The following is a Sponsored Resource. The sponsor of this content has sole editorial control

Every woman's hair loss is different and unique. But to help broadly define the nature of yours, the Ludwig Classification was created.

The Ludwig Classification characterises three stages of female pattern hair loss: Type I (mild), Type II (moderate) and Type III (extensive). In all three stages, hair loss occurs on the front and top of the scalp, with the frontal hairline relatively preserved. Sometimes hair loss is experienced on the back and sides, sometimes not.

As long as you have some stable hair on the back and/or sides of the scalp, you will be suitable for a hair restoration transplant, such as the minimally-invasive AHI Technique.

Female Hair Types

Human hair is of three distinct types:
Lanugo is the fine hair covering almost a foetus’s entire body until before birth. In cases of malnutrition or extreme anorexia nervosa within adults, lanugo can grow anew as the sufferer’s body attempts to insulate itself.

Vellus hair is very short, fine, scarcely visible hair covering most parts of the bodies of both sexes.

Terminal hair is fully developed, and is typically longer, coarser, thicker and darker than the vellus type.

How Female Hair is Structured

Who'd have thought something as fine as a strand of hair could be so complex? Here's a little insight into the composition of hair, upon which every AHI procedure is based:

Papilla -
At the base of each hair follicle is a structure called the papilla, made mainly of connective tissue and a capillary loop. Cell division in the papilla is rare or non-existent.

Matrix -
Around the papilla, the hair matrix is a collection of closely packed cells often interspersed with pigment-producing cells, known as melanocytes. Cell division in the hair matrix forms the major structures of the hair fibre and the inner root sheath. Of all cell populations in the human body, the hair matrix epithelium is one of the fastest growing.

Root Sheath -
This structure comprises an external root sheath, a middle layer, and an internal section of dead skin - or 'cuticle' - which is continuous with the hair fibre's outermost layer.

Hair Fibre -
This is composed of a section of dead skin that is continuous with the root sheath, an intermediate layer, and an inner core.

Other Structures -
Connected to each hair follicle is a sebaceous gland, which generates the oily substance or 'sebum' that protects the hair and skin. Arrector pili muscles cause the follicle lissis to become more perpendicular to the surface of the skin. Apocrine glands secrete sweat. Hair follicle receptors sense the position of the hairs.

How Female Hair Grows

Hair is produced through old cells being packed together at specific sites within the skin, known as ‘follicles’. Attached to the follicle is a tiny bundle of muscle fibre. Where the follicle and muscle fibre join, the action of stem cells serves to maintain hair production.

Hair growth occurs in cycles, each comprising three main phases:

Anagen Phase -
This is the active growth phase when cells in the root of the hair divide rapidly, adding about 1cm to the hair shaft every 28 days. Scalp hair follicles remain in this phase for round 2-7 years, with the exact period largely down to one’s genes. Normally, up to 90% of your hairs are in the Anagen Phase at any given time.

Catagen Phase -
Coming at the end of the Anagen Phase, this transition stage lasts 2-3 weeks for scalp hairs and signals the end of the hair’s active growth. Between 10 and 14% of your hair follicles are normally in the Catagen Phase.

Telogen Phase -
This is the resting phase, lasting 2-3 months, and applying to 1-2% of one’s scalp-hair follicles at any given time. At its end, a club hair - one that is dead and fully keratinised - is produced. Fifty to 100 club hairs are shed daily from a normal scalp.

Chemical signals determine the exact length and nature of hair-growth cycles. Prior to the Anagen Phase, there is also a period during which the follicle is formed. Finally, there’s an Exogen Phase, during which one of several hairs arising from a single follicle is shed.

Make an enquiry

Medpages has arrangements with some of major hair Clinics in Ireland to provide you with further information about their services. You'll get a response within 48 hours.

Complete the enquiry form....