It’s always confused me how putting hairs from non-balding areas into areas which are prone to male pattern baldness, works. Surely it’s due to the area of the head, and not the individual follicles? I was just wondering, is there evidence to prove that transplanting follicles from areas prone to balding, into other parts of the head would mean that these hairs would still bald eventually?

For men, the area on the back of the head is considered a “permanent zone” (that will never go bald). So when we harvest the hairs from that area, the hair follicles will always behave as it was from the permanent zone. This concept is called “donor dominance”.

If we harvest the hairs from other parts of the scalp (for example, the front) they will continue to behave like the hairs from the harvested area. If the hairs in the front are genetically programmed to die and go bald over the years, the hairs harvested from that area will also die and fall out (never to regrow). This concept is the basis of modern day hair transplantation and has been proven since the 1940s.

So just to summarize — if you have hair harvested from a balding area, those harvested hairs will eventually fall out just as they are genetically programmed to do.

Dear Sir,
I read the Q&A titled “If I Want to Have a Very Short Hair Style Forever, Can I Use BHT?”

I could not figure out what your view is about this. I think the sender’s idea sounds good but I would like to have your view as to what you think of Body hair transplant in this scenario if one wants to nearly shave his hair or cropped hair look.

Best Regard

Hair transplants from the scalp are far superior to body hair transplants, even with the short haircut you want. That is what FUE offers. I don’t recommend body hair transplants.

Dear Doctor,

i would like to ask you about necrosis and skin infection. Since each patient is given a post-op course of antibotics, how can this happen?
i thank you in advance.

There is no connection between necrosis (this is a vascular problem to the skin) and infection (this is something that can happen after necrosis occurs, or can happen without necrosis).

If you have necrosis, tell me a bit more about it: When after the surgery did it happen? What was the size of the necrosis? Where was it located (donor or recipient area)? Did you have FUE of FUT. Without this information and some good photos, there is little help I can offer.

Would a patient be able to achieve a shaved head look straight after a transplant? By this I mean, once the scalp heals do the transplanted follicles look like shaved hairs until they start growing properly or are they invisible? I wouldn’t mind having a shaved head until they started growing if this is the case- as long as it looks full!

You can shave your head after a hair transplant, but you have to be careful until all of the scabs fall off and the donor scar is healed. If you wait until the scalp heals, the scabs will be gone by then.

There will likely be redness in the recipient area, which may make a very short hairstyle something you won’t want to do, but each person is different and the redness could subside quickly if you’re not histamine positive.

Transplanted hair may appear thinner when first growing, but after 9-12 months or so, it should look just like the hair in your donor area.

My question is perhaps unusual but I feel it is a valid one. I am 33 and I have been experiencing slow diffused thinning over about 7ish years. My thinning started to show in the top of my crown and slowly moved towards the mid and front. I have had no hairline depletion or recession at all.

So I have been on finasteride for about 4 months now. I also had a procedure at another clinic and had a 1.25cm*33cm strip taken and I have high density especially in the back. Anyway, grafting was done basically over the class 6 sort of layout with a back up hairline behind my current one. My total hair count was approx 7,500 hairs. I do have coarse black hair that becomes wavy when long.

Here’s my concern, though I am no where near my final result, what is the merit to doing another say more proactive procedure? That was my original plan but I mean almost in anticipation of the class 6 coming to full reality in my lifetime. Proactive grafting. Thank you in advance, you advice is greatly appreciated.

Finasteride is the best approach to your future concerns. At only 4 months on the medication, you’re not likely to see much results-wise from it, but stay the course. You could avoid surgery by taking a pill.

I am not an advocate for proactive or preventive hair transplants. My 9 months old granddaughter has a relatively large bald spot on the back of her head. I tease my son about transplanting it, but that is only a joke in a hair transplant family.