Follicular Units
You may already be familiar with the terms Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) and Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE), the two most technically advanced hair transplant techniques used to treat androgenic alopecia, or male pattern baldness. But did you know that what is actually being transferred are not individual hairs? Read on!
A follicular unit is not simply an anchor that keeps your hair follicles attached to your scalp. It is a minute physical structure containing blood vessels, nerves, a tiny muscle, and most importantly one to four hair follicles. It is inside the hair follicles that the protein building blocks cells divide and divide again to build and grow hair.
Usually 30% of follicular units have one hair, 40% have two hairs, and 30% have three to four hairs. The follicular unit structure is surrounded by collagen sack. In fact the terms follicle and follicular are derived from the Latin word “follis,” meaning bag.
In modern hair transplant procedures a skilled surgeon will harvest grafts of follicular units from a donor area on the scalp that is not prone to hair loss. The surgeon then inserts these units into the recipient site on the scalp. It is imperative that the surgical team handles each follicular unit with skill and care through every phase of the procedure, as to not damage the unit, or the hair may not grow.
On average there is one follicular unit for every square millimeter of scalp. Because each follicular unit contains an average of two hairs, an average donor strip of scalp measuring only 1 centimeter wide and 10 centimeters long can yield 1,000 follicular units, or about 2,000 hairs.
What is more, because follicular units can contain more than one hair, an individual unit recipient site can be kept small to achieve the fullest effect. And because the individual recipient sites can be kept small, that also means more follicular units can be placed, resulting in more hair being transplanted to an area of the scalp without harming the scalp’s structure. Essentially you achieve more natural fullness and not your dad’s hair-plug look.
I cannot emphasize the following enough: Seek out an experienced surgeon, who is not simply skilled in surgery but also in artistry. Hair transplant procedures are not cheap and the results are permanent.
You are already taking a courageous step by researching ways to restore your hair.
You want a hair transplant surgeon who can strategically place each follicular unit to match your scalp’s hair growth pattern and natural fullness, and to compliment your facial structure in order to give you the best natural-looking results.