HAIR-GENERAL QUESTIONS

Q: How does hair grow?

Hair grows according to location on the body, genetic background, age, and sexual hormonal influences. There are three phases of each cycle: growing, resting and falling. These phases are also known as anagen, telogen, and catagen, respectively. At least 85% of the hairs on the scalp are growing at one time. Normal daily hair shedding of 50-100 hairs per day can be expected. Scalp hairs grow about one half inch per month. The growth cycle of each individual hair can be up to several years before shedding. The growth cycle of eyebrow hair is very short and the resting period very long compared to that of the scalp.

Q: What is hair made of?

Hair is approximately 91 percent protein. It is composed of long chains of amino acids called polypeptide chains, which are linked by peptide bonds. Polypeptide chains are intertwined around each other in a helix shape. The chemical composition of hair is 45.2 percent carbon, 27.9 percent oxygen, 15.1 percent nitrogen, 6.6 percent hydrogen, and 5.2 percent sulphur.

Q: How much hair do I have?

Most healthy persons have about 80,000 -140,000 scalp hairs according to the color, size of the scalp, and hair density. Blondes generally have higher numbers of hairs with redheads having the fewest number of hairs.

Q: How much hair do I need?

This varies from patient to patient. The amount of hair necessary for adequate coverage is evaluated and discussed at the initial consultation with Dr. Griffin. Some people do not appreciate their degree of hair loss until as much as 50% is lost. Miniaturization is a gradual process and occurs over years and may not be noticed at first. Looking back at old pictures may be the first real moment of truth. Men can be very satisfied with a return of their hair even if it is not as thick as before. Women on the other hand dislike all signs of thinning, since it is not cosmetically acceptable, and want it to be as thick as possible.

Q: What is the difference between hair density and hair fullness?

Hair density pertains to the total number of hairs per square centimeter in any given area of the scalp. Hair fullness describes the volume of the hairs themselves, for example, as having “body”. While a person may have high density if the person also has fine textured hair, he/she may not have fullness. Hair fullness is most often seen in patients with more coarse hair and especially in wavy or curly hairs.