly, if a patient’s donor area is permanently damaged and patchy as a result of overharvestation from a previous hair transplant, the doctor will have to look for some other donor reserves.
Other than creating the illusion of fullness on the scalp, a body hair transplant might also be considered if you want to hide scars from a poorly done FUE or the linear scar of FUT.
In a study published in 2020, the use of body hair is also recommended as a proactive measure to preserve the donor area of the scalp “for future use.” Still, bear in mind that, if possible, your surgeon is likely to choose the scalp as the donor area, as that will give you the best possible results.
The Torso Donor Index
In a research titled “Using Nonscalp Hair in Scalp Hair Restoration—Theory and Execution,” Robert H. True presented an index to determine a person’s suitability for body hair transplantation using torso hair. Called the Torso Donor Index (TDI), it is based on the following criteria:
- The density of hair (follicular units/cm2)
- The similarity in the texture of the body and scalp hair
- The number of follicular units with 2-3 hairs in them
- The surface area of the hair-bearing region
- The length of the hair on the body
On each characteristic, a maximum score of 2 can be achieved and according to the researcher, those who are able to obtain a score of 8-10 are considered “ideal.”
Which Body Hair Can Be Used For Hair Transplant?
Beard hair is generally considered to be a suitable alternative if it is not possible to harvest hair from the scalp. However, hair can be extracted from other areas of the body as well, including:
- Chest
- Back
- Legs
- Armpits
- Pubic area
- Arms
Of all of them, the beard, chest and the back are the most popular donor areas for body hair transplantation.
The reason why beard hair is the preferred secondary donor choice is because it might give better results than other body hairs. Still, it’s not always guaranteed. As noted on the website of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS), if a person has fine and straight hair on the scalp, the coarse and curly beard hair will stand out quite a bit. On the other hand, if their scalp hair is similar to their beard hair, it’s possible to achieve quite aesthetically pleasing results.
What Is The Difference Between Head Hair And Body Hair?
One of the notable differences between scalp and body hair is that their anagen to telogen ratio can be quite different.
Anagen and telogen are two phases of the hair growth cycle — the former is the active growing phase, while the latter is the resting phase.
At any given time, more than 80% of the scalp hair is in the anagen phase, the duration of which can be anywhere from 2 to 6 years.
Now, with the exception of the beard hair, at any given time, most of the body hair is in the resting phase compared to the growing anagen phase — the opposite of scalp hair. And the duration of the anagen phase of body hair usually varies from a few weeks to months. These differences are summarised in a study published in 2017.
In addition, the authors note that body hair differs from scalp hair in terms of the depth of the follicle, the angle at which it emerges (body hair emerges more acutely) and the number of hairs in a follicular unit (usually 1 hair per graft, but some with 2-3 hairs might be in the beard and chest areas).
Therefore, for a surgeon to perform a body hair transplant with a degree of success, it’s imperative that they’re knowledgeable about the differences in the characteristics of hair in different areas of the body and how they might be able to best harvest them.
How Is a Body Hair Transplant Done?
Under tumescent anaesthesia, hair grafts are extracted using a punch tool from the body or the beard area for a body hair transplant. Afterwards, the grafts are implanted into the balding areas.
Depending on their location on the body, hair from different areas might be considered suitable for transplantation into specific areas of the scalp, such as:
- Beard hair might be best suited for the “forelock and mid-scalp area.” Because of its thickness and coarseness, however, it is not used in the hairline or temples.
- Torso hair might be used for the restoration of hair in “the hairline and temples.” Simply chest hair may also be used for coverage in the “mid-scalp and crown.”
Note that a body hair transplant can take much longer than a typical scalp hair transplant. The surgery can take as many as 8 to 9 hours (divided into two time blocks) for the transplantation of just 1,500 to 1,800 grafts, according to one study.
Some special preparation may be required for a body-to-scalp hair transplant:
According to a study conducted on body hair transplants in 2016, to lower the possibility of graft damage during extraction, only the ones in the anagen phase are taken out. One thing to be done for this is to cut the resting phase of the donor body hair short and induce the anagen phase. For this, your doctor might prescribe the use of minoxidil for a few weeks to months before your surgery.
Also, to best identify the anagen hairs on the day of the surgery, you might be instructed to shave your donor areas a few days before the surgery.
How Successful Is A Body Hair Transplant?
The success rate of a body hair transplant can vary depending on which part of the body was used as the donor area. One case report published in the Journal of Cutaneous and Aesthetic Surgery reported the following yield for different donor areas of the body.
However, different graft survival rates have been reported in different studies.
Body Hair Transplants Before And After
A number of studies have documented the before and after results of body hair transplants. Some of these are as follows:
What Are The Risks Of Body Hair Transplants?
As with any surgery, a body hair transplant is not without risks. Some of the potential risks of this procedure include:
- Scarring
- Ingrown hair
- Poor results
- Folliculitis
Body hair transplants are not as commonly done as scalp hair transplants. They’re more complicated and require a more experienced surgical team, which is why it’s important that you find a good medical team that can safely help you achieve your desired results.
How Much Do Body Hair Transplants Cost?
Since body hair transplants require more surgical expertise and are more complex, they may cost upwards of £10,000 in the UK. Prices can, however, vary depending on different factors, such as the extent of baldness, the location of the clinic and the experience of the surgical team.
What Are the Pros and Cons of Body Hair Transplants?
Here are some of the pros and cons of body hair transplants:
It can provide some coverage if you have a depleted or weak scalp donor area.
Though it might not be as effective as hair transplants that use the back and sides of the scalp as the donor area, it can still give results. However, the outcomes can be unpredictable and vary between patients.
The surgery is more complex, time-consuming, and laborious.
It can cost more than a traditional scalp hair transplant.
Graft survival is typically lower than when scalp hair is used.
You might end up dissatisfied with the final results of your procedure (body hair can look unnatural).
Body hair transplants are not done in women because they lack sufficient terminal hairs on their bodies.
Interested In A Hair Transplant?
Because of the poor and temporary results achieved with body hair transplants, Longevita does not offer them to patients. Instead, the practitioners who work with us only use the scalp as a donor area for head and facial hair restoration. We have a 98% success rate and have been offering this treatment for over 12+ years. If you’re also interested in getting your hair back permanent, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us!
Dr Cagla
Dr Cagla earned her medical degree at Trakya University’s Faculty of Medicine in Bulgaria and has almost 6 years of hair transplantation experience. She is a specialist in FUE, DHI and Sapphire hair transplants of the scalp, eyebrows and beard and has performed over 6,000 surgeries. Dr Cagla is multilingual, with fluency in English, Bulgarian and Turkish.
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