Hair Foundation Blog

In a new report in the The Archives of Dermatology it discusses a new procedure to restore receding hairlines: transplanting leg hair. Yes, in what may be the first documented case study, it disclosed that hair follicles had been taken from the legs of male patients and grafted to the back of their heads to restore their hairlines, according to The New York Times.

The treatment is for androngenic alopecia (male-pattern hair loss) and it could help millions of men who struggle with this self-conscious ailment. This hair loss usually starts at the hairline and subsequently makes a horseshoe-shaped pattern around men’s ears.

It is seen largely as a genetic condition.

So how did the idea to use leg hair begin? According to Dr. Sanusi Umar, associate instructor of dermatology at the University of California, Los Angeles Medical  School and author of the new report, he saw a few problems with the usual methods to combat hair loss, including his own experience.

He explained, “If you look at a natural hairline, it’s very soft, like baby hair. The back of the head is where you find the thickest hair on the head. If you take that hair and use it in the hairline, it can end up looking harsh and pluggy, because the hair is too thick.”

Dr. Umar should know; he has suffered from his own hair loss. In 1996, while working as an internist, he underwent a “traditional” hair transplant but wasn’t happy with how things turned out. Umar commented, “That inspired me to go into dermatology.”

He began seeking a solution and looked at “advanced body hair transplantation” or the “U-graft method.” This included searching for hair on the body but not all patients have the same amount.

Umar also read a 2008 report that showed transplanted leg hair can survive and then naturally grow on the back of a man’s head, according to The New York Times. He also discovered the hair could make a softer, more realistic hairlines. Umar said, “If you transplant leg hair on the head, it’s not going to start acting like head hair. It will still grow shorter and slower than scalp hair.”

Case Results

Dr. Umar tried the technique on two patients in his California-based office who had been unhappy with traditional transplants. One patient, a 35-year-old man, “was self-conscious about the problem and resorted to styling his hair forward to obscure the hairline.”

The second patient, a 29-year-old man, thought his hairline after the transplant appeared “harsh and straight” which led him to cut his hair to hide the problem.

By placing patients under local anesthesia, Dr. Umar utilized an instrument that made microscopic wounds around the hair follicles in the back of the leg; they were removed and subsequently transplanted to one’s hairline. He took about 1,000 leg hair follicles and implanted them individually onto the patient’s head.

The removed hairs didn’t leave spots on the legs from the removal and there was minimal scarring.

According to Dr. Umar, approximately 75 to 80 percent of the transplanted leg hair successfully grew on the  heads. He said both patients were happy with the results and in his report, he wrote about the 35-year-old patient, “The hairline was fully grown and soft-looking by nine months at which time the patient started combing his hair backward and sporting a ponytail, exposing his hairline comfortably.”

Dr. Umar has conducted eight additional procedures, including one on a female patient. The procedure includes 1,500 to 1,800 follicles and takes place over two visits (three to five days each) through a year’s time. But it comes at a high cost: $7 to $10 per hair follicle graft. The bill could cost thousands of dollars.

Would you be willing to try it?

In newly released research on finasteride conducted over two years, it found that hair growth increased in four scalp areas affected by male pattern baldness and reduced hair loss in two or more of these areas. This varied on the patient’s age.

The Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology published the research online last week.

A group of doctors from Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C. conducted the research through randomized, double-blind multicenter studies, according to HealthDay News. Men with vertex hair loss took either finasteride (1 mg/d) or an identical placebo for two years. The study had been divided into two age groups: 18-41 and 41-60.

To determine the effectiveness of the finasteride treatment, standard global photographic assessment of the vertex, anterior/mid-scalp regions, and frontal and temporal hairlines had been reviewed to see if it worked for treating male pattern baldness.

When looking at the results versus the placebo, researchers discovered that finasteride increased hair growth in the four scalp regions after two years of treatment. In addition, the young men treated with finasteride incurred less hair loss in the four regions but the older group experienced less hair loss in the vertex and anterior/mid-scalp regions.

Drug-related sexual side effects for both age groups were slightly higher with the finasteride treatment as compared to those who took the placebo.

The authors of the study wrote, “In conclusion, treatment with finasteride (1 mg) improves scalp hair growth and decreases hair loss in the four regions of the scalp affected with male pattern hair loss. The greatest effects were seen in the vertex and anterior/mid-scalp regions, with greater efficacy seen in younger compared with older men.”

Merck, the manufacturer of finasteride, provided funding for the study with several of the study’s authors having financial ties to the company.

Dr. William M. Parsley, M.D, FAAD, a member of the Hair Foundation’s Board of Trustees, recently discussed tattooing over keloid scalp scars from hair restoration surgery in a Hair Foundation blog post. Parsley talked about tattooing over keloid scalp scars from hair restoration surgery (the area they harvest from) not as an option to conceal hair loss.

