Hair-Related Lifestyles That Determines Hair Loss
African American women are more likely to get alopecia, a disorder in which hair loss occurs on the scalp, particularly in the front and side areas, as a result of excessively tightly knotted or braided hair. Braiding hair overly tightly and thinly has become a popular hairstyle among African American women. Hair loss is fairly frequent in African culture, and it may be a difficult topic for persons in their early 20s who are losing their hair. Hair loss can develop over time as a result of excessive use of hair treatments, tight braiding, and hair extensions.
Hair Characteristics Based on Ethnicity
Using the same technique for all hair types in hair transplantation surgery isn’t a smart idea. Due to the differences in nature of many hair varieties, including Afro-textured hair, each type of hair demands its unique approach. Hair loss is quite common in African culture, and it may be a challenge for persons in their early 20s who are losing their hair.
Human hair has been divided into three ethnic groupings over the years based on identifiable characteristics: White hair, Asian hair, and African hair. The hair density, composition, quality, shape, and texture content differ significantly amongst these three ethnic groups.
Asian Hair Features
- Since it is known that the hair follicle influences what the hair looks like, note that Asian hair follicles are spherical and smooth.
- Asian hair follicles have a higher metabolic rate compared to white hair follicles.
- Asian hair is round-shaped.
- The cross-sectional diameter or caliber of Asian hair is the biggest.
- Asian grafts are more susceptible to dehydration and a longer preservation time.
- In the scalp, Asian hair follicles are distributed in single and double hair follicle groups.
- Since the risk of hair transection is higher with the FUE procedure in Asian hair, it’s best to use a strong punch during dissection.
White Hair Features
- In white hair, the hair follicles are shorter.
- White hair has a more flexible scalp.
- It has oval and intermediate-shaped shafts.
- Hair density is in the middle range.
- It has smaller recipient sites compared to Asian and African hair.
- Whites have triple and quadruple hair follicles in the hair grafts.
- The hair shaft diameter is medium.
- This structural feature of white hair allows grafts to be collected more easily, reducing the chance of hair follicle damage and the risk of hair transection as low as possible.
African Hair Features
- African hair is oblong-shaped.
- The Hair has the same chemical and protein makeup across ethnic groups, and there are no differences in keratin types.
- Even when it has a low density, African hair seems to have a higher density because of the curled structure of the hair. Also, the curliness of the Hair causes the grafts to be big. The natural appearance of a hairline is enhanced by the curl of African hairs.
- After curly hair replacement, there’s a chance that keloids will form on scars throughout the healing process.
- African Hair has a lower tensile strength and breaks more easily compared to White Hair.
- Africans have triple hair follicles in the hair grafts.
In comparison to other ethnic groups, the top skin that covers the hair follicle externally is thicker and tighter in Africans; this might result in hair follicle destruction, rupture, and graft damage during extraction. The procedure should be performed by an experienced hair transplantation expert and a competent team for best outcomes.
Direct Hair Transplantation
Asians have a more active metabolism in their hair follicles. As a result, they are more susceptible to dehydration (loss of water) and are not ideal for long-term preservation. The hair follicles collected for transplantation are maintained outdoors until the transplantation technique begins in the first step of the hair transplantation procedure. To keep it alive during this time, the grafts must be stored in optimal storage conditions and placed on time. In light of this, it is best that hair follicles spend as little time outside the body as possible. However, new technologies have come to the market that allow the graft to immediately be placed into a preservation chamber within seconds of being collected. In the preservation chamber, grafts are cooled to slow their metabolism and placed in a specialized fluid to provide nutrition to the grafts. This same process is used in organ transplantation and found to be effective in transplanting organs such as the heart, kidneys, liver and lungs.
Which Race Has More Advantage in Hair Transplant
Even though Caucasian persons may require more grafts in hair transplantation than Africans and Asians, their scalps have more flexibility compared to those of Africans and Asians. In comparison to Asians, especially with long hair follicles, the length of hair follicles is also short. This anatomical feature allows grafts to be gathered more easily in Caucasian individuals. It helps in reducing the risk of hair follicle destruction and transection, and allows the adoption of alternative procedures, including FUE, PUE, and hair transplantation without the need to shave.
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When you’re ready to take the next step toward addressing your hair loss, the specialists at Northwestern Hair are here to help. We’ll work with you to evaluate your level of hair loss and to find the most effective treatment for your needs.
