Back & Shoulder hair

[Approach]

I realize that exhausting scalp hair, then moving on to beard hair is recommended.

Note:  I have lots and lots of hair on my back and shoulders though.  And, it's quite straight hair.  To my untrained eye-  the hair sure looks like the texture / feel of my scalp hair.

I realize back & shoulder hair have a different growth cycle than scalp hair.  And, I believe they are much harder to implant compared to beard hairs. 

Question:   Are there occassions when a surgeon decides to take tons of back & chest hairs instead of beard? Are there any advantages???

(PS, I have come a long way regarding beard hair; I'm totally good with it now.  But, my back & shoulder hairs are closer in appearance/texture to my scalp hair, than my beard hair.   Any thoughts?  Ty!

Edited August 31 by Approach

[Fox243]

37 minutes ago, Approach said:

I realize that exhausting scalp hair, then moving on to beard hair is recommended.

Note:  I have lots and lots of hair on my back and shoulders though.  And, it's quite straight hair.  To my untrained eye-  the hair sure looks like the texture / feel of my scalp hair.

I realize back & shoulder hair have a different growth cycle than scalp hair.  And, I believe they are much harder to implant compared to beard hairs. 

Question:   Are there occassions when a surgeon decides to take tons of back & chest hairs instead of beard? Are there any advantages???

(PS, I have come a long way regarding beard hair; I'm totally good with it now.  But, my back & shoulder hairs are closer in appearance/texture to my scalp hair, than my beard hair.   Any thoughts?  Ty!

i would just make sure to tell this to Dr. Pittella. Like show him your back/shoulder hair and see what he thinks. 

[Fox243]

38 minutes ago, Fox243 said:

i would just make sure to tell this to Dr. Pittella. Like show him your back/shoulder hair and see what he thinks. 

I guess the one thing I would be careful of though is that back/shoulder hare is much thinner than scalp/beard hair so there's not as much "coverage" value per graft @Approach

[Nikoni]

@mustang your thoughts ?

[shiba1985]

What are your goals?

you do have awesome body hair compared to average person, but still if you are paranoid about extreme naturalness (which seems to be from your post) you will most likely not like the final look. 

Edited August 31 by shiba1985

[TakeAction]

If there's anyone who can make good use of it, it's Pittella.

[Gatsby]

The problem with body hair is that it has a very short anagen phase even when compared to beard hair. I know someone who was made to sign a waver to use leg hair (despite the surgeon warning him of the results). The results were very poor according to my friend. 

[gillenator]

Gats is absolutely correct and more studies need to be done regarding the duration and variations of the growth phase of various BH.

[Approach]

4 hours ago, gillenator said:

Gats is absolutely correct and more studies need to be done regarding the duration and variations of the growth phase of various BH.

Ty very much Doctor.  Are you saying:

Despite my insane amount of body hair--  you strongly prefer I stick to Scalp and Beard Hair only?  Right?  

[Approach]

15 hours ago, shiba1985 said:

What are your goals?

you do have awesome body hair compared to average person, but still if you are paranoid about extreme naturalness (which seems to be from your post) you will most likely not like the final look. 

Thank you.

Edited September 1 by Approach

[shiba1985]

5 minutes ago, Approach said:

Thank you.  Actually, my question had nothing to do with whether one believes I am paranoid about naturalness.  Of course, "extreme" naturalness for me though, a NW 7, is unlikely.  Specifically my question was:   Question:   "Are there occassions when a surgeon decides to take tons of back & chest hairs instead of beard? Are there any advantages?"

Absolutely. It can match scalp hair more closely than beard in some cases such as yours. 
 

It is more difficult to extract than beard hair however. 

Edited September 1 by shiba1985
Typo

[Gatsby]

4 hours ago, shiba1985 said:

Absolutely. It can match scalp hair more closely than beard in some cases such as yours. 
 

It is more difficult to extract than beard hair however. 

It will leave the anagen phase much quicker than beard hair will (which is shorter than scalp hair’s anagen phase). 

[shiba1985]

3 hours ago, Gatsby said:

It will leave the anagen phase much quicker than beard hair will (which is shorter than scalp hair’s anagen phase). 

 

My opinion is based on observation so just my point of view. 

 

Neither beard nor body hair are perfect substitute. By the time you are down to using these hair types you are looking at "2nd best" sources. You are right anagen phase of body hair will be shorter but so is beard hair compared to scalp hair. 

There is also some recipient area dominance that occurs with hair from other sources. While it is much less than what was initially thought off (before people used to think just cause you move hair to scalp it becomes behaving like scalp hair), it is not 0% either. 

But you are right. Anagen phase is shorter. But the fact that his hair grows this long on his body tells you that HIS anagen phase is longer than average. 

In the end nothing is perfect. 

 

 

[Matthias]

I'd certainly try it and consult a good hairdresser how to handle the hair (think of how the ladies do it, hair straightening and what not).

[Al - Moderator]

Body hair varies greatly between people, so don't take for certain what you hear about taking hair from specific body parts. Your back hair looks to be rather thick and straight, so it may be worth a trying to extract some of them and see if they look like good grafts. If so then you can probably continue doing more.

I tried a test of my back hair a few years ago, but the grafts were not coming out intact. I think they tried about 20 punches and got maybe 4 or 5 grafts out of it, so we stopped. Plus it was tearing my skin apart much more than if it was other areas. My back hair is not as thick caliber as yours though and mine is curlier.

 

[Paul_]

1 hour ago, Al - Moderator said:

Body hair varies greatly between people, so don't take for certain what you hear about taking hair from specific body parts. Your back hair looks to be rather thick and straight, so it may be worth a trying to extract some of them and see if they look like good grafts. If so then you can probably continue doing more.

