Hair Diameter

[lcsulla]

I was wondering: are the transplanted hairs that are around in the initial stage (first couple weeks) the maximum thickness they can be? I know they shed and grow back thicker and thicker, but what about the first couple weeks?

[TakingThePlunge]

lcsulla,

 

I'm not sure if I'm following your but, prior to shedding, the hair follicles in the transplanted grafts are exactly the same follicles that were growing in your donor region. Thus, they are the same diameter as the rest of your non miniaturized, natural hair.

 

Once these hair shed and begin to regrow between 3 and 4 months post op they will initially be finer and lighter in color that your natural hair and may also take on a kinky appearance until they fully mature.

 

I hope I was able to adequately address your question.

[bonkerstonker]

I know what you mean! When you look at fresh transplanted hairs a few days after surgery they do look thinner than your donor hair strands, I think that these new transplanted hair strands shrink slightly in the doctors dishes or in your head before they fall out. They usually grow back to full thickness when they're regrowing though.

 

I've not known many people notice that before you must have good eyes.

Edited February 24, 2012 by bonkerstonker

[NEWHAIRPLEASE]

I was thinking the exact opposite ...for the first couple of weeks after my hair transplant, I looked like I just had my head shaved any was ready to go to the marines......I thought my hair looked great after two weeks...it certainly looked better at two weeks than at five weeks...here was my picture at 2 weeks post op...

 

If my hair comes back this good...I think I cold get away with wearing it this short...I won't of course, but I think I could...

[GotHairInFront]

It looks like you had an awesome surgeon! Who did your HT & How many grafts over how many sessions?

[bonkerstonker]

Yes your hair will look thicker at 2 weeks than 5 weeks on a overall effect simply because there's more hairs in your head at 2 weeks but I think what he's saying is each new Ht hair at 1 week is thinner than a donor hair still in the donor part of your scalp. The length of the Ht hair strands may play part in a illusion.

Edited February 24, 2012 by bonkerstonker

[NEWHAIRPLEASE]

It looks like you had an awesome surgeon! Who did your HT & How many grafts over how many sessions?

 

Dr Rahal was my surgeon....I had 4800 plus grafts....You can view my before and after pictures on my website...you will be able to tell the difference in two weeks compared to my month...When my results have matured after a hair I think I will have an excellent result!! Dr Rahal is a great surgeon...

[lcsulla]

I guess I am just trying to figure out if I am going to get the coverage I would like to have. And I just noticed that the hair in my thinning areas seem to be thinner then the shaved areas.

[bonkerstonker]

Oh well you've lost me then lol! Hts are not to give you a full head of hair they give you coverage by illusion so it's hard to predict at this stage as you will grow your hair long on top to cover more ground then cut your sides short to form the illusion.

Edited February 24, 2012 by bonkerstonker

[lcsulla]

No you got the question right.

[gillenator]

It sounds like she is referring to hair shaft diameter, better known as hair caliber. As the plunge stated, the transplanted hair is terminal hair that is not miniturized, meaning "no loss of original hair cailber". As the transplanted hair grows in and then cycles through another growing period, the individual hair shafts eventually resume their characteristics that were evident when they were in the donor zone prior to transplantation.

 

In fact this is one of what I refer to as "The foundational scientific truths regarding success in surgical hair transplantation". And it is indeed the visual success that i am referring to. It is because "hair caliber" is the single most critical factor to be considered in achieving the "illusion of coverage".

 

You see it is when a long term diffusion of hair receptive to DHT that this hair goes through the miniturization process. Miniturization is in fact "loss of hair shaft diameter" over a period of time, a process. A progression of loss of hair caliber, not hair density. Loss of density can be simply defined as "loss of hair count". See the difference?

 

So when the surgeon is replacing the recipient area which is now showing lots of scalp without loss of hair count, it is a diffused loss pattern. yet the docotr is now establishing new grafts throughout the recipient zone with fresh new hair shafts that have donor region hair caliber, meaning much fatter hair shafts that once were there before DHT took the toll on them.

 

And this is why it takes much fewer hairs from the donor to produce that visual coverage!

Edited February 24, 2012 by gillenator

[bonkerstonker]

Gill do you know if donor hair is thicker than healthy hair on top of a mans head who isn't suffering from mpb? So basically is hair on a head all the same thickness before mpb.

[gillenator]

Gill do you know if donor hair is thicker than healthy hair on top of a mans head who isn't suffering from mpb? So basically is hair on a head all the same thickness before mpb.

 

Bonkers,

 

Sorry I missed your question and the answer to your question is like many, "It really varies between individuals". The donor zone can "appear" thicker or more dense which is more attributable to the direction of the hair in that region downward. The hair then layers itself and can appear thicker. Gravity may have a role in this area of our scalp as to why the hair is pulled downward.

 

The other factor is that more of the multiple hair bearing FUs occur in the midscap and then transcending into the donor area. The spacing between the FUs does not vary very much at all which is something that I have observed using the video telescope on various people.

 

Take care brother...