Hair loss is cited as a factor that causes significant appearance-related insecurity. While obesity, skin troubles, and the like can be improved through exercise, dietary therapy, and procedures, once hair has already been lost, there is no solution other than hair transplant.
The problem is that even the hair transplant procedure itself is by no means easy. Even when someone wishes to undergo a hair transplant, if there is not even any hair to transplant onto the head, it is bound to be a difficult situation. As hair loss progresses considerably, many people face difficulties because little hair remains at the temporal and occipital regions.
Hair transplant is divided into incisional hair transplant, in which the scalp is harvested from the back and sides of the head and then transplanted, and non-incision hair transplant, in which hair follicles are harvested directly by follicular unit without incision and moved and implanted into the hair loss area.
If there is no hair to remove from the temporal or occipital regions, one may consider body hair transplant, a non-incision hair transplant form in which hair follicles are moved and implanted from parts of the body other than the head. Using facial hair, chest hair, leg hair, and the like is representative.
In the case of facial hair, hair follicles located on the chin can be harvested and used for transplant to the crown area. Above all, the density of facial hair is excellent, comparable to that of head hair, providing considerable help for male hair transplant.
Body hair transplant can be used not only for the scalp but also for eyebrow hair transplant. When occipital hair follicles are applied to eyebrow hair transplant, there is the problem that they grow excessively long. On the other hand, when leg body hair is transplanted, one can obtain somewhat more natural eyebrows and also minimize the trimming period.
The problem is that body hair transplant grows more slowly than existing head hair and has many single-hair follicles, so the effect of full volume is lower. In such cases, it is common to compensate for the limitations by transplanting it mixed into the front hairline or by transplanting it into areas that are less visible, such as the crown or sides of the head.
However, body hair transplant is a difficult method in which hair follicles are harvested from skin such as the face, chest, and legs, rather than the firm scalp. Even more, in the case of facial hair, due to the characteristics of the follicle direction, a scar may remain during harvesting, so caution is needed.
To overcome such problems, it is essential to choose medical staff with abundant know-how and clinical experience in non-incision hair transplant. In addition, one should choose a medical institution with thorough follow-up care that consistently checks the hair graft survival rate.
Yoo Hwa-jeong, Director of Modi Hair Plant Clinic, advised, "Body hair transplant requires detailed understanding of the direction of body hair and the skin characteristics of each region, and because anesthesia is not easy, it is classified as a high-difficulty surgery," and "If the amount to be transplanted is insufficient, you should meet medical staff who can flexibly respond to problem situations, such as mixing it into the front hair or increasing the number of transplants to enhance the sense of volume."
Source: Segye Biz │ Published 2020.12.15