Fostering Inclusivity: All Hair Is Good Hair: Human beings are a wonder of diversity. Our various physical features have evolved over millions of years, enabling us to adapt to the different environments and conditions we have encountered throughout history. No single feature is more important or beautiful than the other, as each plays a critical role in our survival and well-being. So why is there a bias in matters to do with this beautiful gift of nature – hair?
Hair Bias and Disparities in Accessibility
One of our most diverse physical features is our hair and skin types. Our hair and skin types vary across regions and populations worldwide, from tightly coiled to straight, from fair to darkly pigmented.
However, despite this diversity, there has been an unfortunate lack of resources and information for people with curly-kinky hair. The disparity in the availability of information, utensils, and products that cater to these hair types has been lamentable. For a long time, hair transplantation was not equally accessible to curly-haired people. Presumably, the available tools of the day were designed to cater to straight-haired individuals. Only recently has attention been paid to these hair and skin care delivery disparities. This shift in consciousness has far-reaching implications that would impact the quality of life and careers of over a quarter of the world’s population.
The Story Of Hair
The Story of Hair -Our diversity is beautiful The Story Of Hair- Our Diversity is Beautiful Time for the science to catch up 😄 Let science speak for us
The extent and impact of disparity in accepting natural hair states are subject to increased study. All efforts to end hair discrimination should begin with acknowledging and appreciating our differences. Dr. Umar, the inventor of UGraft Zeus, says that his success in developing a hair transplant technology that worked on all curly -coily hair situations and all other follicular unit excision (FUE) hair harvesting scenarios, happened only when he looked at the diversity of human hair and skin type in the context of the gene admixing that must have occurred over millennia of human migration and the very nuanced combination of hair and skin types.
FUE is a technique for hair transplantation that is favored by short-haired individuals. It is a minimally invasive method that does not create the linear scarring typically associated with the older *follicular unit transplant (FUT) technique. However, men with Afro-textured hair, who tend to prefer shorter hairstyles or shaved heads, often face difficulties in undergoing FUE due to the unique challenges posed by their tightly curled hair to current FUE techniques compared to other ethnicities. Additionally, existing FUE methods often require larger punches to accommodate curly hair, resulting in larger wounds and scarring. This presents additional risks for curly-haired individuals (often of African descent), who are already prone to abnormal scarring.
According to Dr. Umar, “Only after looking at the hair and skin diversity of current humans in the reverse, going back to the time, when we shared a common ancestry followed by divergences that occurred from migrations, subsequent reunions, and all the gene mixing that occurred in the process, were we able to arrive at a technology that solved the vexing issue of coily hair FUE.” Perhaps because of this non-tribal approach, the same technology resolved not just coily or Afro-textured FUE; it turned out to be capable in all other FUE scenarios, including all ethnicities regardless of skin and hair characteristics. “It didn’t matter whether the hair to be harvested was long or shaved, whether the hair was located on the scalp, face, or any body area. It did it all…efficiently and easily.”
In addition to the recent efforts to end disparities in the availability of information and resources and end hair discrimination, there’s now a more profound understanding that despite our superficial differences, we are ultimately united as humans. Our diversity is a beautiful reflection of the many different circumstances we have encountered. We all share the same goals and aspirations for ourselves and others around us.
*The term follicular unit transplant (FUT) has been traditionally linked to the type of hair transplantation method that harvests grafts by cutting a linear strip of flesh from the back or sides of the head to create a linear scar. The correct term should be follicular unit strip surgery (FUSS) because all modern hair transplants, including follicular unit excision (FUE), are FUT since they implant only single follicular units (FU)s compared to ancient methods that implanted chunks of hair-bearing scalp containing 2-4 or more units of FUs.
Resources
The CROWN Act: https://www.thecrownact.com/
The Skin of Color Society: https://skinofcolorsociety.org/
The National Medical Association (NMA): https://www.nmanet.org/
Further reading:
