How Many Hairs are In a Follicular Unit Graft?

October 31, 2007 on 12:49 pm | In Uncategorized | Comments Off In my research in hair transplantation, I keep hearing about people talking about how many follicular unit grafts they have received.  But how many hairs are in a hair graft?

This is a great question and one not often asked enough!

In a hair transplant, follicular unit grafts are hair groups that occur naturally in the scalp.  Each follicular unit grafts contains hair in groups of 1s, 2s, 3s, and 4s.  The average number of hairs in a follicular unit graft is different for every hair transplant patient however, overall it is said to be around 2.2 hairs per follicular unit graft. 

Personally I think it is beneficial when a hair restoration physician provides detailed hair counts with hair count breakdowns so that the hair transplant patient truly understands what they are receiving.

As an example, a hair transplant patient that received 4000 follicular unit grafts but only 7000 hairs may have a similar result as a hair transplant patient that received 3000 follicular unit grafts with 6900 hairs.  Though hair transplant patient one has a far greater number of follicular unit grafts, the hair count is pretty similar.

Of course, the number of transplanted hairs is not the only thing that establishes an illusion of density.  There are a number of other variables such as hair characteristics, proper placement of the hair grafts, hair coverage verses hair density, and of course the selection of a quality hair transplant physician. 

Keep in mind also that not every hair transplant patient will need the same number of follicular unit grafts to achieve their hair restoration goals. 

See also:

How Many Hairs Will I Need For a Hair Transplant?

Are Higher Hair Densities Always Superior?

—

Bill - aka Falceros
Associate Publisher of the Hair Transplant Network and the Hair Loss Learning Center
View my Hair Loss Weblog

Why Is My Hair Transplant Doctor Waiting to Transplant Hair in the Crown?

October 30, 2007 on 12:56 pm | In Uncategorized | Comments Off

This question was posed by a hair loss sufferer on our hair restoration forum and answered by Dr. Michael Beehner of Saratoga Springs, NY who is one of our recommended hair restoration physicians. His professional answer is below.

This is a common problem for young men, who want to have all of their hair restored. I think your hair transplant doctor was very wise in telling you what he did. You have no idea (nor does anyone else, including the hair transplant doctor) how bald you may become some day. And if you start filling in the crown/vertex as part of the initial plan on a man in his 20’s, and male pattern baldness (MPB) progresses and logarithmically enlarges, as it almost always does, and the project in that area can’t be completed, you will have a huge bald halo around a patch of transplanted hair and will look very abnormal, and there won’t be any donor hair left to fill in the halo.

By the time a man gets into his later 30’s the hair transplant surgeon gets a much better sense of where a patient is going to end up with regards to the eventual expansion of the crown and also the amount of “safe” donor hair that is remaining and then he can make a much more accurate determination as to whether he has a good safe margin of donor hair reserves to do everything that you want.

The unfortunate truth, despite some of the wonderful medicines we have available now, is that male pattern baldness is a progressive condition. Propecia (finasteride) et al only stall the balding process; they don’t arrest it. You only have to look around you at all the 60 and 70 year old men to see where things can end up. Each one of them was 29 once. Picture what there head would look like if a hair restoration surgeon at that time tried to fill in all of the bald area.

It takes courage for a hair surgeon to turn down a request like the one you made. You will thank him some day. The problem is that, if you keep looking around, you will probably find a hair surgeron who WILL fill it in and do your future a disservice. I have seen ten or so men over the years who had exactly that done at some time 10-15 years earlier and their head looked like a dead animal died in the middle of their head. They always asked me to remove all of the hair grafts, no easy task. I hope you accept his advice.

Mike Beehner, M.D.

—

Bill - aka Falceros
Associate Publisher of the Hair Transplant Network and the Hair Loss Learning Center
View my Hair Loss Weblog

23 Year Old Woman undergoing OCP Suffering From Hair Loss

October 29, 2007 on 12:46 pm | In Uncategorized | Comments Off I’m a 23 year old girl who is suffering from hair loss and hair miniaturization for about 1 month.  I have been noticing that I’ve been losing about 150 hairs every day in the shower alone.  I’ve been having irregular menstral cycles for about 9 years now and had gone under OCP treatment for several periods and my menstral cycle is more regular but not entirely normal.   What is the cause of my hair loss?  How can I differentiate between Androgenetic Alopecia and Telogen Effluvium?  My dermatologist has suggested I try minoxodil and zinc.  I’ve been on them for a month now and I haven’t been noticing any change.  Please help!

Thank you for your inquiry.

You ask a lot of great questions and I’ll do my best to answer you.

For starters, I think it is very important that you get your hair loss condition diagnosed by a dermatologist or a hair restoration specialist.  Only then can an appropriate hair loss treatment be recommended.

In case you are suffering from genetic hair loss (Androgenetic Alopecia), Rogaine (minoxodil) may help you.  Zinc however, is speculation as there have been no conclusive studies on it for hair loss - but it may be worth a try since Propecia (finasteride) is out of the question if you plan on having children.  It is important however, to give any medication at least 6 months to a year to determine whether or not it is working for you.  One month is not soon enough to determine this.  Learn more about genetic hair loss.

