Knowing how many follicular units are necessary for a hair graft is one of the issues that most often worries patients. There is no common number of follicular units, but it will depend on the examination and medical diagnosis of each patient. It is important to know the amount that is estimated, since to a large extent the result of the hair implant will depend on it.

To determine how many follicular units are necessary for a hair graft, it is necessary to take into account a series of aspects of the patient. In Hospital Capilar We will tell you what is usually the number of follicular units necessary to successfully carry out a hair implant, as well as the factors that determine whether to implant more or less units.

What are follicular units?

To understand how many follicular units are necessary for a hair graft, it is essential to first know what they are. Usually follicular units and hair follicles They cause quite a bit of confusion and are often used interchangeably, but they are not the same.

A follicular unit is understood as a set of follicles, which are understood as the part of the scalp where hair grows, that is, it could be identified as hair as such. The same follicular unit can contain up to 6 hairs, so in terms of hair grafting, it is not correct to speak of the number of hairs to be implanted, but rather of follicular units.  

FUE hair graft procedure

On the other hand, understanding the process of a FUE hair implant it is also essential to understand how many follicular units are necessary for a hair graft.

The hair implant with the FUE technique begins with the extraction of the follicular units estimated by the medical team of the donor zone, which is not affected by alopecia. These, later, are implanted in the area with baldness, ending the intervention of a hair transplant.

As you can see, knowing precisely how many follicular units are necessary for a hair transplant is really important, since the quality of the final result depends on it. If not enough hair is removed, the entire area affected by alopecia will not be covered. However, if more hair is extracted from the donor area than is due, it will be greatly damaged since the hair that is extracted does not grow back.

How many follicular units are necessary for a hair graft?

As we have previously commented, in order to determine precisely how many follicular units are necessary for a hair transplant, a meticulous analysis is necessary. capillary analysis prior to implant. In this diagnosis, the medical team assesses certain aspects of the patient to determine if they are suitable for a hair implant and, if so, how many follicular units need to be implanted.

Quality of the donor area

One of the key aspects to accurately determine how many follicular units are necessary for a hair transplant is precisely the quality of the area from which they are to be extracted. Having a donor area with quality hair and enough to cover the area with baldness is essential and, based on this, the medical team specifies the exact number.

In addition, as we have mentioned before, the hair that is extracted does not grow back. In this sense, the follicular units are calculated taking into account that the donor area is not damaged and the hair implant goes unnoticed.  

Patient's degree of alopecia

Another of the factors that condition knowing how many follicular units are necessary for a hair transplant is precisely the degree of alopecia of the patient. The androgenic alopecia, the most common of all, is measured in male patients with the Hamilton-Norwood scale, while in women the Ludwig scale.

In cases where alopecia is too advanced and the donor area is not of good quality, the number of follicular units to be implanted is reduced and the medical team may even consider that the patient is not suitable for hair implant.

Patient expectations

The expectations in the results of the patient are taken into account to determine how many follicular units are necessary for a hair graft. Depending on the patient's preferences as well as the possibilities offered by the donor area based on the degree of alopecia, the medical team determines the number of follicular units in each case.