Dr. Murat, a skilled hair transplant surgeon with over 8 years of experience, is dedicated to enhancing your beauty and confidence. With deep knowledge in hair restoration and therapies, he combines expertise and passion to deliver exceptional results. Dr. Murat also shares insights as a trusted hair transplant blog writer.
When discussing hair transplants, perhaps the most critical concept to understand is a hair graft. Whether the number of grafts is 2000 grafts, 4500 grafts, or even up to 5000 grafts, what one should know about this process is understanding how many hairs a graft contains besides the number of grafts needed for a hair transplant to be successful. A good hair transplant depends on the proper placement and survival of hair grafts, which gives the desired hair density. Next, we discuss hair grafts, the number of hairs in a graft, and how many grafts are actually required to fill out the entire head of hair.
A hair graft is a cut of tissue that contains hair follicles transplanted from a donor area that mainly lies on the back part of the scalp to areas caused by damage due to hair loss. In each graft, there are 1 to 6 hairs, depending on the hair type and structure of the follicle of the individual. The most favorite techniques for hair transplantation include the FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction) or FUT (Follicular Unit Transplantation), whereby the hair grafts can be transplanted one by one for the restoration of lost hair on balding spots.
Healthy hair grafts can be described as the building blocks for a successful hair transplant. A healthy graft will ultimately represent the robustness and vitality of the graft and, therefore, the transplant procedure as well as the long-term result. In general, a healthy graft will have more than one strong hair follicle, which carries better chances for survival and growth post-transplantation. Thus, a surgeon will always evaluate the donor area with respect to the health and density of the hair grafts available for hair grafts.
The number of hairs per graft may vary significantly based on genetics, hair type, and the area from which the graft is taken. A hair graft usually has 2 hairs on average, and some might even have more.
Single-Hair Grafts: Single-hair grafts are used when a specific requirement is needed, like hairline replacement. Those are good for a natural-looking result of a small number and the delicate frontal hairline.
Multi-Hair Grafts: More than likely have 2-3 hairs and are generally used to fill larger bald areas, so you get a more full-coverage effect. Some grafts can have up to 6 hairs, which are always useful for recreating the denser areas of the scalp.
1 Hair Graft: Is used for precision work and usually applied to the frontal hairline.
2 Hair Grafts: Primarily used to cover larger areas of the scalp but resulting in a very noninvasive, natural appearance.
3+ Hair Grafts: Utilized to add volume to the crown or mid-scalp regions.
The reason that there’s such a large disparity in the number of hairs found in 2000 grafts versus 5000 grafts is that there can be a significant difference in the number of follicles per graft. In fact, 2000 grafts may contain 1600 to 4400 hairs while 5000 grafts may contain 4500 to 11000 hairs.
Nevertheless, the number of hair grafts that may be transplanted varies. It is determined by the hair density, donor area size, and genetic makeup, amongst other variables. Depending on the case, most people have around 6000 to 8000 grafts in their donor area, which can all be transplanted in one session or over several sessions.
Genetics: Thicker and denser natural hair. Therefore, more follicles in the donor area will yield more grafts.
Health of the donor area: The scalp health of the donor area also works as a differential factor in getting safely gleaned grafts. In areas where there is healthy, intact donor skin, more grafts can be obtained with fewer risks of scarring or thinning.
Procedure Type: FUE techniques, for example, allow more grafts to be extracted with fewer scars than the FUT, which removes a tissue strip and recovers a limited number of grafts.
Early / Mild Hair Loss: For example, in early-stage hair loss, about 2000 grafts may be enough for such cases regarding areas of the hairline and temples.
Moderate Hair Loss: Moderate thinning across the crown, middle part of the top, and the top front, may take around 3000 to 4500 grafts.
Severe Hair Loss: In cases where the balding is totally advanced, up to 5000 grafts can be sufficient enough for fully restoring a large portion of the scalp.
Even though a patient may have up to 8000 grafts in the donor area, because of a number of limitations, there may not be enough grafts to be transplanted in one session. The surgeon himself often advises not more than 5000 grafts in one session to ensure safety and appropriate results.
Grafts Number: Transplantation of more than one graft in a single session decreases the survival rate of hair follicles, causing suboptimal results.
Duration of Surgery: Long surgeries are likely to have complications, such as infections and poor graft viability. Transplantation of more than 5000 grafts in a single session makes the procedure too long.
Multiple Sessions: When more than 5000 grafts are needed, the number of grafts is divided into parts. In many cases, multiple sessions may be appropriate because it will give the surgeon the chance to review the recovery process and adjust the subsequent sessions.
The survival rate of transplanted hair grafts is generally dependent on the technique, the skill of the surgeon, and post-operative care. Normally, 90-95% of the grafts survive after a transplant. If it’s done over time, with different sessions, this number mostly remains constant.
Surgeon Expertise: Probably, the most crucial determinant of graft survival is the surgeon’s expertise. An expert surgeon has dexterity and knowledge in adequately transplanting 2000 grafts, 4500 grafts, or even 5000 grafts.
Post-Op Care: Post-transplant care is also important to graft survival. Clients are demanded to follow the clinic’s post-operative instructions to get the best outcome.
Graft Handling: Since the grafts cannot afford to get damaged during the procedure, they should be managed very carefully. Advanced techniques like FUE are so designed that the trauma inflicted on grafts is minimized, thereby increasing the chances of survival of the grafts.
In such scenarios, the amount of grafts needed to fill a full head depends on the stage of hair loss. The Norwood Scale is very helpful in guiding surgeons on the amount of hair grafts needed.
Norwood Stage 2-3 (Mild Hair Loss): On average, between 2000 to 3000 grafts are enough to make the head full and to make the hairline and temples look normal again.
Norwood Stage 4-5 (Moderate Balding): Someone in this stage could need about 3000 to 4500 grafts to fill out regions of thinning in the crown and mid-scalp areas.
Norwood Stage 6-7 (Advanced Balding): For those with severe balding, as much as 5000 grafts or more grafts can be required to achieve fullness and coverage all over the scalp.
We specialize in world-class hair transplants tailored to an individual’s needs at Grace Touch Clinic. You might need 2000 grafts if your condition falls into the early stage, or you may require 5000 grafts for advanced conditions, thereby making the surgeons use the latest techniques with higher success rates. In our opinion, no hair restoration case is alike because the treatment journey for each patient ought to be unique and smooth.
Over the years, with cutting-edge technology and a commitment to excellence, Grace Touch Clinic is definitely the right place for anyone looking for superior hair transplant services. We count on our international clients to entrust us with consistent, excellent results each time. Book an appointment at Grace Touch Clinic today and take your step to fuller and healthier-looking hair!
