Hair Transplant Nurse/ Technician

A hair that has stopped growing. One that is in the telogen (resting) phase of the hair cycle. It is anchored to the skin with its “club-like” root, but will eventually be pushed out and replaced by a new growing hair.

Technically, a 1-2 hair graft. It does not necessarily need to be a follicular unit but may be two 1-hair units or part of a 3-hair unit etc. The term micro-graft is used more generally in hair transplant surgery as any small graft.

A type of scalp flap surgery where one or more large flaps of hair-bearing scalp is detached and used to form a new hairline and replace hairloss where the scalp has been reduced.

One or two fine hairs used in transplants to ‘soften’ the front hairline to give it a natural appearance.

Hair follicles that grow together naturally as a group. They share the same blood supply, nerves and muscle (arrector pilorum). The follicular unit of the adult human scalp consists of 1-4, and occasionally 5, terminal hair follicles, 1, or rarely 2, vellus follicles and is surrounded by a band of collagen. In a follicular unit hair transplant, only intact follicular units are used in the procedure.

This is a type of scalp reduction in which the scalp is reduced in an oval shape at the center of the bald area of scalp.

The progressive decrease in hair shaft diameter and length due to the actions of DHT on the hair follicle. Miniaturization is the key change seen in androgenetic alopecia. Densitometry is used to identify miniaturization in its early stages. When evaluating a person for hair restoration surgery, it is important to assess the degree of miniaturization in the back and sides of the scalp to be certain that the donor area is permanent.

The area on the top of the head between the front and the vertex (crown). Hair on the mid-scalp points in a predominantly forward direction.

A graft inserted into a slit in the scalp rather than a circular hole. Some doctors perform this more commonly for a variety of issues such as healing, appearance, etc.

The central region of the hair shaft that divides the permanent section of the hair (infundibulum and isthmus) from the lower non-permanent region (suprabulbar and bulbar) and is marked by the attachment of the arrector pili muscle. It is thought that the bulge area contains the stem cells that help regenerate the hair shaft. The bulge area like the upper hair shaft is also considered a permanent part of the hair shaft.

Camouflage in hair restoration repair involves the placement of small grafts (micrografts or follicular units) in front of larger ones to make them look more natural.

The region on the balding scalp that hair is transplanted into during a hair restoration procedure.

The number of hair in the donor area measured per square centimeter. The higher number of hairs per square centimeter, i.e., the greater the donor density, the more “paint”, i.e., hairs, that can be used to paint the “canvas”i.e., the bald scalp. An individual with high donor density can have a much higher chance of filling a wide area of baldness than someone with medium or low hair density. Donor density ranges in general between 60 to 120 follicular units per square centimeter.

Two to Six thicker hairs used to ‘soften’ and fill in hairline transplants and provide density with a natural look.

The slot punch is a recent development which is supposed to allow results similar to lasers and prevent compression.

An ovular scalp reduction away from the center of the balding scalp.

An oily secretion manufactured by tiny sebaceous glands that open into the hair follicles and that serves to keep the hair lubricated and shiny.

The first type of graft performed, these consist of 10-20 hairs in a circular 4-5mm graft. They are responsible for the ‘cornrow’ dollhead look of older transplants when finer grafts were not used to soften and fill in hairlines.

Graft excision is a hair transplant repair technique where large or improperly positioned grafts are excised (removed). The large graft is usually divided up into smaller units and then re-implanted in a more natural distribution and direction. Graft excisions are usually performed prior to camouflage techniques in hair transplant repair.