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Arm (or Nape) Hair for Hairline


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  • Regular Member

I had this crazy idea while I was lying in bed last night, after looking at my hairline, where the results are decent, like B+. I had one HT a few years ago, at age 23, and I've been on propecia/rogaine.

 

Anyways, has any doctor ever used body or arm hair specifically for the front part of the hair? I know it would not grow very long, but at least it would break up the sharp contrast of dark thick hair from the back of the head to the forehead.

 

I felt like a genius, and I couldn't wait to get to work today to post this. What does everybody think?

 

Best

Ryan

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Ryan,

 

You genius you icon_wink.gif.

 

Not to burst your bubble at all, because your question is a good one - but the idea of using softer, finer hair for the hairline is not a new one. That said, since body hair growth yield is much less consistent and comes with a list of other potential problems, it's probably a whole lot better to consider softer, finer, scalp hair. With follicular unit extraction (FUE), these hairs can be targeted from the donor area, extracted, and transplanted into the hairline. That said, soft, natural looking hairlines can be created with hair harvested from an FUT (strip) procedure as well. Refining the hairline with softer hairs via FUE may be a viable solution for those with naturally thick, coarse hair.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

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Dr. Umar does a lot of HT work using body hair. He uses it mostly for repair work when there is no other donor hair left. There is a poster named sofarsogood who has used it to refine/soften his hairline. Not sure he posts much on this forum, though.

I am the owner/operator of AHEAD INK a Scalp Micropigmentation Company in Fort Lee, New Jersey. www.aheadink.com

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I've seen very good results from leg hair to soften the hairline. Wouldnt work for everyone though.

 

I think you maybe be better off doing fue to seledct finer scalp hairs to go into the hairline to soften it. You wont really6 be able to guaruntee this with strip as you cant cherry pick the grafts, you get what ya given.

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Hey Ryan,

Like Bill said, there are issues with characteristics and growth cycles using body hair. If you are really looking for something to soften the hairline, I have heard decent things concerning nape hair (bottom of the back of the hair/on the neck). I believe Dr Umar uses it on hairlines to soften the look. However, I believe it is still not resistant to future loss (like normal transplanted follicles are), so you could loose this softness in the future.

"Doc" Blake Bloxham - formerly "Future_HT_Doc"

 

Forum Co-Moderator and Editorial Assistant for the Hair Transplant Network, the Hair Loss Learning Center, the Hair Loss Q&A Blog, and the Hair Restoration Forum

 

All opinions are my own and my advice does not constitute as medical advice. All medical questions and concerns should be addressed by a personal physician.

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Thanks for your replies everybody, I was curious... I kind of live in the middle of nowhere, and had some questions about where I could get a FUE done, by a reputable doctor. I live in southern New Mexico, and Sharon Keene is the closest, she did a pretty good job on my FUT... I opted to have FUT because I had already had some surgery done on my head to remove some fatty deposits. But, apparently FUT cannot get those same hairs the way FUE can.

 

Thanks guys

Best

Ryan

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I'd like more discussion about this. When you look at the hairline characteristics used from HT vs. temple point fine hairs, it's so obvious when you compare. If there were softer hairs to use; I think fue might be the only way to go with the hairline. I'm not saying arm hair, but maybe nape exclusively.

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Future_HT_Doc,

 

Using nape hair for transplanting has been a controversial topic of discussion for years.

 

While nape hair is typically finer and may help refine the hairline and temple points, the problem is that it's sometimes susceptible to DHT and hair loss. Thus, transplanted hair from the nape may not be a permanent solution.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

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OK, this may sound like a wildly impractical thought, I'd like some responses.

 

I'm only 24, and my nape hair doesn't seem to be thinning whatsoever. Nor does my dad's or any male relative, even over the age of 65.

 

OK, that said, would it be a horrible idea to get the nape hair done? Even with the expectation that it may fall out, with confidence that there will be some future alternative, such as stem-cells or all or all that good stuff...

 

Just a thought.

 

Thanks

Ryan

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Originally posted by Ryan Daj:

Now I'd like to rename this thread, is that possible?

