A comparative study on the rate of anagen effluvium and survival rates of scalp, beard, and chest hair in hair restoration procedure of scalp

Background: The use of non-scalp donor hair is considered in situations of a relative or absolute lack of head donor hair supply. Till now, very few published works are present on body hair transplant. None of them have compared scalp and non-scalp hair in terms of survival as well as characteristics. Objective: To compare the characteristics such as rate of anagen effluvium and survival rates of scalp, beard, and chest hair in hair restoration procedure of scalp. Materials and Methods: Three blocks of 1cm2 were marked on a non-frontal area. Thirty slits with a 0.9mm blade were made in each block. Single follicular unit was taken from scalp, beard, and chest area and was implanted simultaneously in each block, respectively. The areas were evaluated for any graft loss, anagen effluvium, and survival rate. Results: During initial period of 2 months, anagen effluvium in scalp (40%) and beard (30%) were significantly less than body (53.3%) hair with excellent survival rate of beard (95%), followed by scalp (89%) and then followed by chest hair (76%) at 1 year. Conclusion: Non-scalp hair can become an excellent source of donor area for hair restoration procedure.