What are Follicular Units?
In the picture below, the normal scalp hair that is being parted with the hand. Note how the hair seems to grow as single strands.
The hair in every person’s scalp grows in tiny bundles called follicular units. Although this had been recognized for some time by histologists (doctors who study human tissue), the existence of follicular units was largely ignored by physicians performing hair restoration surgery.
The follicular unit of the adult human scalp consists of 1-4 terminal (full thickness) hair follicles. In areas of the scalp affected by genetic balding, the healthy terminal hairs are gradually replaced by hairs of smaller diameter and length called “miniaturized” hairs.
In addition to the full terminal hairs, the follicular unit contains 1-2 fine vellus hairs, sebaceous (oil) glands, a small muscle, tiny nerves and blood vessels, and a fine band of collagen surrounding the unit (called the perifolliculum). The follicular unit is thus the hair bearing structure of the skin and should be kept intact to insure maximum growth.
The follicular unit is seen on the surface of the scalp as a tiny group of hairs that appear to be growing together. They are best viewed under a microscope where they are seen as well-formed structures in the skin.
The close-up view shows the hair actually emerging in small groups called Follicular Units.
With the hair clipped, the natural hair groupings are visualized on the surface of the skin at 30x magnification through an instrument, invented by Dr. Rassman, called a densitometer.
