Q:

About 18 years ago, I underwent a hair restoration procedure with primitive technology. Nowadays, I’m very reluctant to ever do such a thing again. Since I had the transplant, I’ve been wearing a hair piece, which I don’t really like to do. I wonder: is it possible for my hair to ever look the way it did in my twenties? And, also, what if I don’t have enough donor hair, can I still get a hair transplant? If I don’t have enough donor hair, body hair is possible, right?

Also, I’m an algebra teacher, anyway this can be afforded on a salary like mine?
Sincerely,

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A:

I appreciate the email. Here are my answers to your questions, in chronological order.

1. Most of the time, it can be corrected. A lot of our patients actually have needed repair hair transplants. Their situation was very similar to yours in that they had plugs or micro-graft surgeries.
2. Whether your donor hair is sufficient, I dont’t know. I have to examine you for that. A good majority of people have enough hair to cover up a hair plug procedure. Some men have so much donor hair that they can even cover up other areas of hair loss.
3. It is plausible to use body hair, but it is much better to use head hair. If you’re in a situation in which you have virtually no scalp hair, and also high-quality body hair, you could be a good candidate for a body hair to head procedure.
4. I can’t tell you if your hair transplant surgery will be affordable right now. Only after I evaluate you. It will all be based on the number of grafts that you require. We offer discounted rates to qualified candidates on our standby program.
5. Make sure to attach photos of yourself and email them to me. The photos we need of your head are from the front, left and right sides, top and back. Make sure to also include a picture of the hair plugged areas of your head so I can take a better look at it.

After taking a look at your head shots, I’ll have a phone consultation with you and talk about the options that are open to you. It’s also a time where I can reply to all your questions.

We’ve been asked many things during a regular consultation with one of our patients. There is one that I hear more about on the side of the cost of hair transplant: “Can we use hair from anywhere else other than the back and sides of the scalp?” our hair transplant surgeon says, “Hair can be harvested from almost any part of scalp or body that grows hair and it can be transplanted to any part of the skin.” This is really not an unusual thing for any hair transplant surgeon to do. This is considered a last resort for patients who do not have sufficient donor hair on their scalp or for those whom have had old technique hair transplant procedures that have violated the donor area.

As we stated, any hair that grows on your body can be used for hair restoration surgery but the scalp donor hair is regarded as the best option when it comes to hair quality. Compared to most body hair, scalp hair has a much longer growth phase (Anagen phase; grows for as long as 1-6 years) and a much shorter resting phase (Telogen phase; hair dies in 4-6 weeks). It is also the most economic choice since there is a much higher density and does not require special techniques to harvest the grafts.

Body hair, however, has an almost reversed growth and rest phase. Body or pubic hair grows for about a few months or less and switches to a long resting phase. This is why pubic hair only grows to a certain length. There have been limited studies that have shown that body or pubic hair can change their inherent characteristics and even increase its growth phase when transplanted to the scalp. The research is insufficient and is still ongoing.

We’ve successfully transplanted pubic hair on select patients. One in particular did not have sufficient donor hair for his procedure due to a violated donor area and miniaturization. We took what we could from the back of his scalp to restore his hairline and harvested pubic hair to reinforce the crown.

The key idea is that there really is no limit to hair restoration surgery. If the patient is lacking in donor hair or requires a large number of hair grafts, pubic hair may be a viable option. Of course, we will evaluate the quality of the donor hair first before considering any other options. A good hair transplant surgeon can determine your candidacy and explain the options available to you prior to any form of surgical hair transplant treatment.