Excess amounts of DHT is a common cause of hair loss on the scalp, however, this same hormone causes an increase in body hair for many individuals. Patients with sufficient amounts of body hair can choose hair transplant surgeries that remove hair from the body and transplant it to the scalp.
Body hair is not an easy solution to balding. The hair that covers the body is significantly different than the hair that covers the head. Body hair has a shorter growth cycle, which means it spends more time in the resting phase and less time growing. It also tends to be much thinner than head hair, which means that a much larger quantity of body hair is needed to obtain a natural looking head of hair.
Transplantation of body hair to the scalp is a good option for patients who do not have adequate donor sites on the head, but who have excess body hair on the chest, back, or legs.
In a transplant procedure, the body hair will be removed using a punch tool. It will then be inserted into the scalp in patterns that mimic the natural appearance of the patient’s hair. Although uncommonly performed, body hair to scalp transplantation is generally successful.