Body hair, according to some of it's proponents, takes on the characteristics of scalp hair simply because it is placed into the scalp. Proponents claim that the cells of the follicle receive signals from the surrounding tissue that influence the transformation into having scalp hair characteristics (length, texture, etc.) thus rewriting the genetic code that dictates growth characteristics to begin with.

These claims would completely negate the theory of donor dominance which has been the overwhelmingly single greatest "guide" for having confidence that transplanted scalp hair should grow indefinitely (and has shown to do so probably close to 99.999999% of the time). If the theory of donor dominance were, in fact, shown to be false then each and every one of us would lose our transplanted hair to the ravages of DHT just like we orinally did which pushed us to seek treatment in the first place. If the theory were rubbish then we would all be returning over and over to our clinic of choice thus eventually causing the entire industry to collapse in a cloud of miserable shame.

No, the theory of donor dominance has been shown to be valid through fifty years of practice. Therefore, I think it is safe to say that BHT, at this point, is a crap shoot with the odds in favor of the house.

This does not even address the added difficulty of harvesting body grafts and the damage that can occur. The problem is that there are two ways to harvest the grafts. First is with some sort of punch. The problem with body hair extraction is not so much the characteristics of the follicle itself but lies in the tissue in which this follicle resides. Take your index finger and push in on your arms, chest, legs, or back. The tissue has a lot of "give" even if you're muscle bound and feel like you are rock solid, like me The problem arises when one tries to perforate the tissue and the tissue begins to give. The amount of give on the scalp is a great deal less so when you are pressing in on the body tissue the growth direction of the follicle can contort or bend with the give of the tissue. To visualize this better, take a semi-rigid piece of material such as a thin tree branch or even a blade of grass. Hold one end in your fingertips then suspend the opposite end on the grond so that it is on it's tip. Now, push down. The blade of grass or thin tree branch will bend. This alters the perceived direction of growth that the doctor is anticipating thus increasing the chance of transection from the punch that is used to be just big enough to score the incision yet just narrow enough to keep the peripheral tissue to a minimum. That graft is now done, gone and will not grow. What's more is that the transected lower half of the graft that may be left behind is now free to induce an anti-inflammatory rejection response from the surrounding tissue trying to eject the transected follicle which can result in visible scar tissue.

The second method of choice is the expanding needle option. While I have not seen this type of tool in action I understand it to entail a needle that is inserted into the tissue then spun in a clock wise or counter-clock wise rotation to separate the follicle from the underlying tissue. This rotation causes the needle to expand outward in a wider and wider circular path. This supposedly reduces the transection rate for target follicles which indeed makes sense. The problem here is that the wider diameter of the incision that is created in the underlying tissue more tissue is pulverized. Think of an inverse "blender" effect. This too can cause more scarring but what's more is that it has a higher probability of transecting the neighboring follicles which starts the whole issue with perforation all over again not to mention the tissue that surrounds the target tissue could be turned into more mush than intact, healthy follicular preserving tissue.

The above is only my opinion based on what I have seen, heard and read so keep that in mind. I have seen results from all of the BHT clinics. I'm sure several practitioners of BHT would have some counter-thoughts to my response but at the same time I'd like to see the evidence to the contrary. So far, all of the evidence that I've been presented with (and have experienced first hand) does not convince me that BHT can produce even the marginal results I've seen with tradional scalp FUE. BHT, if used at all, should be used ONLY as a last resort if one's donor is completely depleted.

For hair transplantation, strip is still the standard because the results are much more consistent and that is what we are all here for. I do think however that if you are to be in need of BHT that Dr. Woods is your best option. He is the only practitioner of BHT that does not try to over sell it's potential.

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I am employed by Hasson & Wong as a patient educator. My opinions are my own and might not be that of Dr. Hasson & Dr. Wong.

Hasson & Wong-The More You Look The Better We Look.

Dr. Hasson and Dr. Wong are members of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians

Thanks Jo

As always you are a wealth or knowledge ( I still owe you for the scalp exercises)..

Anyway, Thank god I still have donor hair if I need a 4th HT but I feel this is an area which is still a bit "gray".. It is important we are objective in our handling of the subject & go by documented fact so to provide others who need BHT , a realistic picture.

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JOBI

1417 FUT - Dr. True
1476 FUT - Dr. True
2124 FUT - Dr. True
604 FUE - Dr. True







My views are based on my personal experiences, research and objective observations. I am not a doctor.

Total - 5621 FU's uncut!

Joe,

Thankyou very much indeed for such an in depth explanation. According to Jeff Epstein, I still have about 4500 grafts (over two additional procedures) that can be utilized using strip and then after that I want to try and get as much as I can with FUE before I would ever consider BHT. I really have seen some dreadfull results with BHT even though the clients seem to be pleased with it. Still , I like to keep options open because I have enough body hair to open a carpet factory.....

