How Many Grafts Can I Get In My Lifetime?

[Melvin- Admin]

I recently received this question in my dm box. No one can give an exact number, because the number varies from person to person. For example, I've had 5,300 grafts. I probably have another 1,000 maybe. Other guys here have had 8,000, some 9,000. It just depends. What do you guys think?

How Many Hair Transplant Grafts Can I Get in My Lifetime?

[anotherhairlosssufferer]

3 hours ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

I probably have another 1,000 maybe.

Plus like 10k in beard hair

[SLA]

Good question, @Melvin-Moderator- So I have seen the number swing greatly especially with regards to FUE harvestability.

As for FUE, I have heard one prominent HT doc (Epstein) say in a webinar that on most people FUE harvest ranges from 4,500-6,500; he thought more with combining FUT.

Dr. Sethi said in a Q&A that average is between ~6-8k (I think he was referring to scalp donor, but I could be wrong).

One forum member went for a consult with Pekiner who said he had ~3,500 FUE grafts available, but went with Ferrara who said his capacity is between 9-10k grafts. I think this number swing wildly depending on the transplant surgeon and how they measure the 'safe' zone. Might have to do on whether they are assuming people become a NW6 or NW7.

On Shapiro's website, it says the average person has ~6,000 grafts in donor area.

...and then there is beard hair. Dr. Bansal estimates most men have between 3-4k available; I would guess it could be more if one does not sustain discernable scarring and is willing to forgo ever having a beard. According to her, supplementing with  beard hair is super successful ~60% of the time and 10-20% it does not grow well. One test how fast the beard grows. In other words, if you shave and don't need to shave again for 3-4 days, your beard hair might not grow well on the scalp.

So if you have a suitable beard, I am guessing the average male has between 8-10k lifetime harvestable grafts. 

[Westview]

I'm lucky, I have about 9,000 scalp grafts and about 2,000 to 3,000 beard grafts.

I'm gonna need all of them too, since I'm a NW6

[giegnosiganoe]

I don't know about specific numbers, but I do feel like many people underestimate the possibility of slow thinning in the donor area over time (even while being on DHT blockers), as well as senile alopecia. I wonder how many extra grafts top docs leave in the donor to account for this (or if they can predict how many extra a patient will need, if at all)? I wonder if current patients who at time of their transplant seemed like they received good donor management, may end up with depleted-looking donors 20 years down the line. Especially for docs who push the bounds of the donor (for example Lorenzo).

[LaserCaps]

How many grafts you have lifetime depends on a number of factors including elasticity, your size head,  and many others.  And now that we have both FUT and FUE available, this has also helped increase numbers. And, unfortunately, there is no hair-o-meter to help.  So your best bet is to have a few consultations, have the surgeons check elasticity, and check the type of density you are currently enjoying.  Then consider donor management and decide on FUE/FUT.  Typically a combo of these will allow for the most number of grafts.

[Melvin- Admin]

4 hours ago, SLA said:

Good question, @Melvin-Moderator- So I have seen the number swing greatly especially with regards to FUE harvestability.

As for FUE, I have heard one prominent HT doc (Epstein) say in a webinar that on most people FUE harvest ranges from 4,500-6,500; he thought more with combining FUT.

Dr. Sethi said in a Q&A that average is between ~6-8k (I think he was referring to scalp donor, but I could be wrong).

One forum member went for a consult with Pekiner who said he had ~3,500 FUE grafts available, but went with Ferrara who said his capacity is between 9-10k grafts. I think this number swing wildly depending on the transplant surgeon and how they measure the 'safe' zone. Might have to do on whether they are assuming people become a NW6 or NW7.

On Shapiro's website, it says the average person has ~6,000 grafts in donor area.

...and then there is beard hair. Dr. Bansal estimates most men have between 3-4k available; I would guess it could be more if one does not sustain discernable scarring and is willing to forgo ever having a beard. According to her, supplementing with  beard hair is super successful ~60% of the time and 10-20% it does not grow well. One test how fast the beard grows. In other words, if you shave and don't need to shave again for 3-4 days, your beard hair might not grow well on the scalp.

So if you have a suitable beard, I am guessing the average male has between 8-10k lifetime harvestable grafts. 

Shows how different philosophies are and how the number can change depending on the surgeon. I believe that the average is between 5,000-6,000 not including BHT. Some get less, some more, but that’s a decent average without overly depleting the scalp.

[SLA]

53 minutes ago, giegnosiganoe said:

I don't know about specific numbers, but I do feel like many people underestimate the possibility of slow thinning in the donor area over time (even while being on DHT blockers), as well as senile alopecia. I wonder how many extra grafts top docs leave in the donor to account for this (or if they can predict how many extra a patient will need, if at all)? I wonder if current patients who at time of their transplant seemed like they received good donor management, may end up with depleted-looking donors 20 years down the line. Especially for docs who push the bounds of the donor (for example Lorenzo).

Good point- I think some fue surgeons only will harvest 35% to account for thinning overtime in donor