how many FU per cm2 looks thick?

[pmill]

does anybody have pictures of how many FU per cm2 looks thick? i am wondering if 35-40 FUcm2 looks thick? if not what density does?

[pmill]

does anybody have pictures of how many FU per cm2 looks thick? i am wondering if 35-40 FUcm2 looks thick? if not what density does?

[dakota3]

If you are completly bald 35-40 would not look thick, but give decent enough coverage. If you are a diffuse thinner with already 30-40 fu's per cm2 then yes it would appear thicker with 35-40 per cm2

[Petchski]

I've read a lot of the top docs don't normally go under 60cm2

[Dr. Michael Beehner]

First of all, it should be noted that a very good recent research study by Dr. Sharon Keene from Tuscon showed that in "normal" men without male pattern baldness, the average FU density at the front hairline was 51 FU/cm2 with a range of 38-78. The average density in the temple apex region (behind the recession) was around 44 FU/cm2 with a range of 25-64.

The biggest factor in predicting whether or not the 35-40 FU/cm2 density you mentioned would look "dense" is the diameter of the hair shaft. In a man with coarse hair, that could indeed look dense. In a man with fine hair, it would probably be "see-through." The other factor besides just stating an FU number per cm2 is the number of hairs that the FU's average out to. Obviously, at the very edge of the front hairline you would want all 1-hair FU's, but I think it's important to switch to 2-hair grafts fairly quickly as soon as you get 2-3 grafts deep into the hairline zone.

What a person should be looking for, at least as far as the hairline is concerned, is the artistry of the hair surgeon, not how many FU's he can cram in a single CM2. If you get maximal density right up to the edge of the hairline, it looks very fake and has a tendency to look straight and unnatural, almost as if you were wearing a hairpiece.

A whole host of other factors also play a role. How steep of an angle is the hair going to be placed at? With extremely acture angles it is more difficult to achieve real high numbers, but often the steep angle looks more natural. Is the scalp thick or thin? If it is a thin scalp, the surgeon will want to decrease density so as to get enough vascular support to the grafts that are planted. It doesn't do any good for a surgeon to heroically place 60 grafts in a square cm if only 60% of the follicles survive.

So the gist of my answer is that it is a nuanced, complicated question, not a simple one.

Mike Beehner, M.D.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Dr. Beehner,

 

Well put response.

 

I recall Dr. Sharon Keene's study regarding natural hairline density in males not suffering from male pattern baldness. At the last ISHRS conference in Montreal, she presented her preliminary and anecdotal findings. Is that what you are presenting here or are you presenting data from her final study (if she's completed it)?

 

Thanks,

 

Bill

[pmill]

yea i have diffuse thinning in the mid scalp so i was quoted 35-40cm2 plus my existing hair would make it look alot thicker. my crown and hairline are fine

[Dr. Michael Beehner]

Bill,

Her study was published on the front page of the International Forum in the March/April 09 issue and was on 14 men. She initially tried to do 50, but excluded a bunch of them because there was some early crown thinning and she didn't want anyone with androgenetic alopecia evidence. Thus it is not absolutely statistically significant but does give a good glimpse into what is a realistic density on normal men's heads.

The 60 FU per cm2 is certainly not the practice of the majority of hair transplant doctors. In our ISHRS Journal (the Forum) 2 issues ago, a doctor from Europe showed a high survival rate of 100 FU's in a cm2, but the grafts were put in absolutely perpendicular, which is about the only way you can accomplish that - but the aesthetic result of grafts placed in an upright angle is horrendous and very abnormal.

Mike Beehner, M.D.

[CuriousJungleGeorge]

Thank you for your post, Dr. Beehner.

 

Somehow, I'd thought average "natural" density (in a person who's not balding) is 100/sq. cm.

[Dr. Michael Beehner]

The higher 100/cm2 density you refer to was from some of the earlier work and was mostly taken from the rear donor area, where the hair is usually the densest.

More recently, with several doctors looking closely at their average measurements in that rear donor area, that 100/cm2 number is considered on the high side, and most now say they on average see donor densities of 80-95. There are occasional men with densities up over 120, so there is a wide range that is seen.

Mike Beehner, M.D.

[pmill]

can i post a pic and get some opinions?

[CuriousJungleGeorge]

Thanks, Dr. Beehner.