ANATOMY OF HAIR

Nov, 10 2022

ANATOMY OF HAIR

Nowadays everyone faces hair-related issues like hair thinning, different baldness patterns, and excess hair loss. There are many techniques to restore hair. In order to understand  Hair issues and their cure you have to understand the anatomy of hair.

Dr.Vivek Gupta is the one who had done research on hair restoration & Growth Factor Concentration(GFC) or PRP. Hair restoration is one of the most common aesthetic procedures performed in today’s world. 

WHAT DOES THE ANATOMY OF HAIR INCLUDE?

The embryologic origin of the hair is both ectodermal and mesodermal. The ectodermal forms the hair and pilosebaceous follicle; the mesoderm forms the dermal papilla. Hair consists of a shaft and root. The shaft is the visible portion above the scalp surface; the three layers of the shaft - the cuticle, cortex, and medulla - consist of keratinized cells. The root or bulb is the follicle and sits at an oblique angle in the scalp.  

This figure shows the anatomy of the hair unit with the terminal follicle, sebaceous glands, and insertion of erector pili muscle. 

How the Anatomy of the Hairline looks like?

The anatomy of hair could only be completed by also discussing the anatomy of a normal hairline. The hairline is the edge of the region from where hair starts to grow. Hairline type is mostly influenced by genetics and other factors. A critical anatomic landmark in the mature male hairline is the frontal-temporal recession. This landmark is formed by the emergence of two convex lines making up the frontal and the temporal hairlines. A hair restoration in which this rule has not been observed leads to an extremely unaesthetic appearance, especially in the mature adult. Both women and children tend to have a continuous line between the frontal and temporal areas without a recession. The hair follicle sits about 3-3.5mm below the surface of the scalp and that scalp thickness varies between 5.5 and 6.5mm.  Natural hairlines are not straight and regular. 

Characteristics of a hair follicle

There is significant variation in all aspects of hair, which is determined in each individual on the basis of race, sex, and scalp area. There are two primary types of normal adult hair.

Vellus hair - which is soft, short, lightly pigmented, or hypopigmented hair that can be almost invisible. It can be found over the entire body. On the scalp, it is primarily seen in the frontal area on the forehead, and it also makes up a large area of the bald scalp.  

Terminal hair - is the coarser, long hair and is pigmented. Within the terminal hair, groups are subgroups, such as those on the scalp, public areas, and eyebrows. 

There is also variation in thickness between races: whites have thinner hair than both blacks and Asians do. The shape of the hair also varies greatly. An important variable is the density of hair per square centimeter. The density of adult hair can vary between 200 and 400 hairs per square centimeter. 

If you want to know about your scalp health or the density of hair, at The aesthetic world by Dr. Vivek Gupta we can do the trichoscopy analysis of your scalp to tell you the root cause of your hair issues.

The Aesthetic World is one of the top hair restoration center in South Delhi or Delhi NCR.