One of the most frequently asked questions in our patients’ initial consultation is where the hair comes from for hair transplants. You’ll be relieved to learn that you won’t need to find a willing donor. In 91.7% of cases, the grafts to be used are healthy hair follicles harvested from a different part of your own scalp [1]. However, if you don’t have enough hair left in your safe donor area, you may need to borrow some body hair or even opt for an artificial hair transplant. Keep reading to find out what each of these hair sources entails [2].
This article identifies all the potential hair graft sources for your surgical hair restoration. It also compares the differences in growth rate, pattern and appearance for each type of hair and provides surgical insight into the intricacies of harvesting and implanting them. Finally, it offers non-surgical hair replacement alternatives for patients with advanced hair loss who cannot secure the number of grafts needed for their hair transplant.
Key takeaways
Researchers have found they could gently harvest healthy hair follicles from a densely covered part of your scalp (or body), process them and reimplant them in a thinning part of your scalp. They would then continue to grow hair in their new location, covering your balding areas. This process is called a hair transplant.
The reason why hair transplants are successful against androgenetic alopecia rests with the differences between hair follicles in different parts of your scalp. Those in your frontal area, top of the head and crown are more sensitive to a male hormone called dihydrotestosterone (DHT). This hormone binds to specific receptors in these hair follicles, making them shrink and leading to alopecia. However, the hair follicles on your donor area are less sensitive to DHT, so the hair miniaturisation does not occur. They maintain this immunity when they are transplanted to a different part of the scalp, which had previously been thinning.
Hair follicles on your body are not negatively affected by DHT either. In fact, the opposite is true, as this androgen helps make your body hair fuller. This is why body hair transplants can also be successfully performed when your scalp donor area has been depleted.
When hearing about transplantation, most people think of a donor and a recipient, as that is the norm for organ transplants. However, hair restoration surgery is different in this aspect. You can either use some of your own healthy follicles or go the artificial hair fibre route. An experienced Wimpole Clinic surgeon, Dr Peter Thomas, explains why someone else can’t simply offer you some of their hair if you don’t have enough of your own left:
Unfortunately, that wouldn’t be an option. Obviously, there are organ transplants that happen around the world, but patients who have these types of operations are on immunosuppressants to stop that organ from being rejected. This isn’t something that happens with hair transplants. So if you did that, your body would fight the follicles because they’re a foreign body and there would be that immune response that would reject them.
Basically, hair transplant patients cannot be safely prescribed a taxing immunosuppressant treatment for the rest of their lives for a cosmetic procedure. That is because the risks of getting frequent and potentially life-threatening infections from a suppressed immune system outweigh the aesthetic benefits of the procedure. So the hair used for the transplant must come from the patient themself or, rarely, a body-compatible artificial source.
The hair grafts used to cover the recipient area are harvested from a different part of the patient’s scalp (or, more rarely, their body). Artificial hair transplants are also possible, but they are seldom performed, as a last resort, due to their many limitations (to be discussed).
According to the surgeons who responded to the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) 2025 Practice Census Results, 91.7% of hair transplants they performed in 2024 used scalp hair grafts [1]. Hair follicles harvested from a donor area on the back of your head yield the best, most natural-looking results. That is why this is always the first choice for a successful hair restoration surgery.
The safe hair transplant donor area is a portion of your scalp that is expected to be covered with hair throughout one’s lifetime. That is because the follicles in this area are typically not affected by male or female pattern baldness [2].
Not all your scalp hair follicles are created equal – depending on the part of the scalp they grow on, some are more sensitive to male hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT) than others. DHT binds to androgen receptors in your hair follicles, causing male pattern baldness (or, respectively, female pattern baldness) [3]. However, while follicles in your hairline, frontal and crown area are more susceptible to binding with this male hormone, those in your safe donor area are not.
