Excellent Hair Implant Physician In Seattle, Washington

Hair Loss and Hair Restoration Glossary of Terms

Bolton Bundle™

A graft containing more than one follicular unit. These grafts will usually contain 2 to 3 follicular units having hair counts ranging anywhere between 4 - 8 hairs. THESE ARE NOT PLUGS, these are SLIT GRAFTS just the same as in micrografts or follicular units. [ Bolton Bundles increase density ]

crown area

The top back portion of the head which includes the spiral/whirl which feeds the direction and angle of the hairs on the back and sides of your head. [ see crown procedure ]

diffuse pattern alopecia (DPA)

Hairline remains in tact while hair thins evenly throughout the entire head except the safe zone which is a horseshoe area of hair on the sides and the back of the head between the ears. [find out more about diffuse pattern alopecia]

diffuse unpatterned alopecia (DUPA)

This condition cannot be corrected with a hair transplant. Similar to Diffuse pattern alopecia, DUPA is a condition where hair thins throughout the entire head. The only difference is hair also thins in the safe zone area. Without a DHT resistant safe zone, a successful hair transplant becomes impossible because there is no place to harvest hair follicles that are genetically preprogrammed to remain healthy for the life of the patient. [find out more about diffuse unpatterned alopecia and find out more about the safe zone]

dihydrotestosterone (DHT)

The most potent male hormone, an androgen, is produced when testosterone and an enzyme called 5a-reductase are synthesized. DHT causes male pattern baldness.

donor area - [doh-ner air-ee-uh]

A place on the back of the head where permanent hairs are harvested for a hair transplant. These hairs have been genetically pre-programmed to not be sensitive to the hormone conversion that causes hair loss on the top of your head from genetic male pattern baldness. [ read about donor area ]

donor dominance

Dr. Norman Orentriech discovered donor dominance in 1952 when he successfully transplanted hair from the DHT resistant tissue in the back of the head to a patient's alopecic area. Tissue taken from the safe zone retains characteristics of that area and remains resistant to DHT so hair is permanent for life. This principal is called donor dominance. [ read more about donor dominance ]

follicular unit - [fuh-lik-yuh-ler yoo-nit]

A naturally occurring bundle of hairs which everybody has. This bundle of hairs ranges in density from person to person and the range may be between 1 to 4 hairs per bundle (mathematically, the hair transplant industry standard is 2.5 hairs per follicular unit).

[more on follicular unit grafts ]

follicular unit extraction (FUE)

The process of removing a single follicular unit from the donor area using a punch biopsy instrument. [ details about follicular unit extraction ]

follicular unit hair transplant (FUT)

A hair transplant solely dedicated to the use of micrografts and follicular units exclusively.

FOX test

A test to determine if patients are good candidates for an FUE procedure. Due to differences in scalp and hair, some patients are more susceptible to fragmented follicles during extraction. Follicle roots can be nipped or torn which permanently destroys the follicle. A test will score the success rate of extraction. Patients with poor FOX tests should not get an FUE extraction.

frontal hairline

The frontal hairline is the beginning portion of the hair on the top of your head that frames the face. [ thinning hairline ]

genetic hair loss

See Male Pattern Hair loss.

graft or hair graft

Hair bearing skin from the donor area in the back of the head. A graft/hair graft can be composed of a single hair or multiple hairs. These grafts are harvested from the donor area.

hair cloning or hair cell therapy

Multiplication of hair at the cellular level in a laboratory environment. Hair cloning is still in the development phase.

hair follicle - [hair fol-i-kuhl]

A single strand of hair including the bulb of the follicle, root and sebaceous glands.

hair harvesting

The process of removing the permanent hairs from the donor area during a hair transplant.

Hair Miniaturization

Hair Miniaturization is when the hair follicle shrinks and becomes thin and wispy due to the effects of DHT.

hair plug

Also known as doll plugs, a hair plug is a slang term for old hair transplant technology where large punch grafts were harvested from the donor area and transplanted to the balding areas on the top of the head. In the past they would punch out an area from the donor area and punch out an area in the recipient area and "plug it in" hence the term "plugs". Due to the large size of these grafts (hair range of 15-25 hairs) these grafts would have to be spaced cautiously to ensure the blood supply to these newly transplanted grafts. The result was very unnatural looking much like that of a child's baby doll. These older style grafts also cause scarring around the graft contributing to its unnatural look. [ read about corrective hair surgery to see bad hair plugs ]

male pattern hair loss (MPH)

Hereditary genetic hair loss. Individuals who are affected by this are susceptible to a hormone conversion of testosterone converting into DHT as they age. The frontal vertex and crown on the top of the head are susceptible to this hormone conversion.

MAXHARVEST™ Hair Transplant

A MAXHARVEST™ Hair Transplant is a specialized hair restoration surgery developed by Dr. Brett Bolton which incorporates a distinctive harvesting technique that safely extracts the maximum number of hairs possible based on the individual's scalp elasticity and donor area condition. Unlike all other conventional hair transplant procedures, this unparalleled formula insures that each patient has the best opportunity to yield maximum results based on their individual variables in just one procedure.

micrograft

A one hair graft. [ read more about micrografts ]

multiple follicular unit graft (bundle)

A graft containing more than one follicular unit. These grafts will usually contain 2 to 3 follicular units having hair counts ranging anywhere between 4 - 8 hairs. THESE ARE NOT PLUGS, these are SLIT GRAFTS just the same as in micrografts or follicular units. [ multiple follicular unit grafts increase density ]

punch biopsy instrument

Instrument used to either remove hair from the donor area for transplantation or to make a space in the recipient area to implant a graft. These instruments have various shapes and sizes with many different ranges for different hair types and hair density.

punch graft

A punch graft is a graft that was harvested or implanted by a punch biopsy instrument.

[ read about corrective hair surgery to see bad hair plugs ]

recipient area

The area that will be implanted with donor hair.

Safe Zone

See donor area.

slit graft

A graft that is placed into a paper cut incision that is sized according to the graft being implanted.

temporal area - [tem-per-uhl]

The area beneath the frontal hairline on both sides of the head that are above the sideburns and come in all different shapes and sizes.

vertex - [vur-teks]

The vertex is the area between the frontal area and the crown which represents the top portion of the head.