Turning to leg hair for baldness in men

A new report highlights a novel way for doctors to replace thinning hairlines: transplanting leg hair.

The report,published in The Archives of Dermatology,describes a new procedure in which receding hairlines were restored by taking follicles from patients legs and grafting them to the head. Mens leg hair had successfully been transplanted before to the back of the head,but these are said to be the first documented cases of leg hair being used to restore the hairline.

The procedure has the potential to restore the hairlines of millions of men with male pattern baldness,the most common cause of hair loss. Also called androgenic alopecia,it typically begins at the hairline and eventually creates a horseshoe-shaped pattern of hair around the ears. It stems from a sensitivity largely genetic to the effects of hormones on hair follicles.

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In traditional transplants,hair follicles are taken from an area an inch or two above the ears and temples to the back of the head. Dermatologists can transplant follicles from this area called the safe donor zone because hair follicles there are impervious to the hormones that cause hair loss to the front of the head without worrying that the hair will fall out. But hair that comes from the back of the head is typically very coarse.

A natural hairline is very soft,like baby hair, said Dr Sanusi Umar,associate instructor of dermatology at the University of California. 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.