Since every patient is different, so are their donor areas – some may be thinner than others, or have less hair density and yield fewer grafts. Here are the main characteristics of your donor area, which help surgeons assess how many grafts you can obtain for your hair transplant [2]:
Only 7% of all hair restoration surgeries involve hair that is transplanted from the body to the scalp [1]. This normally happens when a patient has insufficient hair follicles in their safe donor area to get the number of grafts they need for their hair transplant.
Beard hair used to perform crown hair transplant.
The beard is by far the most popular source of body hair grafts. 6.1% out of the 7% of patients who get body hair transplants harvest hair follicles from under their chin or other less visible spots in their beard [1]. This is because the hair in this area is thick, grows denser and longer than on other parts of the body, and it best resembles scalp hair.
Beard hair is followed, at a significant distance, by chest hair (1.1%), belly hair (0.4%), and leg hair (0.2%). Other parts of the body are sometimes (though more rarely) used to harvest grafts, such as the back, the arms, the armpits, or the pubic area [1].
Body hair grafts are generally recommended as a last resort, to supplement insufficient scalp hair grafts (often when a few hundred extra hair follicles are needed). They are not normally used to cover large areas of the scalp.
Softer body hair (e.g. chest or leg hair) is often used in hairline transplants, as it blends in better with the finer hairs that grow in this area.
Body hair can also be used for smaller volume surgeries that do not involve the scalp, such as an eyebrow transplant or a beard transplant. This is especially true when the patient has a depleted donor area on their scalp or they want to preserve their scalp follicles for a hair restoration procedure down the line.
Our experienced surgeon, Dr. Umear Ahmad, explains more about the way the decision to use body hair is made and how donor sites are chosen:
If you’re doing a hair transplant on the scalp, you ideally want to get hairs from the donor area on the scalp. Obviously, you have a finite number of grafts there. You don’t want to be over-harvesting the donor area.
If you get to the point where you feel like you’ve absolutely utilised all available grafts in the donor area, then you can start thinking about harvesting from elsewhere. The first choice for harvesting outside of the scalp would always be the beard. If you’ve taken the available hair from there, then you start looking at other areas. That might be the chest, it might be the back, and then there’s also the pubic region. So they’re the other options, but definitely beard is the second go-to.
Before and after hair transplant repair using torso hair.
Body hair is harvested through a technique called BHT FUE (body-to-scalp hair transplantation follicular unit extraction). This is significantly more complex than regular FUE and requires highly skilled and experienced surgeons to perform properly. That is because body hair follicles are significantly easier to damage during harvesting, donor area healing is slower on the body compared to the scalp and body hair graft survival rates are lower [2].
The harvesting process is similar to FUE on the scalp – a small punch is used to cut around the follicular unit and remove it from the donor area. Then, special consideration is dedicated to the way incisions are made in the recipient area, to insert the body hair grafts in such a way that they blend in with their surrounding scalp hair, providing a natural-looking result.
Artificial hair transplants use biocompatible hair fibres instead of human hair follicles. They are rather uncommon and differ significantly from procedures that use natural hair. Traditional hair transplants are permanent because once healed, the reimplanted grafts keep producing new, healthy hair. However, artificial fibres do not grow. On the contrary, they have a shed rate of approximately 10% per year [4]. This means artificial hair transplants last, on average, only 7-8 years.
After being banned by the FDA in 1983, artificial hair has made a comeback. Biofibre hair transplants are certified and recognised today as a safe medical procedure [5]. They involve implanting medical-grade, biocompatible polymer fibres under the scalp using small hooking needles. A small knot at the “root” of the implants holds them in place [4].
Artificial hair comes in different lengths (e.g. 15, 30 or 45 cm) and colours. However, it does not grow back if trimmed, and it is not safe to dye. So you have to be ready to commit to the same shade and haircut for almost a decade.
Finally, there are some risks associated with artificial hair fibre use. Some people have a natural intolerance to biofibres, which is why reputable clinics perform tolerance tests before implantation. However, serious inflammation and/or infection can develop if these tests are not performed, if the clinic hygiene standards are sub-par, or the implantation technique is poor [6].
