You’ve decided you’re fed up with your thinning hair and it’s time to take the plunge and have a hair transplant. However, you see the surgeon and he tells you that you don’t have enough hair left on your head to actually migrate healthy follicles to cover the bald patch. What can you do?
Leg hair is best on the temple and hairline
One option is to have a body hair transplantation, which is exactly as it sounds. Donor hair is migrated from the body to the scalp with surprisingly satisfying results, according to a recent survey carried out by Sanusi Umar MD.
Out of the 79 patients who completed the questionnaire the results showed general satisfaction with average scores of no less that 7.8 on a Likert-like scale of zero to ten.
Part of the secret of the success is to recognise that not all body hair is the same. Sanusi recommends finer and shorter leg hairs for the hairline and temple whilst coarser beard hair can create density and is useful for repairing the lines of surgical scars.
Give SMP some consideration first
Body hair doesn’t grow as quickly or as long as head hair though so it does mean maintaining a short style. With this in mind it may be worth considering Scalp Micropigmentation (SMP) as an alternative treatment.
Unlike a transplant this is a non-invasive procedure which is carried out by skilled practitioners. Pigments are injected into the skin in layers, normally over the course of 2 to 3 sessions and the results can be startling realistic. Often friends and family can’t distinguish between the results of SMP and real hair.
The SMP look is short and sharp but the results are almost instantaneous and guaranteed, with virtually no healing time. It’s better for your bank balance too as transplants are much more expensive and often require repeat treatments to keep looking good.
So, if you’re giving a transplant serious consideration pop into your local hair loss clinic first to talk about SMP.