 

I believe so. If you look at the very first message you posted on this thread there should be three little icons on the right hand side. Select the middle one and you should be able to edit the message or title (you need to be logged in for this to be available I guess).

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I think if you have family history of hairloss below the crown nw6/7 there is more chance nape might recede up later but if hairloss is just confined to top and front nape is likely a good idea.So like you said look at family members especially your grandparents if you are young and arent sure how your loss will go in next 20 years.Its all in the GENES.

HT 2006/7

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Great Discussion-

As Bill points out, the pros and cons of using nape hair have been batted around for a while now. The point he brings up about the possible susceptibility of that hair to disappearance over time via DHT sensitivity carries a high probability. Another concern, not mentioned, is the scarring that may occur in that area: it is usually greater/more pronounced than in the "usual" area we take grafts from, and this is due to the nature of the "stuff" below the surface of the skin/hair in that area: muscle vs bone. The greater mobility of the tissue in this area produces greater scarring. Again, this would be minimized by using FUE to get your grafts out of the nape area, but believe me, scarring/absent hair in that area would be readily apparent, tipping off the casual observer that said person was a "transplantee", a bit of information most patients would like to keep to themselves.

That said, using the available surgical methods along with an artistic eye, today's well trained/experienced hair transplant surgeon should be able to recreate a natural appearing, undetectably "man-made" hair line without resorting to the use of nape hairs.

Personally, the hairline is one of my favorite and most satisfying areas to recreate- it really makes a huge difference whether or not one's face is "framed-in" by hair or not. Good question.

Timothy Carman, MD ABHRS

President, (ABHRS)
ABHRS Board of Directors
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Thanks Dr. Carman! I think this is a good discussion. That does worry me the spotting scars that would show from FUE. And I guess if you tanned, then the scarring would be even more pronounced. Oh and Sparky, I think Dr. Rahal has been training with Dr. Feller in FUE, correct me if I'm wrong.

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Originally posted by Bill - Managing Publisher:

Future_HT_Doc,

 

Using nape hair for transplanting has been a controversial topic of discussion for years.

 

While nape hair is typically finer and may help refine the hairline and temple points, the problem is that it's sometimes susceptible to DHT and hair loss. Thus, transplanted hair from the nape may not be a permanent solution.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

 

I completely agree. Frankly, I wouldn't personally get any hair transplanted that wasn't DHT resistant FUs from the appropriate donor area. I think the only case in which I would worry about softening the hairline would be if the frontal hairline was essentially finished (IE a NW 1/2 with no anterior recession), in which case I would get a doctor to focus on mimicking the natural transition zone with singular hair FUs, triangular clusters, etc.

"Doc" Blake Bloxham - formerly "Future_HT_Doc"

 

Forum Co-Moderator and Editorial Assistant for the Hair Transplant Network, the Hair Loss Learning Center, the Hair Loss Q&A Blog, and the Hair Restoration Forum

 

All opinions are my own and my advice does not constitute as medical advice. All medical questions and concerns should be addressed by a personal physician.

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Originally posted by Ryan Daj:

I agree 100%, in fact I posted this in hopes that a physician would see and comment on it. Thankfully we had Future_HT_Doc. I'd love any more feedback.

 

Thanks

Ryan

 

Hey Ryan,

I'm always more than happy to contribute ... I'm a bit of a HT surgery junkie (haha), but I definitely don't want to misrepresent myself - I'm a current medical student who plans on going into hair restoration after I graduate school in a few years, not a doc yet. I will always defer to their professional opinion, if given, and I never want to overstep my bounds, though I would like to think I have gained a decent amount of knowledge regarding the field. Glad I could help!

"Doc" Blake Bloxham - formerly "Future_HT_Doc"

 

Forum Co-Moderator and Editorial Assistant for the Hair Transplant Network, the Hair Loss Learning Center, the Hair Loss Q&A Blog, and the Hair Restoration Forum

 

All opinions are my own and my advice does not constitute as medical advice. All medical questions and concerns should be addressed by a personal physician.

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