Spencer Kobren Answers Questions On The American Hair Loss Association
Written by admin on March 22, 2008
Hair loss consumer/patient advocate Spencer Kobren is now personally answering reader’s questions on the official blog of The American Hair Loss Association. Known as the “father” of consumer hair loss education, Spencer Kobren tells it like it is and helps hair loss consumers to navigate through the often treacherous hair loss industry. Recently Kobren answered a question from a 25 year old man seeking an inexpensive hair loss treatment. To read this post and to learn more, visit http://blog.americanhairloss.org/
Body Hair. The Next “Big Thing” in Hair Restoration Scams
Written by Joe Tillman on March 17, 2008
No longer should prospective hair transplant consumers be weary only of bad plug jobs and hair transplants that look like a picket fence in Huckleberry Finn. Now there is a new black cloud that has no silver lining. This would be the promise of body hair transplantation or “BHT”.
First off, what is BHT? BHT is the transplantation of body hair from various parts of the body with the intent of placing it in the scalp. If performed correctly there is a great potential source of donor hair that would be, compared to scalp hair, limitless depending on the amount of body hair that a patient has.
The problem with this, like so many other ideas in the unregulated hair transplant industry, is that good ideas do not necessarily work out to be so great in reality. BHT is relatively new in the hair transplant field and is only practiced by a few clinics worldwide. These clinics however tend to promote the use of body hair as being reliable and effective. The truth however is that BHT is not only NOT reliable there are few success cases if these cases can be called successful to begin with.
BHT is not performed like a traditional hair transplant. The standard method of transplanting hair for the purpose of increased volume and density on the scalp is via the “strip” method. This is where the doctor removes a strip of tissue from the back and/or sides of the scalp. The effectiveness of this procedure allows for consistent growth. This is not to say anything about artistry and naturalness as these qualities in a surgeon vary widely but we know that in most hands this technique works. For better or for worse the hair tends to grow in the vast majority of cases. Body hair is taken with a small punch tool that will vary in diameter from .75mm to 1mm or slightly larger. The challenge lies in the extraction of these grafts and whether or not the follicles will be damaged during the procedure. Read more