Thick vs Thin Donor Hair

[dan2to]

I usually hear it takes up to 6 to 9 months after hair transplant surgery for the results to really start coming in. My question is does this all depend on HOW thick or thin your donor hair is?? Also, does having really dark hair help in terms of the illusion that it has grown back faster?

[Spex]

The more donor you have the more grafts you can transplant - therefore the thicker a result can be achieved.

Growth times vary from patient to patient however generally it take 12 months to achieve full growth, 18 months for full maturity.

Best
SPEX

[mattj]

The timeline for growth isn't influenced by donor thickness. Hair colour matters only in how it contrasts with skin colour. A lighter-skinned patient will benefit from having a lighter hair colour because there is less contrast between skin and hair, meaning the skin doesn't show through the hair so much.

[gillenator]

Donor thickness can sometimes be confused with donor density and are two completely different subjects.

Donor density is actually the volume or amount of FUs in the donor region. Donor density is often evaluated based on how many FUs are established within a defined surface area ususally expressed as FUcm2. In other words, the amount of FUs established within a defined surface area comprised of 1 squared centimeter.

Thickness of donor hair can also be in reference to the degree of coarseness of the hair shafts, meaning hair caliber or hair shaft diameter. The thicker or more coarse the donor hair shafts are, the better illusion of coverage obtained. Diffused hairloss can be defined as the progressive loss of hair shaft diameter over time. This has nothing to do with donor density as expressed as FUcm2. This is why some hairloss sufferers, including some women, begin seeing more and more scalp without losing hair count (density). They are losing more and more caliber to the hair shafts so that more ultra-violet light reflects off of their scalps. Yet these diffused thinners are not presently losing their hair by recessionary patterns of loss.

So in theory, one can have a very high donor density count per cm2 however it can potentially take far more FUs (grafts) to obtain the same level of visual coverage compared to someone with a high grade hair caliber or high grade of coarseness to the donor hair shafts, color contrast not being considered in the equation yet.

Hope that adds some insight to this subject and best wishes to you...

[Jeffrey Epstein, MD]

The rate of regrowth seems to have no relationship with the texture/thickness of the donor hairs. Dark hair may sometimes be more difficult to achieve great density with, due to the color contract between the hair and the scalp.

[gillenator]

Very true and why females with diffused thinning (men too), with dark hair on a light complexion will show more scalp (light reflection). Most men do not thin in the Ludwig pattern of loss like women do. From what I have observed, they have more recessionary loss patterns as noted in the Norwood scale.

[kd]

its a shame it is not quicker. Going through the waiting game myself. But as the saying goings "good things come to people who wait!"