Estimate how many grafts needed for hair transplant by selecting from the following drop-down menus to describe your hair texture, hair color, the donor hair type you prefer to use and your skin tone. These values will affect your final graft count. Then select the areas you would like to restore for your hair transplant procedure. Clicking twice will delete your selection.
Head Size
Texture
Hair color
Donor hair type
Skin tone
RESULT
Graft count: {{ total_count() | number:0 }}
Based on the parameters you've entered, we've estimated your hair transplant requirements as {{ total_count() | number:0 }} grafts. This is just a rough estimate and not a substitute for an examination or an actual consultation.
Your actual graft count number for surgery can be influenced by other variables such as your head size, specific graft characteristics, previous surgeries and other causes of hair loss.
Graft counts of 4500 or more will likely include UGrafts from head and other donor sources.
Determining How Many Grafts Needed For Hair Transplant
One of the most popular questions posed by men considering a hair transplant is “How many grafts do I need?”. The way the number of grafts is traditionally determined is through a consultation with a hair restoration surgeon. However, many individuals do not have the time or resources to devote to a consultation. In addition, some men may just be curious to see what the amount of hair grafts needed for a full head of hair would be, but are not interested in walking into a clinic for a hair transplant. The question of how many grafts needed for hair transplant depends on many factors, including but not limited to: the method of extraction, the hair restoration surgeon/clinic, and the patient’s desired density.
The Norwood scale of hair loss identifies typical patterns in hereditary hair loss. While the uGraft calculator can offer more accurate estimates according to donor source, hair texture, and skin tone, individuals can roughly approximate how many grafts needed for hair transplant using this classification.
How DIY uGraft Calculator differs from other Hair Transplant Graft Estimators: The Average Grafts for Hair Transplant
Most clinics extract hair from an area on the back of the head known as the safe donor area (SDA). This area can provide up to 8,000 grafts for a hair transplant procedure. However, this may not be enough for patients in more severe stages of hair loss. Often, men in Norwood 6 – 7 stages (or extreme baldness NW 8) of hair loss are either turned away or told to prioritize restoration of one area. The average grafts for hair transplant in patients in these stages can range from between 12,000 to 25,000, depending on the severity of the hair loss as well as the desired density. For these cases, other donor sources (Outside the narrow zone now arbitrarily defined by this narrow fringe of hair on the back and sides of the head) are required in order to augment the donor supply.
Using the specialized Intelligent FUE punch tools, the Dr.UPunch i, and Dr.UPunch Smart, Providers using Dr.UGraft Hair Transplant System (For example Dr Umar) are able to extract hair from head and body donor areas. By expanding the donor area to include the beard, chest, abdomen, legs, etc., the patient has an augmented donor supply to achieve his desired density. The hair transplantation process of using body hair to restore bald scalps using Dr.UGraft technology is called Dr.UGraft Body Hair Transplant. Additionally, Dr Umar has redefined how the safe donor area is defined in a manner that enables the utilization of nape hair by defining a method called FUE Shave Test for screening out poor candidates for for use of nape and temple area donor hairs. The FUE shave test is particularly useful in assessing younger patients, who want to address hair loss in their early 20s but are often unable to, because of uncertainty regarding hair loss progression path as well as the limitation of the provider who is unable to optimally utilize nonhead donor sources since they lack the Dr.UGraft technology for doing so. Because of these limitations all other hair transplant graft estimators are programmed to address only mild to moderate hair loss adequately. DIY uGraft Calculator is the only hair transplant graft estimator to be programmed to address all degrees of hair loss taking into account the use of body hair to expand the donor source and take on even the most extreme types of hair loss adequately.
Estimate of Grafts Needed for Younger Patients
Patients under 25 years of ages are often told to wait until their hair loss stabilizes before addressing it with a hair restoration procedure. This is due to the fact that most clinics rely exclusively on the safe donor area, and depleting that supply early on can result in an over harvested donor area and odd patterns of hair loss around the recipient area. This is often called “chasing hair loss”. However, simply waiting for hair loss to continue is not much of a solution, and there is a limit to what medication can provide in terms of slowing the progression of hair loss. That is why Dr. Umar designed the FUE Shave Test. With this test, Dr. Umar can determine whether or not a patient will progress to Norwood 6-7 levels of hair loss. This helps the patient get a better understanding of his hair restoration journey if he chooses to have a procedure, and also allows Dr. Umar to see if the patient would make a good candidate for a nape hair transplant.
This patient of Dr. Umar’s received a hairline transplant using nape hair. A consultation in Los Angeles determined exactly how many grafts needed for hair transplant: 3200 from the head and nape.*
The hair on the nape of the neck can expand the donor supply by about 3,000 grafts. For patients who pass the FUE Shave Test, this donor area can be used in order to conserve the safe donor area for future procedures. For patients who fail the FUE Shave Test, the estimate of how many grafts needed for hair transplant can instead be met with a mix of head and body hair, which also always for the conservation of the safe donor area.
Average Amount of Grafts Lost After FUT
Strip Hair Surgery, often abbreviated FUT or FUSS, is a hair transplant method in which a flap of skin is removed from the safe donor area in order to extract grafts. Since FUSS is an older method of hair transplant surgery, many erroneously believe that it is, therefore, more reliable and can provide a greater graft estimate. However, the donor supply is limited to the safe donor area, which, as previously stated, can typically only supply up to 8,000 grafts.
The amount of hair grafts needed, however, may not be the only concern for patients considering strip surgery – there is also the strip scar to consider, as well as shock loss. Due to skin laxity, skin can stretch, causing the strip scar on the back of the head to resemble a wide crescent resembling a fish-mouth. Shock loss can occur after a hair restoration in either the donor or recipient area and is not specific to either FUE or FUSS. However, the combination of a strip scar as well as shock loss can be cosmetically unacceptable to some patients.
FUE Graft Amounts Estimation
To get a better estimate of how many grafts are needed for hair transplant, one should first decide which donor areas they will use. From there, you can approximate realistic expectations for your hair transplant by looking at the patient results page of the clinics you are considering. For a better understanding, try to look for patients with similar hair loss patterns and donor areas as you are considering. FUE graft amounts can vary depending on donor area – for basic FUE restorations, the number of grafts rarely exceeds 8,000 from the SDA. However, with the UGraft procedure, a mix of head and body hair can be used to meet higher graft estimations.
A hairline restoration can require between 1,500 – 3,000 grafts, depending on the donor area and severity of the hairline recession. You can enter the head and hair detail fields in the graft estimator at the top of the page for a better idea of the amount of hair grafts needed. It can be a good idea to mix finer hairs from the nape or body into the hairline in order to create a softer, natural result, rather than just using grafts from the SDA. Hair grafts from this area tend to be thicker in caliber, and transplanting those hairs alone can result in a toupee-like harsh hairline.
How much does a hair transplant cost?
Hair transplants are typically priced per graft. You can estimate how much a hair transplant might cost by multiplying your graft amount by the price per graft of your clinic of choice.
Does FUT provide more grafts for hair transplants?
A common misconception of prospective hair transplant patients is that FUT, or strip surgery, can provide more grafts for hair transplants. This may be due to the fact that FUSS is an older method; however, just because the method is older does not mean that it is more reliable. The UGraft system, for example, allows for donor supply augmentation with hair from body areas, such as the beard, chest, and nape, among others. This allows patients with a depleted head donor area, or patients who want to conserve this area for later surgeries, the ability to meet how many grafts needed for hair transplant.
