Category: Hair Loss Causes

What can you tell me about body hair transplants, where hair is taken from almost any part of the body and transplanted to the head? I found a place on the web that offers it and I am curious to know if it is a real possibility and how natural it looks. Thanks.

In the cases I’ve seen, body hair transplantation (BHT) does not look natural at all. A while ago I saw a picture in the National Enquirer that showed a person who had his head transplanted with pubic hair. The transplants kept their hair character in the transplanted process… and no surprise, it looked like he had pubic hair growing out of his head. I also saw a man in my office who had the entire top of his head transplanted with body hair… and it looked just like his chest hair did. It was anything but a lush, tight hairline look and it was thinner than a normal head of hair would be.

Those are just examples of the visual differences. I’ve also seen a few cases of BHT failures. Plus, there’s the problem of the hair growth cycle for body hair being different than scalp hair, meaning much of it is dormant at any given time and it will never get to any great length (which you probably would want for styling).

So as you can probably guess, I’m not a fan of BHT for a number of reasons. Further reading can be done here and here.

Snippet from the article:

Put that comb back in your handbag — a study by an Israeli dermatologist has found that too much combing of the coiffure leads to hair loss, the daily Haaretz reported on Monday.

During a test 14 women recorded their daily hair loss and combing habits, with those combing more losing more hair, the research found.

Read the full article — Don’t brush with baldness: put down that comb

The Internet is full of useful information, but as I’m sure you all know, some of it can be deceiving. The article states that an Israeli dermatologist studied just over a dozen women and came to the conclusion that women that comb their hair twice a day have far more hair loss. The study went on for just a month, but what is unknown is the type of hair the women have, their ages, health condition, type of brush used, plus various other factors that would be important to note in a study like this. In fact, I found the original article published in Israel, with a quote from the dermatologist that conducted the study. He says, “It’s a very simple experiment, very primitive, you could say, not high-tech.” I’d have to agree with that. It seems to be pretty incomplete… but it sure makes for a good headline in the news.

Bottom line, if you are rough with the comb and your hair is long and you pull on it when you comb it, it may just fall out eventually. Men with genetic balding and miniaturization have a more fragile hair that is easily traumatized, so I always suggest that people are careful when they comb their hair and not be abusive to it. Gentle combing done very frequently will not cause hair loss.

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Doctors say follicular units contain 1,2,3, and sometimes even 4 hairs per unit. My questions is, when miniaturization occurs, does the whole follicular unit get affected at the same time or does the individual hairs within the unit miniaturize at a different pace and time frame? Hopefully my question is clear.

Best regards! I know you keep busy with the blog and practice!

When miniaturization occurs, each hair within the follicular unit seems to have its own time clock, but the follicular unit itself will miniaturize in the patterned area at a different pace, area by area. Often in young men, the frontal hairs will miniaturize faster than the hairs on the top of the head, about 4 inches behind the hairline. As the hairs within the follicular unit miniaturize and it progresses, one hair at a time may drop out and die before another one within the follicular units takes its genetic course.

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Dear Doctor,

I’ve just been reading about your info from Amsterdam.
In addition to this, I was wondering if you in the nearest future see any new drugs against baldness?

I’ve read about some new test.

1) Some Japanese researchers blame the Sox21 gene for baldness.
2) Some researchers blame the wnt gene for baldness.
3) Some researchers blame the P2Y5 gene for baldness.

Because of my research for hope of any new treatments, I’ve become confused. All these different tests and scientists blame different genes for baldness. Can there really be so many genes, which cause baldness? And where does this leave Propecia, if all this new research blame something else then just DHT for baldness?

I hope you understand my wondering mind.

Best regards.

There are many, many genes for balding and only some have been recognized. A few on the X chromosome have been highlighted by the company HairDX, but genes are constantly being found on chromosomes beyond the X chromosome. Genetic hair loss is very complex (not like the eye color of the fruit fly) and it is the many genes that make the discovery of an effective new drug. Propecia just blocks the DHT hormone and does not address the various genes and approaches you asked about above.

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Hey there I realize your very busy, but I was wondering, since hair is made of protein, do things like eating alot of peanut butter or whey protein shakes help prevent hair loss in any fashion???? Or would it even be harmful to the hair follicle???? Im 18 and trying to stop hair loss before it starts or gets too bad, I would APPRECIATE VERY MUCH if you would answer this question, THANK YOU :).

There is no connection with preventing hair loss by increasing peanuts in your diet. It’s not harmful… unless you put the peanut butter in your hair and then rip it out. If you want peanut butter health benefits, check out this page.

My mom’s dad was mostly bald by 30, but my dad has absolutely no sign of baldness at 56 and his dad had a fair amount of hair left in his late 70’s.

I know your mother’s father is the best indicator for inheriting MPB, but what if there’s an extra Y chromosome involved (i.e. someone who is XYY)?

Since I inherited my dad’s hair twice (it also become brown and then later curly at the same point in life, 11 and 17 respectively), could I have dodged a bullet?

I’m closing in on 21 with no sign of baldness yet. Would the extra Y outweigh the MPB on the X chromosome?

Thanks

Even if you were an XY, you have about a 50% chance of inheriting your father’s family line. I do know now about XYY like you are, but I would generally tell you to do what I always tell people to do when determining their likelihood of developing genetic balding:

1. Get a genetic test from HairDX
2. Follow your hair looking for both gross and microscopic changes in potential miniaturization. This is the practical side of the process and it is easy to do this type of microscopic evaluation by mapping out your head for miniaturization.

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