Posts Tagged: Hair Orientation

What Happened with Joe Biden’s “Pluggy” Hair Transplant and What Repair Strategy do You Suggest?

October 28th, 2008

Q: What’s the story with Joe Biden’s hair?

A: Joe Biden — former Senator from Delaware and now the Vice President of the United States — apparently had a hair transplant many years ago using the older hair restoration techniques. This included not only transplanting hair in large plugs (corn rows), but using them to create a broad frontal hairline; a design that generally does not look natural as a person ages.

Also, the older grafts were transplanted in a vertical orientation giving a sprout-like, unnatural appearance.

The use of large plugs and the inefficiencies of the older procedures waste a considerable amount of donor hair, leaving Senator Biden with a dense rim of hair in the front part of his scalp and little coverage behind that.

The repair strategy would consist of removing the larger plugs, microscopically dividing them into smaller grafts (individual follicular units of 1 to 3 hairs each), and then placing the smaller grafts in a more forward direction and in a more natural distribution. This involves using the 1-hair units to soften the frontal hair line and the 2- and 3-hair units to extend the transplant further back on the scalp.

In addition to the hair transplant repair, Biden received significant cosmetic improvement from the natural graying of his hair over the years, as this tends to make the hair appear fuller and any irregularities less noticeable.

Topic: Celebrity Hair Loss

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Posted by Robert M. Bernstein M.D. at 10:46 am

Can Hair Transplant Repair a Scar from Scalp Reduction Surgery?

September 29th, 2008

Q: What’s the best way to camouflage a scar left behind from a scalp reduction that I had in 2001? I am currently wearing DermMatch to cover the area, but the hair parts like the “Red Sea” on top around the scar so the makeup does not look so good. I would like to fill in the area with hair but I am not sure if a hair transplant will grow into scar tissue.

A: Hair will grow in the scar but, as you allude to, the problem is often the abnormal hair direction rather than the scar itself.

Besides adding hair to the scar, if one transplants hair adjacent to the scar in a direction that causes it to lie over the scarred area, the visual affect of the “Red Sea” effect can be lessened.

How much improvement you achieve with the hair restoration will, in part, depend upon the amount of hair available to be transplanted (and the skill of the surgeon).

Topic: Hair Transplant into Scar

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Posted by Robert M. Bernstein M.D. at 7:59 am

What Makes Eyebrow Hair Transplant Different from Other Hair Transplants?

May 9th, 2007

Q: I have had thinning eyebrows since my early twenties (I am now 32) and they have gotten to the point that I can’t make them look good with mascara anymore. I am considering an eyebrow hair transplant, how is it different from other hair transplants?

A: Eyebrow hair restoration procedures are similar to hair transplants to the scalp in that the hair, once transplanted, is permanent. They differ both in the techniques used to perform them and in the results.

In eyebrow transplants, only individual hairs should be used, whereas follicular units containing from 1 to 4 hairs are used in a hair transplant to the scalp. In eyebrow transplants, the hairs must be positioned to lie as flat as possible to the surface of the skin. In hair transplantation to the scalp, the angle between the hair and the scalp surface can be as much as 45 degrees or more.

As with hair transplants to the scalp, the hair transplanted to eyebrows will continue to grow and must therefore be cut. However, in contrast to hair transplants where the donor hair is generally a perfect match for scalp hair, in eyebrow transplants the hair is taken from a different part of the body and will have slightly different characteristics both in growth rate and in appearance.

Topic: Hair Transplant

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Posted by Robert M. Bernstein M.D. at 7:09 am

How Does Hair Cloning Grow “Normal” Hair from Cultured Cells?

February 21st, 2007

Q: Considering cell cultivation is made possible how could their injection create a normal formation of hair on the scalp and can they induce hair growth also in scarred areas where previously hair stopped growing?

A: That is the question. It is not known if these induced follicles will resemble normal hairs, and be cosmetically acceptable on their own, or if they will grow unruly and must be used as a filler behind more aesthetically pleasing transplanted hair.

Hair growth is an interaction between the dermal components (fibroblasts in the dermal sheath and dermal papillae) and the epidermal structures.

It is possible that the injected dermal fibroblasts will interact with resident epithelial cells to produce a properly oriented hair. A tunnel of epithelial cells can also be created to facilitate this process and some researchers are using cultures of both dermal and epithelial cells.

As you suggest, part of the challenge is not just to multiply the hair but to find a way for the hair to grow in its proper orientation. With scar tissue, the task will obviously be much more difficult.

Another issue is that the induced follicles are just that, they are single hair follicles rather than complete follicular units. Because of this they wouldn’t have the cosmetic elegance of one’s own natural hair, unlike that which is possible in follicular unit hair transplantation.

That said, much work still needs to be done and it is not clear at this time what might be the solution.

Read more on the Hair Cloning page on the Bernstein Medical – Center for Hair Restoration website.

Topic: Hair Cloning

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Posted by Robert M. Bernstein M.D. at 8:32 am

What are Obstacles to Hair Cloning Techniques?

November 16th, 2006

Q: What are the major obstacles for scientists to cloning hair?

A: The main problem is that the cultured cells may lose their phenotype with multiple passages, i.e. lose their ability to differentiate into hair follicles after they have been multiplied.

Another problem of hair cloning is that the orientation of hair direction must be controlled. With mouse experiments, the hairs grow at all different directions. Scientists need to find a way to align the hair so that it grows in the right direction. Hair, of course, must also be of a quality that is cosmetically acceptable and matches the patient existing hair. And the hair should grow in follicular units. Individual hairs will not give the fullness or natural look of follicular units.

Another problem is the issue of safety. Are we sure that cultured cells may not turn into something else – such as malignancy cells with uncontrolled growth?

Finally, FDA approval would be required and this takes time. It is true that you do not need FDA approval for using your own hair, such as a hair transplant; however, when you take cells from the body and manipulate it in the lab, this requires FDA approval.

Topic: Hair Cloning

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Posted by Robert M. Bernstein M.D. at 11:20 am



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