How Many Hair Transplant Grafts Do You Need?

When you shop for a hair transplant surgeon, you will find that different doctors give widely varying estimates of the number of grafts you will need. This can make you very uncertain about the wisdom of even getting a hair transplant. It helps to have a fair idea of what to expect.

Unfortunately, there are hair transplant surgeons who do not take their position of respect seriously. Some doctors are even transplanting donor hair into areas where the patient still has hair. Perhaps this is easier than placing it where it rightfully belongs - on the balding spots.

For whatever reason, some hair transplant patients are not getting the number of grafts on their balding areas as they are billed. This is testified by certain doctors who have seen the results. The density of hair on these patients’ heads is not commensurate with the number of grafts they supposedly got.

The best hope a patient has of getting what he pays for in a hair transplant is to learn to calculate the number of grafts he needs to cover his balding area. If the surgeon he sees is not in that ballpark, it may be wiser to look for another surgeon. If however, the surgeon estimates a similar number, just make sure all the grafts go onto the balding parts of your scalp.

To calculate the number of grafts you need for hair transplant surgery, there are several factors to take into account. The thickness of the hair shaft makes a difference. Whether the hair is curly or straight determines if the hair will lie flat or stand up, creating more fullness.

Another important factor for hair transplant is the color of the hair in contrast to the color of the skin. For a light-skinned man with light-colored hair, or a dark-skinned man with dark colored hair, it takes a certain amount of hair to cover the baldness. However, a light-skinned man with very dark hair will need much more hair to provide the same amount of coverage.

You should figure that the average number of hair transplant grafts needed to cover a balding area is 25% of the original hair that was there. You can move up or down from this figure according to your other factors such as thickness, curliness, or color. Then, you can use this number to figure up the grafts needed.

Based on the fact that the average Caucasian male has a density of 2 hairs per millimeter, it can be assumed that the average density of hair is 1250 hairs per square inch. Figuring at an average of 2 hairs per follicular unit, it would take 625 follicular units per square inch.

To get 25% of that, you would need 156 follicular units per square inch. All that remains is to measure your balding area and multiply the number of square inches by 156. When you know what number of grafts to expect during your hair transplant surgery, you will be a savvy consumer. It does not hurt one bit go into the process with an idea of your own about how the treatment should go.

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Facts about Hair Transplant Procedures

It is getting more common for people to get hair transplant procedures as the methods keep improving. It is just less obvious than in earlier times when everyone could spot a person with bad hair plugs. Yet, there are still a few facts about hair transplant surgery that are not widely known.

1. A large percentage of men have balding issues. In fact, 50% of American men that are 50 years old or older are dealing with some amount of hair loss. Hair problems in today’s society beg to be conquered. Some do it by shaving their heads completely. Others take the exact opposite route and have hair transplant surgery. Those who accept their baldness may have a healthy psyche, but they are slightly out of step with the rest of the world.

2. The procedure is permanent. If you decide you do not like the results, it is not as simple as taking off a wig to change your hair. You would have to go through many surgeries and your head may never look the same. This is why you should never accept any doctor’s offer to do a few hair grafts and see how you like it before doing a full hair transplant surgery. Once you start, you are committed.

3. You need several days of rest afterward hair transplant surgery. Since the operation is so easy to endure, you might think that you can jump up and go right back to your regular activities. It is just your scalp after all, not muscle or bone. The truth is that you have many small wounds and you need to protect them.

4. Hair transplant can be a time-consuming commitment. Treatment can often last one to two years. Mega-sessions where thousands of grafts are done in one sitting help to shorten the overall time. However, the length of these sessions is often grueling.

5. Hair transplant surgery may be combined with other procedures. If you do not have enough hair, you cannot have a normal hair transplant surgery. However, there are other surgeries that can be used in conjunction with hair transplant to achieve similar results. The difference is that these procedures are generally more painful.

6. The grafts may not survive. Few surgeons will divulge to you the fact that hair grafts do not always survive after hair transplant surgery. The hope is that only a few will be lost and the overall result will not suffer. The reality is that is what usually happens.

7. Hair transplant treatments do not cost as much as you think. For example, you might reasonably spend $12,000 on a hair transplant. If you got it done at age 30 and died at age 70, you would have the transplant 40 years.

That would average out to $300 per year, or $25 per month. Many of the supposedly low cost treatments for hair loss cost much more than $25 per month. You would actually save by getting the hair transplant surgery done in the first place.

Are Women Good Candidates for Hair Transplant Surgery?

Balding is not just a men’s problem; women often lose hair as they get older as well. You might wonder, if that is the case, why more women do not have hair transplant surgery. You may be surprised to know that many women are not good candidates.

Women usually have a different type of hair loss than men. Male pattern baldness uncovers parts of the top of the head. However, the sides and back of the head are usually covered with healthy balding-resistant hair follicles.

Men with this pattern of balding will have donor hair that survives the hair transplant process and flourishes long afterward. That is because a naturally-occurring enzyme in the body combines with testosterone to create a chemical called DHT. This chemical is responsible for the hair loss on the tops of men’s heads when they have male pattern baldness.

However, it does not affect the back and sides of their hair in most cases. These areas have healthy hair follicles and make excellent donor sites for hair transplant surgery. These are called stable sites because they remain unchanged over time rather than shrinking like the hair follicles affected by DHT do.

Female pattern baldness is different. In most cases, they do not have large areas of stable balding-resistant hair follicles. The sides and back of their hair tends to thin just as the front and top of the head do. The DHT affects all the areas of their hair.

Any hair follicles that are affected by DHT will simply fall out if they are moved by hair transplant procedures. Moving them from one place to another does not affect the basic nature of the hair follicle.

Also, women do not have the problem of receding hairlines in most cases. Their hair is lost in a more diffuse manner, thinning uniformly all over the head. It is not so much where their hair is that is the problem, but how much they have. Hair transplant surgery will not correct this problem. It is best used to move hair from one place to another.

There is a very small percentage - about 5% of all women with baldness problems - who are good candidates for hair transplant surgery. The thing that all these women have in common is that they all have healthy areas of hair follicles that can be used as donor sites.

For example, women with mechanical or traction Alopecia have lost their hair because they have scratched their head for a long period of time, they have used tight rollers or their hair has been pulled or stretched in any manner. These women almost always have an area of their hair that is unaffected. If they do, they can have hair transplant procedures.

Some women have cosmetic surgery and suffer hair loss around the incision sites. In these cases, hair transplant surgery can help. Other women actually have a pattern of hair loss that is similar to male pattern baldness. These women are able to have the surgery, too.

Finally, women who have suffered trauma from accidents or burns are good candidates for hair transplant procedures. If you are a woman with balding problems, is worth the time to consult with a doctor to find out if you are one of the women who can benefit from hair transplant surgery.