the "woods technique"

[Guest wanthairs]

Hey Guys,

 

What do you all think about Dr's Angela and Ray woods? Is it overhyped or do you think that they really can pull off this BHT perfectly without all the problems one typically reads about this procedure..

Anyone out there ever done this with successful results, that can match FU's? Ive only ever seen crap results in my limited research.....

[Guest wanthairs]

Hey Guys,

 

What do you all think about Dr's Angela and Ray woods? Is it overhyped or do you think that they really can pull off this BHT perfectly without all the problems one typically reads about this procedure..

Anyone out there ever done this with successful results, that can match FU's? Ive only ever seen crap results in my limited research.....

[Bill - Seemiller]

wanthairs,

 

There have been a lot of claims about BHT, but like you, I have yet to see any consistency in results. Personaly, I'd hold off on considering BHT until there is at least some consistency with it. I think I've seen ONE good result so far out of the 10 cases or so I've followed. There are some I'm following now, but they are not at maturation yet, so I can't make an evaluation.Bill

[the B spot]

The woods technique is nothing other than their method.

 

Regardless of the extraction and implantation methods, no doctor can guarantee body hair growth, nor can they forecast or assume the length of time between resting and growing phases for body hair.

 

My personal feeling about body hair is that AFTER scalp donor is exhausted through strip/fue the patient/doc have a few choices:

 

Test BHT in the donor region--- if successful and appropriate, perhaps over-harvest scalp donor through fue and replace with body hair grafts.

 

Decide to use BH as filler between existing scalp hair in order to give more body to transplanted hair.

 

ANY bht patient who has what could be termed as "decent/good" results has a substantial number of scalp grafts transplanted 4-5000.

 

Dr. Umar, Woods, Poswal, C.ole, etc.... etc... have FAILED MISERABLY to provide consistant results over the past 3 years.

 

I suggest you really research this and meet 5-6 patients of each doctor in person before making a decision.

 

Take Care,

J

[MrJobi]

Wise advice

 

I am soo confused about BHT.. I have been on this forum for over 2 years and I have read about several BHT procedures.. My questions are

 

Does it work or not?

What are the year end results?

Photo's?

 

At this point I'm sure some docs who have done it know it is either effective or not..

 

I mean, either it grows or doesn't??

[NervousNelly]

I agree with Mrjb. It seems that there are many that post their immediate post op results and then disappear. What gives?? My assumption is that it is usually unsuccessful or we would see more posters showing off their results. Just my opinion--and apparently Jobi's.

 

NN

[MrJobi]

Hi

 

I am just clueless on this subject. I see many posts without closure or a final conclusion.. Either it is a viable option or not.. Seems like there have been enough procedures to benchmark?

[Guest]

I am still not clear on how body hair takes on the same Texture, appearance & legnth as scalp hair.?????

[gazzasgoin2]

Guys, i admit i dont know much about BHT nor seen results bUt thought id chip in with my 2 cents nonetheless....

 

From what ive read, bht typically takes longer to grow, are mostly singular follicular units so not great for density and terminal lengths are shorter. Therefore at best they could be used to dilute traditional scalp supply in less cosmetic areas. Also not seen many final results.

 

I would also say that as someone just embarking on the HT journey, i do not look on bht as a source of additional grafts at this stage. In other words I wouldnt get a HT in the first place if i thought i would need to rely on bht to complete the process. Having said that I realise it does offer hope to many who have exhausted their scalp donor withot the desired results (for whatever reason).

 

Anyway, waffled on a bit!!

[the B spot]

Folica, most body hair will never grow more than 1/2 to 1 inch in length.

 

Body hair is a most infuriating and potentially disastrous undertaking.

 

Again, where are the patients?

 

1 year?

2 years?

 

Body hair also NEEDS DHT so what do patients who use a combination of scalp/body hair do?

 

I am disgusted an saddened by what I feel is an ethical compromise by some doctors who continue to tout their skills and charge for a surgery that cannot even produce 20% of its patients as a success.

 

Take Care,

J

[Jotronic]

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.

[MrJobi]

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.

[Guest wanthairs]

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.....

[TheHairLossCure]

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.

[Jotronic]

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.

[TheHairLossCure]

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.

[Bill - Seemiller]

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

[Franklin]

He is the only practitioner of BHT that does not try to over sell it's potential.

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.

[TheHairLossCure]

"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.

[Guest wanthairs]

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