Hair Restoration Blog

Q:

hi

I come from china ，I would like to consult your organization a few questions:

In your experience,usually Asians（chinese people) the normal growth of the number of roots Per cm² of hair? Head at the top and post-occipital whether there are different?
using FUE technology，on one operation ，After the occipital Site  get the maxinum number of FU (Asians including 2-3 days operation) at present,how much FU can be planted per square centimeter on Planting area? Between the scope of? and the percentage with normal?

Looking forward to your reply Details!

Thanks for your questions.

A:

Here are the answers in the order they were received:

The number of hair follicles

The number of hair follicles in non-balding areas of scalp like occipital areas have been studied.  A range of 80 - 120 follicular units (FUs) per centimeter were reported. The density of follicular units vary in different locations of the scalp. Also, the number of hairs per follicular unit vary in different areas and with different races. For example, Asians usually have less number of hair follicles per cm², so even with similar number of FUs per cm², the density of their donor area is still less than Caucasians. To calculate the number of hair per cm², you have to average the number of hairs per FU and multiply it by the number of FUs per cm².

Difference of hair on top and back

The shaft of hair may or may not be different in different areas of the scalp. Obviously, if you are balding, you see more miniaturization and less terminal hair, which makes the appearance of the hair less dense on the area. However, without baldness, hair quality would be the same in back and top of the head.

FUE and number of grafts

FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction) is more labor intense and requires more time for harvesting the grafts. For that reason, FUE procedures are generally smaller in terms of the number of grafts per session. What we do at US Hair Restoration is up to 1,500 grafts per day on average, for 8 to 10 hours work in a FUE procedure. The number may occasionally go up to 2,000 grafts, too, but not everyone can expect to get that number with FUE.

Density of transplanted hair

There are many research projects on this topic. The number can be as high as normal density in some circumstances. However, practically we can make up to 35%-40% of the normal density in one session. This is a good number if you consider that the density of hair on frontal areas could be about half of the hair on the donor area in some patients, so 35%-40% is not that far from the normal density in those patients.

Good Evening Dr. Mohebi,

A week ago I visited to your office. Remember?  I just received your letter.   I still have a few questions from you to ask.

Q: When I read your website, I found out that some women scalp is not suited to have this surgery? So is it possible that I could be one of them?
A: You are not one of them.  Women who are not candidates for hair transplant surgery are the ones with female pattern baldness with significant miniaturization or thinning of hair shafts on a large area of their head.  We do perform hair transplantation to lower the original hairline for men and women at US Hair Restoration.  In your case, you are doing hair transplant only to bring your high forehead lower and create a more feminine pattern for your face.  Your microscopic evaluation of your hair did not show any evidence of female pattern hair loss.

Q: Once I get the surgery. The hairs that transferred will stay permanently?  Is there any possibility that hair will fall off or transplant hair effect my regular hair to fall off?
A: You do not lose transplanted hair as long as the rest of your scalp hair stays in place.  Occasionally patients may experience some degree of shock loss after a hair transplant procedure or they may lose their native hair after a hair transplant surgery.  Those are generally people with a high level of miniaturization as is always seen in typical male or female pattern baldness.  Your situation is different and you do not have many miniaturized hairs (fine hairs) that would fall out after a hair transplant.

Q:  do I have to stay at home after the surgery? How long? I don’t want to go out in public with red forehead. But I have to go to school.  How can I hide my transplanted spot?
A: Hair transplant may cause redness and swelling at the recipient area. This usually gets resolved after day 3 or 4 from the hair restoration surgery.  We will give you medications to minimize those complications caused by hair restoration surgery.  Many people are able to go back to work or school the day after surgery.  You can simply change your hair style for the first few days and bring your front hair forward to cover the transplanted area.

Q: Is there any bad effect of this kind of surgery on any area of my body or health?
A: As long as you don’t have any adverse effects to the medications that are used during the procedure, there is no known major systemic side effect from hair restoration surgery or hair transplant on any other part of the body. The procedure is considered a minimally invasive outpatient surgery.

Q:
I am 24 with a strong family history of hair loss in the male members at and around early 20s. Recently, I started seeing hair in my sink and on the bed that is much lighter my regular hair. Is it normal? Am I balding and can I use a hair transplant to prevent further hair loss.
A:
Male patterned hair loss is characterized with miniaturization of hair shafts before complete losing them. In genetically prone men to male pattern baldness, hairs of an affected area gradually become thinner and thinner, before they ultimately become nonexistent.

Miniaturization hair shafts make them look thinner, because of the smaller size and then the smaller amount of darker pigments that could be seen.

It seems that you started with hair loss phenomenon and you only need to get it diagnosed by a good hair specialist who can also get you started on medication treatment if need be. A miniaturization study can give you some ideas of where you are heading before starting with the medications.

Q:

hi, why do men with thinning hair seem to have a reddish color to their scalp and men with thick a thick head of hair seem to have a whiteish color to their scalps……i find it a condition that exists in alot of cases several of the men i observed wear caps when they are outside so i’m quite sure the sun had nothing to do with it. one of my sons has a very thick head of hair……..”whiteish” scalp..my other son has thin hair and a reddish skin colored scalp.

again thanks for your help

A:

Thin (Miniaturized) hair is generally seen lighter and in people with dark but thinning hair, hair could be seen as light brown or reddish color, not because it has less concentration of the pigment (melanin), but due to its smaller size and less number of pigments overall. One of the first signs of hair loss could be lightening hair color in the thinning areas. Scalp tone is also a reflection of hair color especially in people with fair skin that you can see through the skin and hair shaft may alter skin tone.

Q:

Hi Doctor,

My mother is obsessed with my hair loss and gives me a whole bunch of vitamins and mineral tablets everyday to help regrow my hair.
Do you think they work? Or should I stop them.

A:

Although lack of certain vitamins and minerals could cause hair loss in their sever form, living in north America and having a normal and balanced diet; it is unlikely that you are suffering from vitamin or mineral deficiency. On the contrary, if you look at your family pattern of hair loss, you probably can find other male members of the family who has similar male pattern hair loss. As I always say, you need to have the triangle of baldness, which is “Gene, Male gender, and time” to become bald. Vitamins deficiency is not to blame as part of triangle of male patterned hair loss. You can continue taking vitamins to please your mom, but don’t overdo it since vitamins are not going to bring your hair back. Instead you need to see a good hair specialist or dermatologist and undergo a good hair loss evaluation with miniaturization study and start taking one of the effective medications to prevent further hair loss or to use hair transplant to restore your lost hair.