But now this alternative exists. The Britain-based company, HIS (Hair-Ink-Skin) Hair, has launched a technique to hide baldness by using a form of tattoos. The procedure, called micro hair technique (MHT) scalp pigmentation, gives the appearance of a short, cropped ‘buzz’ hair by applying different shades of specifically-blended pigments to the scalp.

This copies the size, shape and density of micro hairs, according to The Daily Mail.

The procedure costs on average of £2,000 (US $3,151) and was developed by HIS Hair founder Ian Watson. Some of the allure is coming from its lower cost as compared to other hair loss remedies.

Watson got the idea for the procedure when he developed alopecia in his mid-twenties after his older brother passed away from cancer. 

Sensitive to his hair loss, Watson asked his brother’s widow, Ranbir Rai-Watson, to grab a fine pen and draw dots on his scalp, in an effort to create a “cropped” haircut. While the ink washed off on the first attempts, after a decade of research the procedure has been tweaked by hair loss experts and English and Australian semi-permanent make-up artists.

The company is now opening clinics in Europe and the U.S.with this procedure.

Celebrity hairdresser Adee Phelan has opened the company’s newest clinic in Manchester, England; he is also a satisfied customer who’s had the procedure. Phelan said, “This is a great permanent, non-surgical option that can disguise everything from male- pattern baldness to receding hair lines and scars on your head. I thought losing my hair didn’t bother me but even I felt younger and more confident afterwards.

“And it looks so natural, most people don’t even know I’ve had it done.”

According to the Daily Mail, statistics show that 10 million men from the UK suffer from hair loss. By the age of 50, those affected by male pattern hair loss reaches 50 percent. Many in the country believe this new alternative will be great for hair loss.

If you have questions about hair loss, please contact us at info@hairloss.org or check out our online videos.

Recently, Aderans Research has been in the news a lot for its work in cell-based solutions. In January, the company discussed its Ji Gami™ family of cell products at the 2012 Winter Clinical Dermatology Conference in Maui and its expansion  to four new cities for its ongoing trials.

The Hair Foundation’s Vice Chair, Ken Washenik, M.D., Ph. D. is involved in the trials through his role as Aderan’s Chief Executive Officer.

Aderans is a subsidiary of Aderans Co., Ltd, the world’s largest wig manufacturer, and affiliate of Bosley, global leaders in surgical hair restoration, where Washenik is the Medical Director.

In this video from the 4th International Congress Research Against Hair Loss , Washenik discussed the most advances in hair cloning.

Take a look.

Presentation by Dr. Ken Washenik on Hair Cloning

In a recent Oprah Magazine article, Your Biggest Hair Problems – Solved!, one of the topics discussed was thinning hair. Within the article, the Hair Foundation’s Dr. Jerry Shapiro, a member of the Scientific Advisory Council and an adjunct professor of dermatology at New York University, was quoted in a passage about hair supplements as an alternative to help thinning hair.

Called, The Truth About Hair Growth Supplements, Shapiro said:

“I have never seen a study that proves vitamin supplements work to make hair grow longer or thicker. If you’re losing hair, supplements can help stop or slow the shedding—but only if you have a deficiency in certain vitamins.”

Shapiro further suggested supplements for those whose blood tests have shown they are low in vitamin D, zinc, or iron, according to Oprah.com. He noted that he doesn’t test for deficiency in biotin, a vitamin most commonly found in supplements promoted to help hair growth.  Shapiro added,

“If you were truly biotin deficient—which is extremely rare in this country—you would be too sick to make it into my office.”

In a second section to the story it discusses, Illusions of Thickness. Two products are suggested for thinning hair and one of them, Toppik, is made by a Hair Foundation partner, Spencer Forrest.

And readers on oprah.com rave about two products for concealing thinning hair: Toppik ($22; toppik.com), a shake-on powder made of tiny keratin fibers that cling to your existing hair to fill in sparse patches.

And in one final section for the article, it discusses areas of research for thinning hair. Currently conducting clinical trials by the drug company Allergan, is a topical hair-loss treatment that contains bimatoprost. This is the active ingredient in Latisse, which grows eyelashes.

Allergan is currently seeking FDA approval. The treatment could be available in 2014, according to Oprah.com.

While not cited in this article, a few of the Hair Foundation’s doctors are involved in the clinical trials. They include Hair Foundation Chairman and President Dr. Matt Leavitt, D.O. and Treasurer Dr. Dow B. Stough, IV, MD, FAAD.

Stay tuned for more information about the trials as we will post updates in this blog.