Artificial hair implantation is rare and normally only recommended for patients who have depleted their donor area or are completely bald. While this procedure can also be performed on people who are eligible for a traditional hair transplant, its results would be inferior. These implants simply last less than regular surgical hair restoration; they require regular top-ups, the fibres are rarely identical to your natural hair colour and texture, and they do not grow back once cut or pulled out.
Our highly skilled Dr Umear Ahmad recommends against using artificial hair for transplants, warning patients about the potential risks:
In terms of artificial hair, I would always say absolutely stay away from these things. I know it’s quite popular in certain countries, but it often causes more long-term damage and harm than any sort of benefit you’d get from it. So stay absolutely well away from any sort of artificial stuff.
The Wimpole Clinic doesn’t offer artificial hair transplants. We perform high-quality FUE and FUT hair transplants that give the most natural-looking results and ensure the highest patient satisfaction levels.
There are significant differences between the hair on your scalp and that on your body. So while they can both be used for hair transplants in certain circumstances, surgeons always have the following factors in mind when recommending the right hair source for you:
On average, a healthy, full donor area on your scalp can yield up to 6500-8000 grafts without risking overharvesting (though that number can vary widely from one patient to another). When it comes to beard hair, you can harvest up to approximately 2000 grafts, as the donor area surface is generally smaller [2]. However, most people who require hair transplants do not have perfectly healthy donor areas. As baldness progresses, this area shrinks and can yield a lower number of follicular units.
Normally, when harvesting grafts from your scalp or beard, surgeons must be very careful not to exceed the limit of how many they can remove without causing sparseness in the donor area. However, when it comes to less visible parts of the body, such as the chest or legs, there is often no such limitation. If needed, with the patient’s approval, the surgeon can harvest the entirety of their chest hair and transplant it to the head. This means you could get between 4500 and 18.000 follicular units from your chest alone (depending on your chest hair availability) [2].
There are significant differences in the growth rate of scalp and body hair. The hair on your head typically grows relatively fast (on average, 0.5 cm–1.7 cm per month) [7]. It also has the longest growth phase (2-6 years) and the greatest proportion of follicles in this phase at the same time (85-90%). However, beard hair grows even faster, albeit much shorter.
Source: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-10613-2
After being transplanted to your scalp, some of your body hair follicles’ growth cycles adapt to resemble the hair around them more closely. However, it can take several growth cycles before any significant changes become visible. And they will never sync up perfectly [2]. This means they won’t grow as long as your scalp hair either, so if you enjoy wearing your hair long, this is an aspect to be considered.
When you use scalp hair for your transplant, it will be mostly inconspicuous. That is because even though the fibres on your hairline are finer and softer than those on the back of your head, all your scalp hair has a similar shade and texture (e.g. if your hair is curly, it is curly all over your scalp).
However, body hair texture and calibre can differ from your scalp. Strands in your beard are naturally thicker, darker and coarser. Chest and leg hair can be softer and finer, more similar to the fibres on your hairline. And all your body hair tends to be curlier and more textured than the one on your scalp.
Unfortunately, body hair does not change significantly in appearance, texture or diameter after being transplanted to the scalp. So if you need body hair FUE, surgeons recommend that you use a mix of hair from different sources rather than create islands of fibres from a single part of your body [2]. They would be conspicuous and prevent you from getting the natural-looking hair transplant you’ve been dreaming of.
When performed by a skilled surgeon in a clinic that respects health and safety protocols, hair graft harvesting is very safe. This is especially true if the patient engages in good hair transplant aftercare. However, no surgical intervention is fully without risk, and 4,2% of patients develop complications in their donor area. Here are the main things that can go wrong and how to prevent them:
Here are some of the best-known complications associated with hair graft harvesting (please keep in mind that they are very rare) [8]:
When it comes to body hair harvesting, the potential complications are similar to those on your scalp, but you may encounter some additional minor inconveniences [2]:
One more serious complication that you may encounter when having your body hair harvested is anaesthetic toxicity, as larger quantities of local anaesthesia need to be used on areas such as your chest. However, this can be avoided by carefully monitoring the total amount of numbing agent administered.
