For those wanting to restore a receding hairline or thinning hair, follicular unit extraction, or FUE, has become a very popular and effective treatment option.
During an FUE procedure, special instruments will be used to remove groups of hair follicles from the back or side of the scalp, after which they will be transplanted into the relevant area.
Follicular Unit Transplant (FUT), on the other hand, requires the removal of a strip of hair from the back of the scalp, which is then used to extract the hair follicles required for transplantation.
One of the main reasons why FUE is the preferred option is that it doesn’t leave a scar. FUT may be quicker and more affordable but not many people don’t want to have to worry about concealing a scar after their procedure. FUT procedures also generally require a little more downtime than FUE procedures, which is something to consider if you’re worried about having to take time off work.
The Traditional Approach
During a traditional FUE procedure at Medici Capelli Gold Coast & Brisbane, hair follicles are harvested from the back of the head because this area is generally not as susceptible to male pattern baldness.
With that being said, the back of the scalp is not always the ideal donor area for the following reasons:
- If the hair at the back of the head is too thin, removing hair follicles will impact the density in that area
- If you’ve had a hair transplant procedure in the past, scarring may have reduced the hair density in that area
- There is simply not enough hair follicles to harvest for the procedure
An Alternative Approach
Fortunately, body hair is another option if the back of the scalp is not suitable as a donor area.
Body hair can be harvested from the back, thighs, chest and neck and transplanted into the scalp. This is a relatively new approach to hair restoration but it has shown to produce some great results.
Research shows that this procedure has an 80% success rate and as the techniques and methods become more advanced, this is sure to increase.
Using body hair for this procedure is slightly more complex because body hair is slightly different. Not only will the body hair not always grow in the same direction as the hair on your head but extracting the hair follicles can be more complicated and time-consuming too.
If you are interested in this option, it’s recommended that you do a test patch first. This will allow your surgeon to assess the quality of your body hair and determine whether it would actually work before scheduling the full procedure.
Overall, a hair loss specialist will be the best person to speak to about your hair restoration options and which procedure would provide you with the best results. This is because there are a number of other factors that also need to be considered before the right approach can be recommended.
