Body Hair Transplantation

In cases where patients have advanced levels of baldness and limited donor area, the donor area is expanded to alternative sources. (e.g., beard or body hair). In this method, the doctor takes hair from different parts of the body, unlike a normal FUE hair transplant where hair from the back of the head is used as the donor. Sometimes the donor hairs on the back of the head are inadequate to cover the large baldness, doctors may use body hair. This technique is called Body Hair Transplant (BHT).

Body hair shafts from the beard, trunk, limbs, and extremities (such as the chest, stomach, legs, arms, armpits, and in some cases even the pubic area) can be used to treat in this technique. FUE using body hair is an effective transplantation method for patients who have an insufficient scalp donor reserve to cover their sever baldness.

Selection of Body Hair

Most of the hair on the human body is vellus hair, which cannot be used for hair restoration. The androgen-sensitive hair in the beard, trunk, axillae, and pubic region develops into terminal hair with the onset of puberty, and this type of hair is suitable for transplantation.

A doctor and his team with the skill set for advanced FUE hair transplant can efficiently and optimally utilize chest or other body hair ( from beard, trunk, limbs, and extremities) for transplantation.

Body Hair Transplant (BHT) using FUE can be a cosmetically viable option for severe baldness, provided they are hirsute (i.e., have adequate body hair). Specially designed equipment, including punches and extractors, is used for this purpose. With the right tools and an experienced team of medical professionals, body hair has been successfully utilized in a variety of situations consistently. Body hair has limitations in terms of growth length, quality, and texture. To untilled these limitation to meet the purpose a proper planning is required.

Strategic Planning for Body Hair Utilization

Body hair has quality limitations as compared with head hair. It usually does not grow as long as scalp hair, possess different thickness (fine, medium, or coarse), have different textures (straight, wavy, curly, or coily), or even a slightly different color. That’s why doctors strategically plan the body hair carefully to bald areas, so that these differences can actually be used in a smart way to give better results.

At the first, the body donor hair assessment is done. Assessment includes evaluating the graft requirement, the quality, density, thickness, and caliber of the body hair. Terminal (non-vellus) body hair with a uniform density at least of 8 hairs/cm² in the donor area are considered. Patchy or low-density areas are avoided. Anagen-phase hairs were also identified for extraction.

An expert doctor can harvest 3,000–3,500 grafts from donor scalp area, and can augment this with 1,000–1,500 follicular units (FUs) from the beard to plan coverage of the frontal and mid-frontal areas and 1000 to 2000 from extremities.

For performing the procedure for the cases involved severe baldness (Norwood grade 6–7) doctors may combine 3,000–5,000 scalp grafts with 2,000–5,000 body grafts to achieve full coverage. Total up to 8,000–10,000 grafts can be achieved combining scalp and body hair in selected patient.

Arrangement of body graft into the bald scalp:

• The frontal hairline is covered using scalp hair.
• The mid-front area is covered using a mixture of scalp and beard.
• The vertex (Crown) is covered using a mixture of scalp, beard, and body hair.
• Body hairs can be used to soften the appearance of hairline and temporal triangles.

Donor Sources & grafts availability

Extended donor sites for BHT include the beard (facial and anterior neck), trunk, limbs, armpits, and pubic area. If available, hair at the nape and peri-auricular areas (NPA) is also utilized.

The number of grafts that can be harvested from body sites depends on the chosen area, hair density, and hair type. Unlike scalp hair, body hair has certain quality limitations. The details of number of donor hair from various body parts are as follows:

1. Beard Hair (Most Preferred Non-Scalp Source)

• Location: Under the jawline, neck, under chin and sideburns.
• Graft Harvest: 1,500 –3,000 grafts (best donor after scalp, thick & high survival rate).
• Texture : Coarser, thicker, and curlier.
• Pros: Strong shafts; highest survival rate (>90%); grows longer than other body hair.
• Cons: Texture and Color Mismatch, grows in varying angles and directions.
• Best uses: Hairline reinforcement (when mixed with scalp hair), mid-scalp density, crown filling, scar camouflage.

2. Chest Hair

• Graft Harvest: 1,000 – 2,000 grafts (varies a lot depending on body hair density).
• Texture: Softer, thinner, and less dens.
• Pros: Readily available in men with dense chest hair.
• Cons: Shorter growth cycle, limited length (2–4 cm).
• Best uses: adding coverage to crown, mixing for density, softening hairlines.

3. Abdomen / Stomach Hair

• Graft Harvest: 500 – 1,000 grafts.
• Texture: Usually softer, finer, and grows shorter.
• Pros: Readily available in men with dense chest hair.
• Cons: Shorter growth cycle, limited length (2–4 cm).
• Best Uses: Crown filler or repair cases when scalp and beard supply are exhausted.

