Many individuals who seek a hair transplant to solve their balding concerns turn out to not be the best candidates for the procedure. Why? Because their scalp doesn’t have sufficient quality hairs in their donor area.
The donor area is typically the area at the back of the scalp. With both FUE and FUT/strip surgeries, follicles are extracted from the back of the scalp and transplanted into the recipient zone (balding area). But, there are other areas of the body that can be used for a donor area in the event the scalp lacks quality donor hairs.
Typically, the beard, chest, and back are the first, second, and third choices for donor body hair. That being said, body hair transplants are not the right choice for every patient. While some may be good body hair candidates and have successful hair transplants from body hair, others may not.
Many factors determine if a body hair transplant will be effective for you. Ultimately, we’re looking for the body hair to be a similar match to the scalp hair. That way, it will blend in as it grows, maintaining uniformity throughout. If the body hair is drastically different than the scalp hair (curly vs straight, coarse vs thin) than the look may not be the most desirable. The idea is that no one will be able to tell you had a hair transplant, and the hair transplant looks like your natural hair prior to hair loss.
To determine if you’re a candidate for scalp or body hair transplantation you should meet with a hair restoration surgeon for a hair evaluation. Make sure to thoroughly do your research prior to committing to a surgeon, as not all surgeons are skilled in body hair transplantation.