I do not think claims about BHT challenge the idea of donor dominance. Body hair proponents claim that the grafts continue to resist the effects of DHT after transplantation; this is in accordance with the idea of donor dominance. In theory, the grafts will then begin to grow longer on the scalp, taking this "queue" from the recipient zone. So, whatever regulates *length* would be "recipient dominant." This actually does not negate the idea of donor dominance.

Regardless, I imagine there have been hundreds if not thousands of BHT procedures done at this point. It is rather unsetting that we've yet to see any substantial results from this sort of surgery. Quite frankly, there are better solutions to hair loss that Body hair.

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Notice: I am an employee of Dr. Paul Rose who is recommended on this community. I am not a doctor. My opinions are not necessarily those of Dr. Rose. My advice is not medical advice.

Dr. Rose is a member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians.

THLC,

I think there is a bit of confusion here. I agree that body hair would continue to resist the effects of DHT but it because they are supposed to. The genetic code of these hairs dictates this which falls in line with the theory.

I have yet to see a single body hair result where the hair took on the characteristics of scalp hair. There is an extremely limited amount of evidence that the hair will grow longer on the scalp but I feel this has more to do with the increased amount of blood flow in the scalp only. In my case this was not proven to be true. The claims stipulate that the length AND texture will change. The reason why I feel it violates the theory is because of this; any hair that we transplant should be impervious to the ravages of DHT. That is the whole point, which I'm sure you'll agree, to the effect of the newly transplanted hair will be permanent. To suggest that all the body hair transplanted will somehow transform into scalp-esque hair because it is simply on the scalp and not on the arms/legs/chest, etc. would indicate that the genetic code has nothing to do with the growth characteristics of the hair but rather the location of it does. If this were the case then any scalp hair that were placed in the area of need would no longer be resistant to DHT and would eventually die off. That is what I meant so sorry if there was any lack of clarity.

__________________
I am employed by Hasson & Wong as a patient educator. My opinions are my own and might not be that of Dr. Hasson & Dr. Wong.

Hasson & Wong-The More You Look The Better We Look.

Dr. Hasson and Dr. Wong are members of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians

Jo,

I agree with you. I was merely harping on a subtle point.

"I have yet to see a single body hair result where the hair took on the characteristics of scalp hair."

Nor have I.

__________________
Notice: I am an employee of Dr. Paul Rose who is recommended on this community. I am not a doctor. My opinions are not necessarily those of Dr. Rose. My advice is not medical advice.

Dr. Rose is a member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians.

It appears that we are all in agreement here.

Neither have I seen a body hair result that took on the characteristics of scalp hair.

Does BHT work? At best...sometimes, but it's a crap shoot. There is no consistency, at least, not publicly seen to date.

And in fact, like everyone else in their research, there isn't much to see.

I believe I have seen one positive result after viewing several case studies...however, many case studies who started posting never posted their results. Some are still in progress and have been updating us. Use the "find" feature on this forum to search BHT or Body Hair Transplant to follow these cases.

So I stand by my original claim at this point or until BHT is more consistent...

BHT at this point is a crap shoot and should NOT be relied upon as one's only strategy for hair restoration.

Bill

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To learn about how I restored my hair, view my my hair loss website.

Remember, true beauty radiates from within, not from the skin.

I am not a medical professional and my words should not be taken as medical advice. All opinions and views shared are my own.

I will agree with Joe . I am basing this on talking to former patients that had bht over 5 years. Dr. Woods used this on Timetested who I have personaly met on 2 occassions over the last 5 years. His body hair grew and he used it as a filler amongst his repair work. It is a last resort and not oversold like I have seen with other clinics. But it will never take the place of head hair. And Hairlosscure. The only kind of Charecteristic that I have seen and that is with chest and back hair on this particular patient is it's length doubled from what it was on the chest. This does not have to be overmarketed. But for some depleted donor patients it has been a viable option.

"And Hairlosscure. The only kind of Charecteristic that I have seen and that is with chest and back hair on this particular patient is it's length doubled from what it was on the chest. This does not have to be overmarketed. But for some depleted donor patients it has been a viable option."

I think it is important to look at how BHT is presented in general, not by just Dr. Woods. While Woods may be forthcoming about the procedure, I have noticed that others are promoting Body Hair as something bigger than it is. Moreover, it is not always applied for the depleted donor cases. That is of concern to me, since patient expectations tend to be out of line with the reality of BHT. Again, I am not referring to Woods.

Timetested's case is certainly an interesting one; a significant transformation indeed.

__________________
Notice: I am an employee of Dr. Paul Rose who is recommended on this community. I am not a doctor. My opinions are not necessarily those of Dr. Rose. My advice is not medical advice.

Dr. Rose is a member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians.

Juding from what all you professionals say, then I agree, it is a total last resort after complete donor depletion.

Thehairlosscure, tell me, do you know what Dr. Rose charges per graft for FUE?

Thanks everyone for your great input