The science of hair transplantation is not too complicated to understand fundamentally, especially for those who are interested in studying about hair problems or those who are about to receive the hair transplantation. Getting to know "Hair" deeply allows us to see a clear picture of the whole treatment process.
Today, we’ll delve into “Hair Follicle Cell”, which is an important factor defining the success of hair transplantation of each person. If you have the perfect hair follicles, it means that you have a beneficial cost for growing the new hair with high quality.
Hair Root” is a portion of the hair embedded in skin (scalp). A hair root contains approximately 5 million hair follicles and each hair follicle contains 1 hair bulb. In the hair bulb, living cells divide and grow to build the hair shaft. Blood vessels nourish the cells in the hair bulb, and deliver hormones that modify hair growth and structure at different times of life. Therefore, the healthy hair follicle makes our hair more durable.
Why do the doctors have to focus on the quality of hair follicles at the back of the head?
As the occipital area (the lower back of the head) is the “Safe Zone” where our hair is the strongest and most resistant to falling out, the doctors always take the hair from this area for further implantation. The total area of safe zone is about 25 percent or one-fourth of the total scalp area.
You may wonder why the hair in this safe zone is stronger than those in other area! The biological answer to this question is a hormone called “DHT or Dihydrotestosterone” in the scalp. This hormone can shrink your hair follicles as well as shorten the hair growth cycle, causing hair to grow out looking thinner and more brittle as well as fall out faster and eventually lead to baldness.
Fortunately, the hair follicles in the Safe Zone are determined by nature to be resistant to DHT hormone. They will not be destroyed or weakened when implanted into other recipient area like in the front or at the crown because this anti-DHT property is definitely with them no matter where they are. This is the reason why the doctors have to assess the quality and quantity of hair follicles in Safe Zone in planning the most effective treatment plan.
Normally, the hair will be taken from the back of the head in the form of "Hair Graft", a clump of hair or a bundle of hair strands. This is different from person to person however on average hair grows in groups of 1-4 hair strands per hair follicle. The different quality of the hair grafts will be clearly seen on the day of surgery when the doctor has removed the hair grafts from the donor area already.
If each of our hair grafts includes only 1-2 hair strands and most of our hair grafts are like this, the dense hair is quite hard to be seen in the case a wide transplanted area.
If each of our hair grafts includes 3-4 hair strands and most of our hair grafts are like this, it can be called the quality hair grafts. When implanting into a new area, the density can be up to 60 grafts per square centimeter.
After removing the hair grafts from the donor area, they will be dissected and screened properly and appropriately for each of different recipient area as follows:
Each hair graft is dissected and only 1 hair strand is left. This is for implanting hair grafts in the front hairline which requires small and thin hair strands;
Each hair graft is dissected and 2-4 hair strands are left. This is for implanting hair grafts in the upper area of the head which requires denser and thicker hair strand for blending in with the original hair.
Now, you have known that the quality of hair grafts or hair follicles in the safe zone (the occipital area or lower back of the bead) is the key factor behind the result of beautiful and healthy hair that helps you transform yourself into a new person with full self-esteem.
