How Many Hairs are In a Follicular Unit Graft?

In my research in hair transplantation, I keep hearing about people talking about how many follicular unit grafts they have received. But how many hairs are in a hair graft?

This is a great question and one not often asked enough!

In a hair transplant, follicular unit grafts are hair groups that occur naturally in the scalp. Each follicular unit grafts contains hair in groups of 1s, 2s, 3s, and 4s. The average number of hairs in a follicular unit graft is different for every hair transplant patient however, overall it is said to be around 2.2 hairs per follicular unit graft.

Personally I think it is beneficial when a hair restoration physician provides detailed hair counts with hair count breakdowns so that the hair transplant patient truly understands what they are receiving.

As an example, a hair transplant patient that received 4000 follicular unit grafts but only 7000 hairs may have a similar result as a hair transplant patient that received 3000 follicular unit grafts with 6900 hairs. Though hair transplant patient one has a far greater number of follicular unit grafts, the hair count is pretty similar.

Of course, the number of transplanted hairs is not the only thing that establishes an illusion of density. There are a number of other variables such as hair characteristics, proper placement of the hair grafts, hair coverage verses hair density, and of course the selection of a quality hair transplant physician.

Keep in mind also that not every hair transplant patient will need the same number of follicular unit grafts to achieve their hair restoration goals.