Here are some terms and or phrases that you may want to familiarize yourself when learning more about your options. There are so many phrases related to the hair loss and restoration industry. It’s important to know the right terms.
Aldactone: Brand name for spironolactone, a prescription high blood pressure medication that is also prescribed to treat women’s hair loss.
Alopecia: Loss of hair as a result of illness, functional disorder, or hereditary disposition. The medical term for hair loss.
Alopecia Areata: A disease that causes sudden smooth, circular patches of hair loss. It is thought that it is caused by the body forming antibodies against some hair follicles. It can result from such factors as stress and genetics.
Alopecia Totalis: A condition that results in no hair on the scalp. It may begin as Alopecia areata or some other cause.
Alopecia Universalis: A condition that results in no hair on any part of the body; this includes eyelashes, eyebrows, and scalp hair. It may develop as alopecia areata or result from another cause.
Amino Acids: The building blocks of protein. A deficiency of amino acids may adversely affect hair growth.
Amortization: The process of converting one enzyme to another, such as testosterone to dihydrotestosterone.
Anagen: The growing phase of hair, usually lasting between two and six years.
Anagen Effluvium: Loss of hair that is supposed to be in the anagen or growing phase. This is the type of hair loss that is associated with chemotherapy or radiation treatment.
Androgen: general term referring to any male hormone. The major androgen is testosterone.
Androgenetic Alopecia: Hair loss resulting from a genetic predisposition to effects of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) on the hair follicles. Also termed female pattern baldness and male pattern baldness, hereditary alopecia, and common baldness.
Anterior: Front
Antiandrogen: An agent that blocks the action of androgens by preventing their attachment to receptor cells, interfering with their metabolism, or decreasing their production in the body.
Aromatase: An enzyme (actually an enzyme complex) involved in the production of estrogen that acts by catalyzing the conversion of testosterone (an androgen) to estradiol (an estrogen). Aromatase is located in estrogen-producing cells in the adrenal glands, ovaries, placenta, testicles, adipose (fat) tissue, and brain.
Autograft: A graft taken from your own body. Azelaic Acid: Azelaic acid (like Retin-A) is more commonly used in the treatment of acne and other skin conditions. It inhibits the activity of the enzyme 5 alpha-reductase, involved in the conversion of testosterone to DHT. Biopsy: Piece of tissue cut out for microscopic examination
Bonding: A term used to describe the simple act of gluing a hairpiece onto the scalp.
Catagen: The intermittent stage between the growing (anagen) and resting (telogen) phases of the hair’s growth cycle.
Chemotherapy: Chemical treatment, usually of cancers, using drugs that have high levels of toxicity, frequently causing temporary alopecia.
Club Hair: A hair that has stopped growing or is no longer in the anagen phase. It is anchored to the skin with its “club-like” root, but will eventually be pushed out and replaced by a growing hair.
Cobblestoning: “Plugs” that have not healed flush with the skin and therefore have left the scalp lumpy. “Plugs” seldom heal flush with the skin. Cobblestoning occurs in almost all “plug” procedures.
Cortex: The layer of the hair shaft that surrounds the medulla and is filled with keratin fibers. The main structural part of the hair fiber that accounts for most of its size and strength.
Crown: The highest part of the head.
Cuticle: The outer surface of the hair, composed of overlapping scales made of colorless keratin protein. It gives hair luster and shine and also provides some of its strength.
Dermal Papilla: The dermal papilla is situated at the base of the hair follicle. The dermal papilla contains nerves and blood vessels, which supply glucose for energy and amino acids to make keratin. This structure is extremely important in the regulation of hair growth since it has receptors for both androgens and hair-promoting agents.
Dermis: One of the two layers of cells that form the skin. Specifically, it is the innermost layer.
Diazoxide: A drug that dilates blood vessels by opening potassium channels and also promotes hair growth.