Telogen Effluvium is typically characterized by diffuse thinning of the hair all over the scalp rather than following the pattern of the norwood or ludwig scale. 

Causes of Telogen Effluvium include: hormonal changes in the body (including birth control pills, etc), some medications such as beta blockers, anticoagulants, retinoids (including too much Vitamin A), propylthiouracil, and immunization agents.

Telogen Eflfluvium is typically reversible of the condition causing it is resolved.  Learn more about Telogen Effluvium. 

 I also did some research for you on OCP and hair loss and discovered the following that was reported by Dr. Peter J. Panagotacos, M.D.:

“Hair loss can be due to OCP’s if they are of the low estrogen type with higher ratio of androgen stimulation. Ortho Tri Cyclen is one with a higher estrogen ratio- Yasmin is another- and these would rarely if ever cause progressive hair loss. Regrowth of lost hair is not predictable. Some of the recently lost hair will grow back if the hormones telling the hairs to fall out are discontinued.  Have your serum ferritin checked. If it is below 70 you should take ferrous sulfate supplement with Vit C to get it over 70. Hair loss due to low serum ferritin is commonly missed in cases such as yours”

As you can see, there may be cases where OCP treatment can cause hair loss - but this will not cause progressive or genetic hair loss.  Discuss having your serum ferritin checked with a medical doctor to see if it is below 70. 

As I said, diagnosing the cause of your hair loss is important before determining proper treatment.  By seeing a dermatologist or hair restoration specialist in person, they should be able to diagnose the cause of your hair loss condition.  Make sure to tell them your medical history that you have shared with me.

—

Bill - aka Falceros
Associate Publisher of the Hair Transplant Network and the Hair Loss Learning Center
View my Hair Loss Weblog

How Can I Minimize the Risk of Shock Loss?

October 27, 2007 on 6:02 pm | In Uncategorized | Comments Off I am about to undergo hair transplantation surgery and I’m concerned about shock los.  Is there a way to minimize or eliminate the risk of shock loss?

The risk for native hair shock loss is certainly a risk going into hair transplant surgery when hairs are being transplanted in between native hairs.  Though the risk for shock loss in hair restoration surgery can be minimized, it is unpredictable.

First we have to differentiate between temporary and permanent shock loss.  Temporary shock loss can occur because of trauma to the scalp during surgery.   These hairs will grow back.  Permanent shock loss can occur in one of two ways: 1) transection of the existing hair follicle or 2) trauma to the scalp to miniaturized hairs impacted by hereditary hair loss during surgery can be sent to early retirement.  These hairs will not grow back.  Transection of the hair follicle is a minimial risk in the hands of the right hair restoration physician.

Ways to minimize shock loss include:

  • Use of FDA approved hair loss medication such as Propecia (finasteride) and/or Rogaine (minoxodil) to strengthen the miniaturized hairs 6 months to 1 year prior to hair restoration surgery.
  • Spacing out the follicular unit grafts around the native hairs rather than dense packing them too close together will minimize trauma to the scalp.
  • In my opinion, shaving the recipient area will minimize the risk of native hair loss as it is easier to determine proper angle and see in between the existing native hairs, thus mimimizing the risk of native hair transection.   I believe this is especially true for transplanting hair into areas with a lot of native hair.  I recognize that this has been disputed by other members of our hair restoration discussion forum.

— 

Bill - aka Falceros
Associate Publisher of the Hair Transplant Network and the Hair Loss Learning Center
View my Hair Loss Weblog

Does Propecia and Rogaine Work Better Than Hair Transplantation?

October 26, 2007 on 12:31 pm | In Uncategorized | Comments Off Hi, I’m considering a hair transplant, though I heard that Propecia and/or Rogaine can work better.  Is this true?

Very rarely are there cut and dry answers when it comes to hair restoration.  Therefore, the answer to this question is that it depends.

Propecia (Finasteride) and/or Rogaine (minoxodil) have a much higher chance of reversing the hair miniaturization process thus regrowing hair when a person hasn’t experienced a great amount of hair loss. For the majority of hair loss sufferers considering hair transplantation, hair loss medication should be tried first at the very least to maintain existing natural hair.  Hair transplantation is typically not a viable option for younger patients who have only just started to experience hair loss.  In fact, any hair transplant doctor that performs hair transplant surgery on a younger patient with minimal hair loss may be exposing the hair transplant patient to expedited hair loss if hair is being transplanted between a lot of natural hair.  See shock loss for more details.

But for those hair loss sufferers who have greater balding patterns, Propecia and Rogaine combined cannot do what hair transplantation can do.

For more information, see: What should I consider when researching hair transplantation?

Bill - aka Falceros
Associate Publisher of the Hair Transplant Network and the Hair Loss Learning Center
View my Hair Loss Weblog

— Next Page »

Powered by WordPress with Pool theme design by Borja Fernandez.