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.

In a recent article published in the European Journal of Dermatology, a group in Kang et has been working with a native plant known as Schisandra Nigra. This plant is native to the Jeju Island in South Korea and is being evaluated for its rumored effects on hair by natives. The study is being conducted on rat hair and is showing some promise.

Tests were conducted on rat vibrissa follicles by treating them with 85% ethanol extract of S. Nigra (Schisandra Nigra) where the most evident effect was the vibrissa follicle’s hair fiber length increased significantly. In addition to the effects of the EtOH (ethanol) extract, anagen (growth phase) progression of the hair shaft was induced. Even more so the S. Nigra extract also increased both the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen in the bulb matrix region and the proliferation of immortalized vibrissa dermal papilla cells with more activity on hair follicle cells.

To help researches determine what mechanism in the S. Nigra plant helps induce hair growth, they examined its relationship with the TGF-beta2 complex. This is a signal pathway known to regulate catagen induction. Catagen induction is the phase that comes after the hair cycle’s growth phase.

The documented results of S. Nigra application for 7 days was the lowering of TGF-beta2 expression in the bulb matrix region in comparison to that of the control follicles expected to be in the anagen-catagen transition phase. This suggests that S. Nigra potentially promotes hair growth by deregulating TGF-beta2 as well as the proliferation of dermal papilla.

Put simply, this plant’s extracts stop hair follicles from going into their resting phase. This means hair will continue to grow and the number of growing hairs at one time will be higher. Still, these findings cannot be proven to truly work on humans. We still need more conclusive studies to be made to prove the true effects of this plant on human hair growth.

We at our Orange County California hair transplant offices will keep you updated with the most recent finings on hair restoration methods and techniques. Because of the lack of sufficient or adequate evidence, we do not recommend the use of this or other herbal hair loss products for treatment of male or female patterned hair loss at this point. Will continue to monitor any additional findings or new updates in the world of hair restoration and keep our readers posted.