BioFiber Hair – Artificial Hair Transplant?

I was surfing the internet a few days ago and came across something known as “synthetic hair” implantation. If you guys have never heard of this concept, imagine wearing a wig but the hairs are actually surgically implanted into your scalp instead of being glued. That is exactly what synthetic hair implantation is. It’s artificial hair, made up of biocompatible polyamide material that is implanted, one hair at a time, anchored by a knot into the scalp tissue through an implanter device.

Currently, There are presently two synthetic hair products available:

1) Biofibre from Medicap Italy (European countries) 

2) Nido corporation from Japan

There has been a lot of controversy since its inception. In 1983, the FDA banned the practice in the US due to:

1. the artificial hair fibers presenting risks of illness due to nonbiocompatabilitiy and nonmedical performance of the implant

2. the FDA also claimed that fibers presented fraud due to spreading of deceptive information on the results on the efficacy of the results, and that it did not show any benefit for public health.

Some of the side effects from artificial biofiber hair include: recurrent infections, rejection and periodic loss of artificial hair fibers needing frequent replacement, and frequent allergic reactions.

Since their debut, many refinements have been made to the materials to create the synthetic fibers. Many companies that offer the procedure claim that the procedure is safer than ever and that many of the previous issues have now been resolved. Nowadays, companies claim biofiber hair is biocompatible and made with materials approved by the FDA for medical use. Companies also claim that it is a simple, quick, reversible and painless outpatient procedure with up to 800 hairs/hour.

The hairs come in different lengths (15-45 cms), colors, and styles : curly, wavy, straight.

Pros: No down time – Results are instantaneous unlike a regular hair transplant and patients, both men and women, don’t have to wait until the hairs to grow. They claim the hairs looks natural and difficult to differentiate from real ones. Patients who have a limited donor supply can be good candidates and  no donor scar like the FUT or FUE.

Cons: Not permanent and can lose about 10-20% of synthetic hair per year and can leave tiny scars; regular cleaning to decrease chances of infection; requires a test patch of about 100 hairs to see if it causes any foreign body reactions; regular maintenance by having to use special shampoos and hair care products; hair is always the same length – can’t grow it out. can be an inconvenicne for people living in the united states and canada as they would have to go out of the country to get it done every couple years

Cost : $1-2.70 per hair (NOT grafts) in countries such as Europe, India, Japan

Now, what is my personal opinion on this? I think it’s a bad idea. This is not a permanent solution unlike a regular hair transplant and one would continually have to get procedures done once every year to keep up with hair loss. It can also cause infections as the body can reject the foreign fibers entering the body. I think a better alternative would be to consider a body hair transplant if someone does not have adequate donor supply. It’s like having an organ tranplant and the body rejecting it. I think it’s the same thing and liekly that this will happen. There is a reason why the US and many other countries still ban the procedure. I still think the best way is still the FUE.

Below is a quick Youtube video highlighting BioFiber hair: