How many hair grafts do I need?

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Knowing how many follicular unit grafts, otherwise known as hair grafts you will need for your hair transplant can be confusing. The best graft number to use will vary from patient to patient.

Patients considering a hair transplant should be aware of the difference between hairs and grafts.

At The Private Clinic, you will have a consultation with one of our expert hair restoration surgeons. They will be able to provide you with the most accurate information to help you make an informed decision regarding your hair transplant procedure.

We can advise on how many grafts are required and on average, how many hairs you should expect to achieve. We also allow patients to view before and after photos with the graft and hair count information from previous patients in the consultation.

Get in touch to find out more

What is a hair graft?

A hair graft is what is extracted from the donor area of your scalp. The graft is a small piece of tissue/skin that contains around 1-4 hair follicles, the skin tissue around the hair follicle provides nourishment.

The healthy and strong hair follicles from your donor area are then transplanted to the areas being treated during your hair transplant procedure.

Hair Graft vs Hair Follicle

A hair follicle is a single hair, and a graft is the extraction of tissue from your scalp. 1 graft could contain anywhere from 1 to 4 hair follicles. This means that the number of grafts you have extracted is not a true representation of how many hair follicles have been implanted.

1 graft = 1 – 4 hairs

How many hair grafts will I need?

The number of hair grafts required for a successful hair transplant will vary from patient to patient. As a guide, your surgeon may recommend anywhere from 600 grafts for minimal hair loss to 3000 or more if your hair loss is more extensive.

The number of grafts needed will depend on the thickness of the hair, the size of the area being covered, and the extent of hair loss. Your hair transplant surgeon will also most likely use the Hamilton-Norwood Scale to help them determine the number of hair grafts.

The Norwood, or Hamilton-Norwood scale is a hair loss classification scale that is commonly used by hair transplant surgeons to map out the hair loss processes.

Find out more about the Norwood scale here.

FUE Hair Transplants – 500 to 3000 Grafts

600 hair grafts before and after

A 600 graft hair transplant procedure is for patients with minimal hair loss but are perhaps starting to noticeably recede at the temples. At this stage hair loss medication would often be suggested as an alternative to a hair transplant but in suitable cases a small hair transplant procedure could be performed.

This patient was Norwood 1, heading towards Norwood scale 2. He had 607 hair grafts extracted and 1637 hairs implanted to his temples. The after photos were taken 6 months following his hair transplant procedure.

900 hair grafts before and after

A 900 graft hair transplant is best suited to patients who have mild hair loss and are receding at the temples. They are usually grade 2 on the Norwood scale and a hair transplant along with hair loss medication can give a great result.

This patient was Norwood scale 2 and had 911 hair grafts extracted. This gave him 2655 hairs that were implanted to the temples and part of the hairline. His after photos were taken 7 months post-procedure.

1000 hair grafts before and after

A 1000 graft hair transplant is common with many patients who have moderate hair loss in particular a receding hairline and overall thinning. The patient would typically be Norwood scale 3.

This patient was a Norwood scale 2. He had 1311 grafts extracted and 3553 hairs implanted to his hairline. The after photos were taken 6 months following his hair transplant procedure.

2000 hair grafts before and after

A 2000 graft hair transplant is best for patients with moderate to severe hair loss. The patient would typically be graded state 3-4 on the Norwood Scale.

This patient was graded Norwood scale 4 and an FUE Hair Transplant procedure was performed to extract 2021 grafts. 5725 hairs were transplanted to the frontal region and hairline. The after photos were taken 6 months following his hair transplant procedure.

3000 hair grafts before and after

Hair transplant 3000 graft procedures are for patients with extensive hair loss, especially around the temples and crown. A typical 3000 graft patient is likely to be graded stage 5 on the Norwood scale.

This patient was experiencing Norwood Scale 5 hair loss. 2 FUE Procedures were performed within 2 years to target hair loss in two key areas of the scalp. In total, 3650 grafts were extracted, and 7000 hairs were transplanted to the crown, frontal region, and hairline. The after photos were taken 1 year after his second procedure (2 years after his before photos).

See more Hair Transplant before and after photos here

Get in touch to find out more

How much hair is 3000 grafts?

