Native vs. transplanted hair, what is the difference?

[Sonia]

Hi all,

Now if one was to go to a top doc for their HT and there are no depressions or bumps, what would be the difference between the hair that was transplanted and your natural hair? I know that the transplanted hair can be a little thicker because it's from the back of your head but I wanna know if there is anything else that would set it apart, and how a top doc would be able to tell the two apart? Also is there any limitations on transplanted hair (assuming you will not be balding and there is enough donor hair)?

Is there anything that I can't do with the transplanted hair that I would be able to do with the native hair?

[Sonia]

Hi all,

Now if one was to go to a top doc for their HT and there are no depressions or bumps, what would be the difference between the hair that was transplanted and your natural hair? I know that the transplanted hair can be a little thicker because it's from the back of your head but I wanna know if there is anything else that would set it apart, and how a top doc would be able to tell the two apart? Also is there any limitations on transplanted hair (assuming you will not be balding and there is enough donor hair)?

Is there anything that I can't do with the transplanted hair that I would be able to do with the native hair?

[Bill - Seemiller]

Sonia,

 

There really is no difference. Hair harvested from the sides and back will retain its properties when transplanted in the front.

 

Under magnification and by looking at the base, a trained eye, especially a hair transplant surgeon will be able to tell the difference between natural and transplanted hair. But there is no visual difference to the majority of the population.

 

You can do to your transplanted hair the same thing as your natural hair.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[mmhce]

Hi Bill,

 

"magnification and by looking at the base"

 

What is the difference at the base?

 

Thanks.

[Sonia]

Yes, if any of the doctors could explain how they differentiate that would be most helpful.

[mmhce]

Sonia,

 

You can take a look at this:

 

http://rapidshare.com/files/163344381/Atlas_of_Human_Hair.pdf

[Dr. Timothy Carman]

Sonia-

Great question. On state of the art follicular unit transplantation procedures even we surgeons can have a hard time differentiating transplanted grafts from native hair. The "tip-off", in actuality, isn't really the difference between the actual look of the hair itself, or the base of the shaft, etc; rather it is the "gestalt" or background against which the transplanted graft occurs. In general, in nature when hair begins to "thin", the shafts will decrease in diameter along with a general decrease in hair count/square cm. When examined closely, there will be a "gestalt": an over-riding pattern of an association between the diameter of the shaft and the number of FU's/cm2. When hair is transplanted, especially in a one procedure density (assuming native being 100FU/cm2, single pass density being 40-45FU/cm2), there will be a "mismatch" between the diameter of the shaft (healthy, robust shaft from donor, as you point out) and the overall hair count/cm2 as compared to native hair. It is that difference in the context of the transplanted hair that one might notice. Again, as Bill points out- this is getting really abnormally close in a fashion that would not occur in everyday activity. Hence, to the casual observer, at "normal" distances, the state of the art transplant will be undetectable when talking about this concept above. Also, if a second procedure is performed to increase hair density, this observation becomes more difficult to reproduce, as the mismatch between the two factors is further decreased.

Hope that helps.

Sincerely,