Dihydrotestosterone (DHT): Male hormone thought to be the main cause for the miniaturization of the hair follicle and for hair loss. DHT is formed when the male hormone testosterone interacts with the enzyme 5-alpha reductase.
Donor Site: Area where pieces of hair-bearing skin are taken from during a hair transplant.
Double-Blind Study: A scientific study where neither the subjects nor the researchers know who specifically is receiving the drug or treatment under study.
Dutasteride: A 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor medication by GlaxoSmithKline. Dutasteride inhibits both type-I and type-II 5-alpha reductase.
Epidermis: The outer protective, nonvascular layer of the skin
Estrogen: The female hormone secreted primarily by the ovaries.
Female Pattern Baldness (FPB): Progressive thinning of hair throughout the entire head caused by genes, age, and hormones. It usually develops at a much slower rate than male pattern baldness.
5-Alpha-Reductase: The chemical that is responsible for transforming testosterone into dihydrotestosterone.
5-Alpha-Reductase Inhibitors: Prevent the body from converting testosterone to dihydrotestosterone by blocking the action of the enzyme 5-alpha reductase.
Finasteride: The generic name of the brand name drug Proscar. Proscar is manufactured by Merck and is FDA approved for the treatment of benign prostate enlargement. 1mg tablets of finasteride have been marketed under the brand name Propecia as a treatment for hair loss. It is an antiandrogen that blocks the formation of dihydrotestosterone by inhibiting the enzyme 5-alpha reductase.
Flap: A type of hair replacement surgery in which a piece of hair-bearing scalp is cut on three or four sides and transplanted onto bald areas of the scalp. Follicle: A saclike structure just below the surface of your scalp. It is the sheath within which hair grows.
Follicular Unit: Natural groupings of hair that grow together as a group in the scalp and share the same blood supply.
Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE): Modification of the standard follicular unit transplant where follicular units are removed individually from the donor area.
Follicular Unit Transplantation: An advanced form of hair transplantation in which the surgeon harvests hair in naturally occurring follicular units and grafts them to balding sections of the scalp.
Free Flap: A surgical procedure in which a wide strip of scalp from the side/back of the head is excised and then transferred to the frontal area of the scalp to form a hairline.
Frontal Alopecia: Hair loss at the front of the head.
Gene Therapy: A treatment method that involves the manipulation of an individual’s genetic makeup. It attempts to fix the defective gene which is causing the disease.
Genetic: Pertaining to genes or any of their effects. A gene is the smallest physical piece of heredity. It determines what features we will pass on to our children as well as which ones we have gained from our biological parents.
Grafting: A variety of procedures describing the removal of hair-bearing scalp from the back of the head to a recipient site. The most widely used types of grafting are slit grafts, micrografting, and mini-grafting (all outdated). Grafts: Transplanted hair.
Gynecomastia: Excessive development of the male breasts.
Hair Lift: a Surgical procedure used to eliminate large areas of the bald scalp by lifting and advancing the entire hair-bearing scalp in an upward and forward direction.
Hair Cloning: Currently not available, but cloning hair may make it possible for you to have an unlimited crop of donor’s hair for a hair transplant.
Hair Integration: See hair weaving.
Hair Intensification: See hair weaving.
Hair Matrix: Region where hair and the structures that compose it (cortex, cuticle, and medulla) are made.
Hair Multiplication: Currently not available; same theory as hair cloning. Individual hair strands will be multiplied or duplicated to create more available donor area for transplantation.
Hair Shaft: Filament (hair) projecting from the epidermis that provides protection and warmth.
Hair Weaving: A process by which a hairpiece (synthetic or human hair) is attached to existing hair on scalp through braiding or another interweaving process.
Hamilton Scale: Method used to rate hair loss. See also Norwood Scale.
Hirsutism: Excessive growth of hair of normal or abnormal distribution.
Hormonal: Pertaining to hormones. Hormones are chemical messengers that are usually carried by the