Hair transplant words, explained
The words you will hear from clinics, in plain language.
21 terms
Each one in a sentence or two. Where a page explains it in full, the link takes you there.
C
- Crown (vertex)
- The top back of the head, where hair grows in a whorl.
D
- Density
- How many grafts are placed per square centimetre of scalp.How many grafts do I need?
- DHI
- Direct Hair Implantation. Each graft is placed with a pen-like implanter in one step, without opening channels first. We use it to add grafts between existing hair, for women and, case by case, for hairlines.DHI hair transplant
- Diffuse thinning
- Hair getting thinner evenly across the top of the head, rather than in clear bald areas.Am I a good candidate?
- Donor area
- The back and sides of the head, where hair resists pattern hair loss. Grafts are taken from here.How many grafts can a donor area give?
F
- Follicular unit
- A natural group of one to four hairs that grow together. Each graft is usually one follicular unit.
- FUE
- Follicular Unit Extraction. Grafts are taken out one at a time with a tiny round punch.FUE hair transplant
G
- Graft
- A tiny piece of skin holding one to four hair roots, moved from the donor area to the thinning area.Count my grafts
H
- Hairline design
- Drawing the new hairline on the forehead before surgery, based on face shape, age and donor supply.Design my hairline
- Hybrid technique
- Sapphire FUE and DHI in the same procedure, for example sapphire FUE where the scalp is bald and DHI where hair is thinning. Your surgeon decides whether it suits you.FUE vs DHI
- Hyperbaric oxygen session
- Time spent breathing oxygen inside a pressurised chamber. It is included in our Signature and Prestige packages.Hyperbaric oxygen
L
- Ludwig scale
- A 3-stage scale doctors use to describe female pattern hair loss: thinning on top of the head, while the front hairline usually stays.Women’s hair transplant
M
- Miniaturisation
- Hairs becoming thinner and shorter over time because of pattern hair loss.Hair loss medicines
N
- Norwood scale
- A 7-stage scale doctors use to describe male pattern hair loss, from no loss (1) to only a horseshoe of hair left (7).See each stage in 3D
P
- Pattern hair loss
- Hair loss driven by the hormone DHT in people whose follicles are sensitive to it. It follows a typical pattern: temples and crown in men, the top of the head in women.Hair loss medicines
- PRP
- Platelet-rich plasma. A small amount of your own blood is processed and injected into the scalp to support healing and existing hair.PRP treatment
S
- Sapphire FUE
- FUE where the channels are opened with blades made of sapphire, which stay very sharp. The fine cuts let grafts sit close together, so we use it for bald areas and some hairlines.Sapphire FUE
- Shock loss
- Shedding of hair 2 to 8 weeks after surgery. The roots stay and grow new hair later.Shock loss: what is normal
- Single-hair grafts
- Grafts with one hair each. They go in the first 2–3 rows of the hairline so the edge looks soft. Grafts with two, three or four hairs go behind them.Design my hairline
T
- Temples
- The sides of the forehead, where the hairline often recedes first.
- Trichoscopy
- A magnified examination of the scalp and hair used to plan your surgery.
The words, in your own plan
Send four photos. Our lead surgeon replies with your plan in plain words: a graft estimate, the technique for each area and the full price, usually within 24 hours.
Like any surgery, a hair transplant has risks. They include infection, scarring, shock loss and grafts that grow poorly. Read about the risks