Body hair transplant to head


The possibility, as our hair transplant experts tell us, depends on several variables, such as the similarity of the hair between body and head, the size of the donor area and the length of the body hair.

The term body-hair transplantation does not include beard to hair transplantation. Beard is the first choice as a donor area for the transplantation. The success rate of beard to hair transplant is much higher than rest-of-the-body hair transplantation (60% to 95%).

Observations show that chest hair is the second-best alternative. It has the greatest density and the highest success rate and it generates hair with the longest growth after transplantation. The hair on the back, the abdomen, and the arms generally are not considered suitable donor areas.

The possibility of body hair to head transplantation varies from patient to patient. After the consultation, the hair transplant team will determine which part of the body hair is suitable as a donor area for the transplantation, how many grafts will be to be collected successfully, and the areas to implement the body hair.

According to experience, the collected hair from the body is generally used to increase the density of the hair for the crown area. Our hair transplant team finds body hair as being less suitable for restoring the patient’s hairline.

Patients should be aware that the time needed to see the result of the body to hair transplantation takes much longer than it takes compared to regular hair transplants where your scalp is used as a donor area.

How Is Body Hair Transplant Performed?

The body hair units are carefully extracted with Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) technique. There will be no visible scars left in the donor area. The extracted body hair grafts are implanted to the recipient area in the same way as grafts taken from the scalp.

Hair transplant from beard hair: characteristics

  • 1,000 to 3,000 grafts can be obtained from this area in a single session, without leaving any scar.
  • Recovery period after extraction is 3 to 7 days. Since hair does not come out again on the extracted area, a thinning may be seen on beard.
  • As the thinning after extraction is only of 30%, it does not cause any bad appearance.
  • Beard grafts are thicker than hair grafts, but each graft contains a single hair follicle.
  • Despite having a single hair follicle, beard grafts cover more area due to their thickness.
  • Since beard follicles are different in structure, they are not used in front hair lines. However, they give very good results in the middle and top regions of the head.

Hair transplant from chest hair: characteristics

  • 300 to 1,000 grafts can be extracted from this area.
  • Grafts taken from chest area are thinner than those in the beard and the scalp. Thus, they are not planted on themselves. They are usually combined with head or beard hair, or they can be planted to squeeze between the existing hairs.
  • Contrary to the hair on the head, chest follicles may be curved to another side in a slightly curly form beneath the skin; therefore, they must be taken very carefully, and extracted without damaging the follicle. This may lead to less -or even no grafts- be extracted.

Body hair transplant to head in Turkey with FUE technique

The technique used for a transplant to the head with the body hair is also the FUE method, which has made Turkey famous all over the world because of having the best professionals in this procedure. However, the cost of a body hair transplant to head varies greatly, and depends on several factors. We must take into account some considerations, too.

The hair on the body has different survival cycles, thickness, curl, colour, thinning, etc. Body hair is generally shed in less time than the hair on head, too. In terms of thickness and survival cycle, beard is the most similar to scalp hair. When body hairs are planted on scalp, they retain their characteristic features, survival time and structural properties, so they do not come out like the original hair. In addition, the possibility of survival is less than the hair follicles on head.

In Norwood 5-7 cases, where the balding area is excessive, the number of hair follicles on the nape may not be sufficient to cover the entire balding area. In this cases, firstly patient’s own hair follicles are planted to ensure a natural looking frontal hair line, and then chest and beard hairs are planted to cover the empty areas and provide density, usually to cover the back side of head.

Hair follicles extracted from beard don’t leave any scar at all, but there is slight possibility of scar when extracted from chest area. We don’t recommend using the hair on other parts of the body such as arm, leg, shoulder, axilla, genital etc. for hair transplant, since hair follicles extracted from these areas leave a scar on the extraction area. In addition, hair follicles in these areas grow very restrictedly and do not comply with the hair follicles on the head.

What results can I expect?

As we explained before, a body hair transplant to head must be always seen as an alternative in case there are not enough hairs in the donor area of the scalp; but not as the only source for a transplant as the hair follicles of the body are very different in properties compared to those in the head. Anyway, a skilled doctor will always recommend you the best way to restore your head hair with the most natural look.

The Cost of Body Hair Transplant

The Cost of Hair Transplant Turkey at MCAN Health is not based on the number of grafts but the number of sessions.

If it is necessary to combine body hair transplant and regular scalp transplant, the cost will include both the regular hair transplant and the body-hair transplant.

If there is a need for a second session for a body hair transplant, then the cost will be considered as a different session cost.

Turkey performs body hair transplant with the most experienced surgeons in this field. Yet the prices are half of the prices of any European country, due to the Turkish Government incentives for medical tourism and relatively cheap labor cost.