How Many Hair Grafts Do I Need For My FUE Hair Transplant?

There is a lot of misconception and lack of information about the number of grafts needed for hair transplants. It’s something the general public simply doesn’t know – and why would you unless you are a hair transplant surgeon?

If you are considering an FUE hair transplant, we’ve got the facts for you so you have a clear understanding of the procedure and what’s actually involved.

To give you a rough idea before discussing the specifics, FUE hair transplants typically extract/implant between 500-2000 individual grafts, and this is broken into sections of approximately 10-25 grafts per cm². However, the exact number depends on different factors which we explain below.

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Hair Transplant Terminology – What is a Graft

I imagine you’re wondering why we keep using the term “graft” and not follicle. This is because FUE and any hair transplant surgery don’t involve extracting individual follicles.

Instead, we extract grafts. A graft is a piece of tissue extracted from your scalp that contains between 1-4 hairs. This is done to give the follicles a better chance of taking root and growing in the recipient area and also to speed up the process.

Therefore, we define hair transplants by the number of grafts, not the number of hairs!

Factors That Affect the Number of Grafts Required

When looking at the FUE hair transplant Turkey technique, there are several factors that affect how many grafts you may need.

It’s also important to note that the maximum number of grafts per session for FUE is 2000. Any more than this, and you will need multiple surgery sessions. Regardless, the main factors are your hair loss severity, donor hair quality, and desired results.

Hair loss severity

The defining factor is of course the severity and type of hair loss. When we assess your hair loss we can quickly gauge how many grafts will be needed because a set number of grafts are usually required for different areas of your scalp.

For example, if you just have a receding hairline that hasn’t progressed very far, you may need as little as 500-1500 grafts. In contrast, for severe receding hairlines that are progressing further back, 1500-2000 grafts may be appropriate.

Also Read: How Long Will the FUE Hair Transplant Surgery Take?

Donor hair quality

The quality of your donor hair is also extremely important – donor hair is the grafts that are taken from a healthy part of your scalp that has no hair loss.

If you have lovely thick hair and plenty of it in the donor area then we may not need to harvest as many grafts to achieve the desired look. Similarly, if your donor hair is thinner and not as good quality then more grafts may be needed to do the job properly.

Desired results

Ultimately, when looking at how many hair grafts are needed for your FUE surgery, we have to consider the end results. What do you want? Do you simply want to improve your hairline a little or transform your head and get back a full scalp of hair?

This is why there is no definitive answer for FUE hair transplants because each person is different, and hair loss is an extremely individual thing.

The bottom line is, is that with an FUE hair transplant, you can expect between 500-2000 grafts to get the desired results and if you need more than this, it will typically have to be spread across two sessions.

Read Next: DHI vs FUE Hair Transplant: Pros and Cons

The Exact Quantity is Decided on a Case-by-Case Basis

To summarize, while the average number of grafts for a hair transplant is between 1000-3000, the exact amount for you may differ. As discussed, numerous factors are involved, including your hair loss severity, the quality of your donor hair, and the technique used.