Surgical technique, skill and experience are crucial to a successful hair transplant, with no complications. Our world-class surgeons at the Wimpole Clinic always harvest the minimum number of hair grafts needed for good cosmetic coverage. They use state-of-the-art tools to make precise incisions in strip-harvesting procedures and carefully adjust the size of the harvested strip to the patient’s scalp properties (e.g. safe donor area size, scalp laxity, etc).
After the harvesting process is completed, they expertly close the wound, making sure the sutures are neither too tight nor too lax and that they leave minimal scarring. Then, once the surgery is completed, they provide crystal-clear aftercare instructions so patients know how to keep their donor area clean and safe during their hair transplant recovery.
Aftercare for your donor area is much easier than for your recipient area, where you have to be very careful not to endanger your grafts. Whether it is on your scalp or on your body, all you need to do to help your donor area recover well is:
Patients who had FUT surgery may need to go in and have their sutures removed 14 days after their hair transplant.
If your hair loss is too advanced to cover with the hair grafts you could spare, and you’re not a fan of artificial hair implants, there is still hope. There’s more than one way to disguise your alopecia and regain your confidence. Here are some great options you can try:
Hair systems for men have come a long way, and the high-quality options are virtually indistinguishable from the real thing. Unlike regular wigs that need to be removed at night, these non-surgical hair replacements can be worn continuously for up to 6 months. You can cut and style them as you please. And even celebrities are using them confidently. After Sir Elton John’s hair transplants failed, the legendary singer turned to hair systems to regain his full mane.
If you like to wear your hair very short, scalp micropigmentation (SMP) may be the answer to your problems. This is a sort of hair tattoo for men – it involves using a tattoo gun to create small dots of pigment on your scalp, distributed in similar patterns as your natural hair. This reduces the colour contrast between your remaining hair and skin and creates the illusion of full coverage. This procedure is often permanent, though some touch-ups may occasionally be needed.
However, it’s good to know that SMP is not available in lighter shades (e.g. blonde, auburn) and it only works well with very short haircuts. This makes it a less convenient option for women with alopecia. Of course, scalp migropigmentation may be worth it for women with very short, dark hair. But it can also lead to SMP regrets for fairer-haired ones or those who enjoy slightly longer styles.
Nowadays, there are so many stylish options for headwear for every occasion, available to both genders. All you need to do is build a nice collection of caps, hats, scarves, bandanas, beanies and whatever other accessories strike your fancy. Then simply match them to your favourite outfits and turn them into a means of self-expression.
Rugged baldness is increasingly popular in men. And the good news is that if you are experiencing androgenetic alopecia, you have a greater chance of being able to grow a full, healthy beard (while DHT makes your hair fall out, it stimulates your beard growth). So if you are done with pointless hair growth treatments, you can simply shave it all off and grow some enviable facial hair. The bald with a beard look is fire, and stars of all shapes and sizes, from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, to John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson or Bryan Cranston are rocking it.
If you want to learn everything about hair transplants – from where the hair comes from to what hairline design would suit you best – you have come to the right place. Book a free hair transplant consultation today with one of our 5-star surgeons. They will answer all your questions and make expert recommendations tailored to your specific hair restoration needs.
Whether you plan to use scalp hair only or add body hair to enhance your coverage, you’ll be in the most competent hands. As Hair Transplant Clinic of the Year for 4 years running (2021-2024), the Wimpole Clinic only employs highly skilled surgeons with vast experience and precise technique. They can safely use any kind of hair graft to achieve optimal results.
If you are curious to learn more about where hair for transplanting comes from, don’t forget to read the answers to these frequently asked questions:
Unfortunately, hair follicles donated by another person cannot be used for hair transplants, even if you are biologically related. That is because, unless you were perfectly compatible, your body’s immune system would reject the grafts as foreign bodies.
