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16. Hair Follicles and Area-Specific Genetic Instructions :: Posted Thursday, May 24, 2001 by admin ::
Hair follicles have specialized cells that have receptors for certain types of hormone messages, when the hormone binds to the cell, the cells respond to according to their innate genetic instructions. However, some hair follicle cells are programmed differently than others in other parts of the body. In men there are three basic types of hair follicles. A hair follicle on the chin of a young man will begin to grow thick terminal hair as male sexual hormones increase at puberty. A second type of follicle located on the man's scalp at the hairline is pre-programmed, when it receives the increase of male hormones at puberty, to start spending more time resting and less time growing thick new hairs. This second type of follicle will contribute to a receding hair line, the stage of male pattern hair loss. A third type of follicle, located on the back and the sides of same man's scalp, has a genetic program that is unaffected by the male hormone message after puberty. This type of hair follicle continues its normal cycle of growth, rest, shedding the old hair, and then starting another cycle of growth. It will continue this cycle for many decades.
The innate genetic programming of hair follicle is the reason that hair restoration surgery works. Hair restoration surgeons select hair follicles from scalp areas that have a genetic predisposition to continue growing new hairs, such as the hairs on the side and back of the head. They move these third type of hair follicles to areas on the scalp where the hair follicles have been
programmed to cease hair growth when exposed to male hormones. The location on the scalp does not affect the genetic programming of the relocated follicles, since the genetic program is dominants over other factors and they continue to grow hairs in the new location.
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