I always said that Donor hair is to be the first choice due to its superior length characteristics and generally greater numbers of bulbs per follicular unit i.e. more doubles and triplets etc.
I always said that body hair was to be used when there is not enough donor, and when greater coverage and density is required.
And that no one will examine body hair on the scalp and pick it to be different, apart from length. But pubic and armpit hair should not be used for reasons explained many times.
And the “what you see is what you will get” principle means that , for example, short, weak flimsy leg hair will give a similarly weak and flimsy result on the head. And length increase is proportional to the original length.
And I have repeated many times that BODY HAIR, used correctly is a godsend. It is a brilliant resource.
But FsUE takes many years to master and then only if the doctor has the necessary skill and attitude.
Few really want to practise for years to become competent, whilst earning very little.
It is easier to jump in, claim huge numbers were successfully transplanted, and rely on the line that it may take 12 to 18 months to see results. That buys time and allows the doctor to relentlessly pound the forums with thousands of meaningless photos to create confusion and a sense of being an expert.
But what does happen is donor sites are wiped out and many patients are left with an immediate and obvious problem, due to incompetence and high transection rates.
Enter body hair. When you wipe out the donor , you have a very unhappy patient.
BUT, if you wipe out the leg hair etc, most patients don’t really care.
And who remembers what was being presented on the forums 18 months ago ??
Failures are swept up in the general hype and propaganda blitz , and in 18 months, mostly forgotten and lost in the mix of confusing information and carefully selected results.
I raised the alarm many times and wound up being attacked by a call centre of shills.
So hanginthere is right . Body hair has been over used and abused in order to gain publicity by incompetent operators and hair mills who want to avoid immediate and obvious donor disasters which would be bad publicity.
Body hair numbers have been hugely over estimated, and much of what is transplanted may be transected and useless. The other glaringly obvious trick is to shave pre existing hair for the before shot, then claim credit when it grows out, as though it was transplanted
And in general and in my experience, properly chosen, extracted and implanted body hair will show growth in approximately the same time as donor, occasionally a few months longer.
So apart from creating excuses and buying more time, I find the hair cycle argument irrelevant in the real world.
JohnP answered Arun. Thankyou.
Can you use body hair first line in thinning temples etc ? Well, if the body hair has the appropriate and excellent characteristis, and if the patient is well informed and insists, then , yes.
How many do you pack into any given area ? There are so many variables that I would rather be asked how long is a piece of string (…42.5 cm, I think).
Dr Ray Woods