It is always difficult to accurately know how many hairs each graft is going to contain before it is extracted from the head. Within a hair transplant consultation, we can provide an estimated hair graft count, but this can’t be guaranteed, and we won’t know for sure how many hairs will be transplanted until after your procedure.

At The Private Clinic, the cost of an FUE Hair Transplant is £2.50 per hair.

There is an average of 1 – 5 hairs per graft and most commonly an average of 3000-4000 hair follicles are required meaning the average cost is likely to range between £7,500 and £10,000.

Hair Transplant Finance

At The Private Clinic, we work with our partnered finance provider ‘Chrysalis Finance’ to offer 0% finance* to our patients. Get in touch to find out more.

*Acceptance is subject to status. Terms and conditions apply.

Is 3000 grafts a lot for a hair transplant?

A 3000 graft hair transplant procedure is going to be a large procedure and is not commonly performed in our clinics unless your hair loss is severe. In the example above you can see that the 3000 hair transplant procedure is actually a combination of 2 procedures that were performed over 2 years.

We have noticed many instances where patients feel they need a 3000 graft hair transplant procedure, have actually been looking at examples where 3000 hairs were transplanted. This is often written down as 3000 hair grafts which can cause confusion. Hair transplants that involve 3000 hairs are a lot more common as these are often a result of 1000 grafts being extracted.

3000 grafts hair transplant coverage

3000 grafts are able to cover a large portion of the scalp and are usually best performed on those who are looking to restore hair within two to three areas such as the frontal region, hairline, and crown.

How many grafts can be taken at once? / Can we do more hair grafts?

On average, the patients we see tend to have around 1000 – 2000 hair grafts. In more severe cases, more may be required, but in reality, it is unlikely that any patient would actually need 5000 or even 6000 hair grafts in one procedure.

According to the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgeons, only 1% of hair transplant procedures require 4000 grafts or more. [1]

It is important to remember that the number of grafts you have to use in the donor area is limited. In a good quality donor area, this is around 6000 grafts. Once the grafts have been used, they are gone. The hair in the donor area will grow back – but it will no longer be a viable graft.

Implanting more hair grafts to increase density is not recommended. There is a recommended guide to how many hair follicles can survive within each sq. cm of the scalp. If too many hair follicles implanted then they will not have enough blood supply to survive.

Research also suggests that large graft volume hair transplants and dense packing of implanted hairs are actually less effective than smaller hair transplant procedures. [2]

At The Private Clinic, our surgeons will not agree to extract more grafts than what is required. More grafts could be taken, but they are not needed. It is best to keep the grafts should you need another hair transplant procedure later in life.

Many men require multiple hair transplant procedures as a hair transplant does not stop hair loss and male pattern baldness will continue over time. We recommend that our patients take hair loss medication to help maintain their results for as long as possible.

In summary, be wary of any clinic that tries to tell you that 4000+ grafts is appropriate. Take the time to research your options and speak to multiple clinics and surgeons. You need to take care of your donor area and ensure that you don’t waste your valuable hair grafts or cause unnecessary damage to your scalp.

Hair Transplants at The Private Clinic

Our Hair Transplant surgeons are highly experienced and have decades of experience, book in for a consultation to find out more about our hair transplant procedures and find out how many grafts you require to achieve your desired result.

Expertise of our surgeons

Our hair transplant surgeons are UK based surgeons registered with the GMC. They will be supporting you throughout your entire hair restoration journey and beyond.
Our Hair Transplant Surgeons have many years of experience in FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction) and treat hundreds of patients every year.

Best techniques to achieve natural and long-lasting hair

We offer the advanced Micro FUE with Implanters technique. We use the finest instruments, resulting in minimal trauma to your scalp.
We focus on achieving undetectable scars.
We ensure hair is implanted in the direction that matches your hair growth achieving natural results with denser packing.

High Quality Care

Expert aftercare advice 24/7 and regular post-operative appointments with your hair transplant surgeon.
Comprehensive hair restoration patient information.
Our prices reflect our offering of the best hair transplant clinics and surgeons in the UK, we do not cut any corners.
Over 30% of our patients come to see us for revision hair transplant procedures from low quality clinics. Find out more here.