Hair Shaft Diameter

[TC17]

We keep hearing about how important hair color, texture, diameter, etc. is for having a successful transplant, yet what exactly would a good diameter be? I'm sure that finding loose hair on the pillow is not a problem for any of us, so why not measure our own hair to get a general idea of where we stack up? Does anyone have an idea as to how thick the average hair shaft is? (and yes, I do realize that hairs are very thin and measuring would be difficult, but it wouldn't be impossible)

[TC17]

We keep hearing about how important hair color, texture, diameter, etc. is for having a successful transplant, yet what exactly would a good diameter be? I'm sure that finding loose hair on the pillow is not a problem for any of us, so why not measure our own hair to get a general idea of where we stack up? Does anyone have an idea as to how thick the average hair shaft is? (and yes, I do realize that hairs are very thin and measuring would be difficult, but it wouldn't be impossible)

[Dr. William Lindsey]

I don't have your specific measurement request info TC17.

 

But I think of it like trees.

 

For example, you have a half acre yard and you want to cover it with trees. You take arbor vitae, the skinny little pine trees common in yards here in VA and it will take a zillion. And you will still see the grass when the sun is up high. That's your thin HAIRED (hair thickness itself) patient.

 

Now if you have Leyland Cypress trees, the bushy pine trees that everyone in northern VA has, and you will cover the yard but it will take alot of trees. Or if you just want to screen the back fence line, you can easily do that. That is your medium haired patient either covering the entire top--with sufficient donor hair; or just the hairline for class 7s.

 

Then imagine you want to cover it with Pin Oaks, those large trees which grow rapidly and spread so nicely. It won't take nearly as many to cover the yard completely. That is your thick haired person often with ancestry from somewhere between Italy and Afganistan...really thick hairs that are wavy and cover well.

 

That is how I explain it to individual patients in for a consultation. Then you throw in color variation of the hair and scalp and it makes sense that a good color match is ok with arbor vitae trees, but a large discrepancy makes it alot harder to hide the ground. Take 2 guys with thin hairs. Once is tan with brown hair, the other is very white with black hair. The tan/brown guy will get really quite good coverage with a good transplant. The asian with very thin hairs will have less cosmetic coverage with the exact same transplant.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Dr. Lindsey McLean VA

[Ceasar08]

I think that this post from Dr. Lindsey is so well written and so important that it should be bookmarked somewhere on this site. It sums it up beautifully.

 

There is way too much discussion of graft numbers in my opinion. A "graft" is not a distinct unit, so it makes little sense to get caught up in numbers -- they mean nothing. It's hair characteristics and scalp characteristics that are really the key. If these things are less than ideal, it can make the largest surgery with the most skilled surgeon a challenge.