New Skin-Responsive FUE Technique Improves Hair Restoration Results Among Individuals of African Descent,

A new follicular unit excision (FUE) device may improve hair restoration results among individuals of African descent, according to a study in Dermatologic Surgery Journal.

The skin-responsive follicular unit excision (FUE) device, UGraft Zeus, adapts to hair curliness, skin thickness, and firmness in hair transplant patients. 

FUE results have been suboptimal for many patients of African descent because of wide variations in hair and skin characteristics. Skin thickness and firmness were identified as crucial factors in graft attrition rates, with hair curliness influencing the outcome to a lesser extent.  

The Dr.UGraft Zeus was designed to self-navigate the subsurface course of hair follicles allowing for extraction of follicles in varying FUE situations including Afro-textured hair.

And it made a difference.

The new FUE technique consistently minimizes graft transection in all patients of African descent without exception, according to study authors led by Sanusi Umar from the Division of Dermatology, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, and Dr. U Hair and Skin Clinic in Manhattan Beach.

"Our skin-responsive technique marks a significant step towards a universal hair transplant methodology that caters to the unique physiological characteristics of each individual," says Dr. Umar in a news release.  "In addition, we have created a universal scoring scale for accurately categorizing skin and hair characteristics of all individuals, irrespective of their ethnicity.  Recognizing the vast diversity of skin and hair characteristics within any given population, especially in the African-descended population, has been instrumental in resolving this long-standing hair transplant challenge. This innovation can potentially revolutionize hair restoration practices and improve access to this transformative procedure."