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Trichoscopy in Healthy Adult Egyptian Females: Normal Values of Hair Measurable Parameters
Hoda A Moneib1,2, Suzan A K Ahmed3, Marwa S E Zaki1
1Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Andrology, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
Introduction:
Documenting normal hair values through trichoscopy can provide a useful baseline when evaluating and treating hair loss in different populations. The aim of our study was to document normal values for measurable parameters of hair in adult Egyptian females.
Methods:
This cross-sectional study involved 90 Egyptian females (age range 18-48 years), with no symptoms or signs of hair or scalp disease. Trichoscopy was performed in different scalp areas using FotoFinder Medicam 1000 videodermoscopy. Trichoscopy images were subjected to statistical processing using TrichoLAB system.
Results:
The frontal area demonstrated the highest number of hairs (190 ± 29/cm2), greatest average hair shaft thickness (63 ± 8 μm), greatest percentage of thick hairs (71% ± 12), highest mean cumulative hair thickness (12 ± 2 mm/cm2), and highest mean number of follicular units (82 ± 8/cm2). The temporal area showed the highest percentage of thin hairs (9% ± 5) and single-hair pilosebaceous units (23% ± 7), lowest mean number of hairs (154 ± 25/cm2), least average hair shaft thickness (60 ± 9 μm), least mean cumulative hair thickness (9 ± 2 mm/cm2), and least mean number of follicular units (70 ± 8/cm2). The occipital area showed the greatest percentage of triple-hair follicles (43% ± 12). Based on trichoscopy, the norms for hair parameters were calculated.
Conclusion:
Normal hair parameters in adult Egyptian females differ from those documented from other ethnicities. Evaluating and treating hair loss in clinical practice should be done in reference to documented normal values, which can be set through trichoscopy.
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