Scalp Hair Loss Is Not Random Across Follicular Units: A New Insight Into Human Hair Aging

February 2023 in “ International Journal of Cosmetic Science ”

Junyu Luo, Qili Qian, Wenxin Zheng, Ieva Gripkauskaite, Sijie Wu, Min Zhang, Jinxi Li, Bingfei Fu, Ranjit K. Bhogal, Peter Murray, Matthew Rowson, Bin Li, Xiangyang Xue, Xuelan Gu, Yajun Yang, Jin Li, David A. Gunn, Sijia Wang

scalp hair loss follicular units multi-hair follicular units hair ageing

TLDR Hair loss is more common in areas with multiple hair strands, especially in men.

The study investigated scalp hair loss patterns in 200 Chinese men and 200 Chinese women aged 30-69. It found that hair loss was not random across follicular units, with a significant negative correlation between age and the number of hairs per follicular unit. Men generally had more hairs and follicular units than women but experienced a greater decrease in multi-hair follicular units with age. The findings suggested that scalp hair is more susceptible to hair loss due to the higher presence of multi-hair follicular units, particularly in men.

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