However, there is an exception to this rule. You could receive a graft donation from a genetically identical twin. Since twins share the same DNA, their immune systems would not see each other’s hair follicles as foreign and would be unlikely to reject them.
But keep in mind that twins are also likely to share genetically inherited conditions such as male pattern baldness. So the donor would need to be absolutely sure they wouldn’t miss the grafts they give away in the future, should they want to get their own hair transplant.
Unfortunately, you can’t get a scalp hair transplant if you are completely bald (or even if you have a fully depleted donor area). And the body hair grafts you may be able to harvest may be insufficient to provide sufficiently dense, natural-looking scalp coverage.
Thus, the best way to get good coverage if you are fully bald is to use artificial hair. However, there are some considerable drawbacks to this procedure, the main one being that the hair does not grow back if trimmed or snapped. So you would have to refresh this procedure regularly.
If you have no scalp hair at all, it may be easier and more affordable to get a high-quality hair system for men or to opt for scalp micropigmentation.
Transplanted hair follicles have the same life span as non-transplanted ones, and they undergo the same hair growth cycle. So you can normally expect a successful hair transplant to last forever. After the recovery period, your new hair grafts should start growing new hair the same way they normally would when they were part of your donor area.
Body hair grafts may look and feel slightly different from your scalp hair after transplantation, especially when first growing out (they start adopting some of the recipient area characteristics over time). The extent of this difference in texture and appearance depends on factors such as the area of the body where the grafts are harvested, the texture and appearance of your scalp and body hair and the skill of the surgeon who performed the procedure.
Normally, a skilled surgeon uses specific implantation techniques to make body hair grafts blend in as well as possible with their surroundings. However, only a professional can tell you whether a body hair transplant would look natural on your scalp, upon examining you.
Yes, body hair grafts can also technically be used for female hair transplants. However, female body hair is much finer and softer in most harvestable areas than men’s. While most men can get additional hair grafts from their beard or torso, women normally have these areas covered in peach fuzz rather than terminal hairs. So while from a surgical standpoint, nothing prevents a woman from using her body hair for grafts, this rarely happens, as women tend to have insufficient or inadequate body hair supply.
Wimpole Clinic Services:
Hair Transplants, Beard Transplants & Eyebrow Transplants.
Talk to a specialist
Dr. Umear Ahmad (GMC Number: 6150115) graduated from Newcastle University Medical School in 2007 (MBBS) and has undertaken further post graduate studies in obtaining a Masters in Health Research (MSc) and Post Graduate Certificate in Clinical Education (PGC Clin. Ed.).
He undertook his junior doctor training in the Newcastle Upon-Tyne hospitals trust, which included time in cardiology, accident & emergency, general surgery and ENT, head and neck surgery.
Having trained in hair restoration in 2019 under the stewardship of world renowned hair transplant surgeon Dr. Akaki Tsilosani, Dr. Ahmad has dedicated his career to FUE hair transplants. He has presented at international conferences and is a member of the International Society for Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS).
Dr. Ahmad’s ethos is to always strive to do the very best for every patient. That means having a patient centred approach and putting the patient at the forefront of everything that he does.
He prides himself on being open and honest in helping patients make the correct decision rather than simply advising everyone to have a transplant. He is focused on creating natural looking, high quality hair transplant results.
Dr. Ahmad endeavours to ensure that patients have a positive experience from beginning to end; from initial consultation to the day of the procedure itself and throughout the aftercare process.
Aside from hair restoration, Dr. Ahmad is on the interview panel for Newcastle University’s undergraduate medical degree programme and also works for a charity called Freedom from Torture, undertaking medico-legal reports on a pro-bono basis.
Having undertaken a post graduate diploma in clinical education, Dr. Ahmad is passionate about teaching. He currently supervises junior doctors in hospital, teaches medical students and has also trained doctors in hair restoration surgery.
