How many FUE grafts needed to achieve natural mature hairline and what is a realistic expectation? No Propecia. (Photos)

FUE is just a harvesting method.  It does not relate to results.  If you want to keep your hair very short you may want the FUE.  The number of grafts you may need also depends on your exact goals and understanding of realistic expectations.  Realistic expectation is understanding that one surgery will never give you original density.  Some may be very happy with 1500 grafts while others may not be happy even with 3000 grafts.  These are things you can't convey on the Internet. 

Thank you for your question!  Based on photos only and providing a natural male frontal hairline it seems as though somewhere around 1500 grafts may be reasonable. The expectation would be to fill in some of the temporal region (lateral absent hair) male pattern hair loss.  I would expect you should receive a very nice result.  The results would take time to completely appreciate.  That is, for all the hair to grow may take upwards of 8-12 months.  At that time, you may decide to do nothing else, or you may want the filled in regions to be thicker and this would require another grafting session.  There are other options to assist in retaining you existing hair besides finasteride (Propecia).  I would consult your surgeon to learn more about these options since you are against finasteride. Hair supplements, light treatments, PRP, etc.  I hope this helps!!

A great first step would be an online consultation. Often you can submit photos to top hair restoration surgeons for a complimentary evaluation. This should help lead you in the right direction. Having multiple consultations with different doctors cannot hurt. 

Also; information such as your family hairloss history as well as your preventative regimen that you are on such as minoxidil use and other topicals would be helpful.

Great pictures Gale,You are classified as a class III hair loss. You have recede the corners and thinned the temporal points. If you only want to restore the corners and front with a good density, you need around 1500 grafts. If the temporal points need to be restored to, you may need to add 300-500 to this number.

A hair transplant will help you in the short run however without any kind of medication your hair loss will likely progress. You should at least consider Rogaine if finasteride is off the table.  As for the number of grafts, at the present time,1900 to 2100 to start keeping in mind that one should plan to restore hairline toward a mature hairline such that you will have enough to cover the top in the future.  The exact location of a mature hairline will be discussed and drawn when you have a formal hair evaluation. At that time, we would perform a microscopic evaluation looking for miniaturization elsewhere on the scalp then based on the results and your family history, we would devise a master plan for the future. 

Bad news; You have classic male pattern hair loss. It is relentlessly progressive without medical intervention.  Surgery will not stop it - it will only move permanent hair from the back to fill in spots you have lost and in most patients, there is not enough of the permanent hair to fill in the whole top with what you describe as your goal, specifically "thick, natural looking mature hairline." IF you are 100% against finasteride, you should expect the worst (Norwood class 6-7) and IF you plan hair surgery - which I would advise against in your case since it will not meet your goals for the long term - only fill in the frontal part.  
Sorry for the honest assessment but you should know what you are facing without someone trying to sell you something.  Good luck my friend.

You should meet with a good doctor to determine (1) if you are a candidate for a hair transplant and (2) based upon the examination of hair type, thickness, prediction of your future balding pattern and donor density, what is in your best interest. People with low donor densities are often not great candidates for hair transplants because the demand for hair exceeds the supply availability. Depending upon the thickness of your hair, it could take anywhere between 1500-1800 grafts.