4. Back & Shoulder Hair

• Graft Harvest: 1,000 – 2,000 grafts (if dense).
• Texture: Softer, thinner, and less dens.
• Pros: adds extra donor reserves.
• Cons: Shorter growth cycle, lower yield.
• Best uses: Crown coverage or in combination with scalp and beard hair.

5. Armpit Hair

• Graft Harvest: 100 – 500 grafts (per both armpits combined).
• Texture: Curly, coarse.
• Pros: Used for soft hairline zones or blending areas.
• Cons: Survival rate is moderate as compared with beard, limited supply, and shorter growth.
• Best Uses: Small repair cases, eyebrow or beard restoration (rare).

6. Arm Hair

• Graft Harvest: 200 – 300 grafts (usually finer hair, survival slightly lower).
• Texture: Thin shafts, not a common choice.
• Pros: Available in some patients with dense arm hair.
• Cons: Very fine, thin shafts, Slow growth, short maximum length.
• Best Uses: Blending in temples, hairline feathering, and eyebrows.

7. Leg & Thigh Hair

• Graft Harvest : 500 – 1,000 grafts (usually finer hair, survival slightly lower).
• Texture: Thin shafts, not a common choice.
• Pros: Available in some patients with dense leg & thigh hair.
• Cons: Very fine, slow growth, short length.
• Best Uses: Blending in temples, hairline feathering, and eyebrows.

8. Pubic Hair

• Graft Harvest: 100 – 500 grafts maximum.
• Texture: Thick, wiry, not a common choice.
• Pros: Available in every patient, harvest never effects to look.
• Cons: Hair is usually coarse, curly, and different in texture compared to scalp hair, Socially sensitive donor site, limited supply.
• Best uses: Last-resort donor when no other options available. Sometimes use for filling crown or mid-scalp, where texture differences are less noticeable.

9. Non-traditional areas (Extra Expanded Donor Zones)

• Donor Location: Nape of neck & peri-auricular (around ears).
• Graft Harvest: 50 – 100 grafts maximum (from the pubic region).
• Texture: Softer, thinner.
• Pros: Gives extra grafts when there is no hope.
• Cons: Not available in every patient.
• Best uses: Can be combined with beard/chest hair for natural blending for increasing density.

Technique Used in the Procedure:

Body Hair Transplant (BHT) uses the Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) technique to transplant hair from body donor areas such as the beard, chest, back, or limbs to the scalp.

Highlights of the procedure:

• FUE extraction using specialized punch tools (Rotor) with modifications (flared tips, etc.) to reduce trauma/transection.
• Individual follicles (1–4 hairs) are extracted using micro punches (0.6–1.0 mm).
• Use of “FUE swipe maneuver” to recover grafts which have already been separated but not physically removed, to minimize ischemia/desiccation.
• Grafts stored in chilled solution; recipient sites made with slits matched to graft size.
• BHT offers all the advantages that FUE offers like No linear scars, minimal downtime.

Who is suitable for body hair transplant?

Not everyone is fit for body hair transplant. Below are the points that one should consider before deciding body hair transplant.

• Men who have big baldness (Norwood grade 6 or 7) and very less hair at back of head.
• People who have good beard or chest hair (hirsute persons).
• People who know that result will not look like teenage head full of hair but still want more coverage.
• Men with advanced baldness and limited scalp donor hair.
• Patients who already had multiple scalp surgeries and scalp donor is exhausted.
• Those needing repair work (pluggy grafts, strip scars).
• Patients who are naturally very hairy on beard/chest/limbs.
• Hirsute individuals – with good density of body/beard hair (≥ 8 hairs/cm²).
• Those who want scar repair or camouflage (e.g., strip scars, scalp scarring from burns or surgery).
• Patients willing to keep hair short (since body hair doesn’t grow as long as scalp hair).

Cost of Body Hair Transplant in India

There is no fixed or straightforward cost for a body hair transplant. Just like other types of hair transplant, the price depends mainly on how many grafts the doctor needs to implant to cover the bald area. In India, the approximate cost of a body hair transplant can range between ₹2.5 lakh to ₹5 lakh. Body hair transplant can give a new hope, provided the patient is comfortable with its limitations. The most important thing is to choose a skilled and experienced doctor, because this surgery is more complex and requires special expertise.

Limitation of This Procedure

Most patients demanded full coverage in one sitting, which was not possible in most cases because of the limited donor area; Though the hair from the donor site here are very thin but a skilled doctor successfully gives an 80% satisfied result according to a survey done on patient after they got their final result.

• Unrealistic expectations: patients may expect scalp-like density and long growth, which body hair cannot always provide.
• Dissatisfaction with results: if growth is patchy or hair characteristics do not blend well.
• Skill of Team: TNot every Hair Transplnt doctor can perform body hair transplant. he biggest long-term “risk” is cosmetic dissatisfaction if patient or surgeon selection isn’t careful.