Glossary
The words that get used about hair loss as if everyone already knows them. Some come from surgery, some from dermatology and some from the sales side of a large industry, and a consultation moves between all three without warning.
A few matter more than the rest. Donor area and graft are the two that govern every decision you will make, because between them they describe a finite budget. Transection is the one nobody will mention to you and the one most worth asking about. And shock loss is the one that will frighten you at week four if you have not met it first.
I add terms as they come up in the guides, so this list grows. If a word you have hit is not here, tell me and I will write it.
Terms A–Z
A
Androgenetic Alopecia
Pattern hair loss, the kind a transplant treats. Genetic, progressive, and the only kind the two proven drugs work on.
D
DHT
The hormone behind pattern loss. Blocking its production is what finasteride does, and it is the only mechanism any drug here addresses.
Donor Area
The finite reserve every transplant draws on. Roughly 6,000 to 8,000 grafts in a lifetime, non-renewable, and easy to ruin.
F
Follicular Unit
The natural bundle of one to four hairs that a graft consists of. Why graft counts and hair counts are different numbers.
G
Graft
The currency of hair restoration. Non-renewable, priced individually, and the number every quote turns on.
M
Miniaturisation
How pattern loss actually happens. Hair does not fall out so much as shrink, which is why early treatment works and late treatment does not.
N
Norwood Scale
The shared vocabulary of every consultation. Useful for describing where you are, useless for predicting where you will stop.
R
Recipient Site
The incisions the grafts go into. Where the artistry of a transplant actually lives, and where bad results are usually made.
S
Scalp Laxity
How loose your scalp is. It decides whether a strip transplant is possible and how wide a scar you end up with.
Scalp Micropigmentation
Tattooed stubble. It spends no donor hair, costs a fraction of surgery, and is the most underrated option in hair restoration.
Shock Loss
The shed that makes you look worse than before the operation. Expected, temporary, and the point at which most people panic.
T
Telogen Effluvium
Sudden diffuse shedding with a cause. Not pattern loss, usually recovers, and needs a diagnosis rather than a transplant.
Transection
The invisible way a transplant fails. Grafts damaged on the way out, paid for in full, and never heard from again.
Trichophytic Closure
The detail that decides how visible an FUT scar is. Worth asking for by name.
W
Whorl
The spiral at the crown. It is the reason that area swallows grafts and returns less than anywhere else.
Thinking about a transplant?
The Start Here guide explains why medical treatment comes first, how much donor hair you actually have, and what a transplant can and cannot move.
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