I tried a test of my back hair a few years ago, but the grafts were not coming out intact. I think they tried about 20 punches and got maybe 4 or 5 grafts out of it, so we stopped. Plus it was tearing my skin apart much more than if it was other areas. My back hair is not as thick caliber as yours though and mine is curlier.

 

Agreed, testing is key here. I see this kind of extraction somewhat similarly to previous graft punchouts - reason being odd angles, more brittle hair, curving under skin, etc. Maybe good to try it with surgeons that have that kind of experience

[gillenator]

On 9/1/2024 at 2:35 AM, Approach said:

Ty very much Doctor.  Are you saying:

Despite my insane amount of body hair--  you strongly prefer I stick to Scalp and Beard Hair only?  Right?  

I am not a doctor but rather a 4 time HT patient and also worked inside several clinics over the years…regarding BH, the most consistent donor sources appear to be beard and chest however I think if the patient clearly has viable alternative BH, then certainly try it on a test basis first and see how the yield and growth cycles occur.

[gillenator]

On 9/1/2024 at 2:35 AM, Approach said:

Ty very much Doctor.  Are you saying:

Despite my insane amount of body hair--  you strongly prefer I stick to Scalp and Beard Hair only?  Right?  

You also have exceptional back and shoulder hair with outstanding characteristics and if I had that donor hair, yes I would try it as a potential viable donor source.

[Approach]

10 minutes ago, gillenator said:

I am not a doctor but rather a 4 time HT patient and also worked inside several clinics over the years…regarding BH, the most consistent donor sources appear to be beard and chest however I think if the patient clearly has viable alternative BH, then certainly try it on a test basis first and see how the yield and growth cycles occur.

Thank you so much.  You mentioned to try it on a test basis.  My procedure is with Dr. Pittella so I'll have limited time with him.  Can you say more?  Can surgeons do a test basis while doing the HT?  Or, will that need to be done months prior?  Ty!

[gillenator]

Usually a test procedure is done when contemplating using an alternative donor source such as chest, back, arm, leg, really any type of BH…and a test procedure is small in number of usually 300 grafts or less to pre-determine the viability of the yield (regrowth) factor, the visual compatibility factor, as well as considering how difficult some BH is to safely extract without transection…and you want to have the test procedure done “before” you commit yourself to any large numbers in case you are disappointed with the results.

Ask yourself, “How would you feel if the back/shoulder hair had negligible yield?” or if the regrowth was terribly incompatible with your scalp hair? or if they tell you that extracting your back hair was extremely difficult and lots of it was damaged?…if you do a small test procedure first, you’ll save yourself a ton of money.

Now, having said all of this, if your test procedure turns out promising, “and you are happy”, then Go for it my friend!

[Approach]

19 minutes ago, gillenator said:

Usually a test procedure is done when contemplating using an alternative donor source such as chest, back, arm, leg, really any type of BH…and a test procedure is small in number of usually 300 grafts or less to pre-determine the viability of the yield (regrowth) factor, the visual compatibility factor, as well as considering how difficult some BH is to safely extract without transection…and you want to have the test procedure done “before” you commit yourself to any large numbers in case you are disappointed with the results.

Ask yourself, “How would you feel if the back/shoulder hair had negligible yield?” or if the regrowth was terribly incompatible with your scalp hair? or if they tell you that extracting your back hair was extremely difficult and lots of it was damaged?…if you do a small test procedure first, you’ll save yourself a ton of money.

Now, having said all of this, if your test procedure turns out promising, “and you are happy”, then Go for it my friend!

Ty so much for explaining.  However, "when" does one do the test procedure? The day of surgery?  Or, must that happen months before?  

[Approach]

On 8/31/2024 at 10:54 AM, shiba1985 said:

What are your goals?

you do have awesome body hair compared to average person, but still if you are paranoid about extreme naturalness (which seems to be from your post) you will most likely not like the final look. 

I'm here to learn.  So, I ask questions.  I'm not sure how this post alone makes me paranoid about naturalness. 

Thank you guys for your feedback--  especially Fox, Gatsby, Paul, and Gillenator - for your constructive feedback.

[Gatsby]

6 hours ago, Approach said:

Ty so much for explaining.  However, "when" does one do the test procedure? The day of surgery?  Or, must that happen months before?  

You would do the test procedure long before your surgery. It would be months as the test body grafts would shed and take months to grow. All the best.  

[Approach]

6 hours ago, Gatsby said:

You would do the test procedure long before your surgery. It would be months as the test body grafts would shed and take months to grow. All the best.  

I'll see what the Dr. Pittella says.  If he's willing to try -- it would sure be challenging b/c it would take multiple trips to Brazil.  On the other hand - "if" the hair turned out viable...it may be totally worth the extra trip.  Beard Hair & Chest hair are proven well though- so I have a feeling I'll end up going that path.  It will be interesting what Dr. Pittella says. I speak to him again in 2 weeks - will let you guys know what he says.

Edited September 4 by Approach

[Al - Moderator]

On 9/4/2024 at 5:06 AM, Gatsby said:

You would do the test procedure long before your surgery. It would be months as the test body grafts would shed and take months to grow. All the best.  

You don’t have to do it that way. I believe you are planning on a two surgery approach. If that’s the case then you could, for example, do the front half on surgery 1 with beard grafts and whatever scalp grafts you have. At the end of that surgery try placing some back grafts in an area of your crown where you haven’t had any other grafts placed. When you go back a year later you’ll be able to see how well those back grafts worked. If they didn’t grow then you may only be able to get a small session with your remaining beard grafts into the crown. If the back grafts did grow then you can get more aggressive on this 2nd surgery and not only fill in the crown but maybe add more density to the front half and perhaps lower the hairline slightly if you have enough grafts.