Follicular Units
Human hair grows in tiny bundles called follicular units. Although
this fact had been recognized for some time by histologists
(doctors who study human tissue), the existence of follicular
units has been largely ignored by physicians performing hair
restoration surgery.
A magnified look at scalp hair that has
been trimmed to 1 – 2 mm long will show you that,
in fact, hair grows in small "bundles" of 1,2,3,
occasionally 4, and rarely 5 hairs per "bundle".
These hairs, along with their accompanying support system
(sebaceous glands, erector pilae muscle etc.) form what
is now known as the "Follicular Unit". These
1-5 hair "bundles" usually exit the scalp through
just a single pore!
When examined under a powerful microscope, these "Follicular
Units" are clearly distinct anatomical entities,
“individually wrapped” by a layer of (connective)
tissue. The follicular unit is thus the hair bearing structure
of the skin and should be kept intact to insure maximum
growth. |
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In addition to the full terminal hairs, the follicular unit
contains 1-2 fine vellus hairs, sebaceous (oil) glands, a small
muscle, tiny nerves and blood vessels, and a fine band of collagen
that surrounds the unit (the perifolliculum). In areas of the
scalp affected by genetic balding, the healthy terminal hairs
are gradually replaced by hairs of smaller diameter and length
called "miniaturized" hairs.
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Follicular Unit Transplantation
requires the precise dissection of each Follicular Unit,
keeping all of its elements intact. This ensures optimal
survival and growth of the hair and properly transplanted
follicular units are indistinguishable from naturally
occurring follicular units.
Using nature’s own building blocks for hair transplantation
with follicular unit hair transplantation provides reliably
good, natural results. |
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