The Changing Patterns of Hair Density and Thickness in South Korean Women with Hair Loss: Clinical Office-Based Phototrichogram Analysis

In a 2008 study, 258 South Korean women with hair loss were examined using a phototrichogram to assess hair density and thickness at 11 scalp sites. The participants were divided into two groups: 155 with female pattern hair loss (FPHL) and 103 with telogen effluvium (TE). Compared to a control group of 40 healthy women, both FPHL and TE groups showed significantly reduced hair density and thickness. The FPHL group exhibited a decrease in these parameters with increasing Ludwig grade, while the TE group's pattern of hair density and thickness was similar to that of the controls but at lower levels. The study introduced the Folliscope® as a new, patient-friendly tool for clinical measurement of hair parameters and highlighted the importance of evaluating multiple scalp sites for accurate diagnosis and treatment planning for hair loss. The mean ages of the patients and control subjects were 35.1 and 34.8 years, respectively.