How many grafts would I need to thicken up frontal third and fill in hairline? (photos)

Question

I am currently 29 years old and have been on finasteride for 6 years. Overall I would say my hairloss has been rather slow but I want to have a procedure done. The reason is because I would like more options styling my hair without it looking so thin. As you can see in my photos the hairloss seems to be localized mostly to the front with next to no crown loss. What norwood would you say I am and how many grafts would it take for my desired look?

Jae Pak, MD · Answer

You need to see a doctor for an examination for possible further hair loss.  A normal hair density is about 200 hairs in a square centimeter.

Jeff Donovan, MD, PhD · Answer

In my opinion, your desired look is hard to achieve at present. I'd estimate your density is 58-65 follicular units per square cm, granted with thinner hairs.  It's challenging to attain a thicker look with this density. Often what happens is the existing hairs are damaged or killed and one year later the patient looks the same (or worse). This is one of those 'hope for the best" but consider the possibility of little or no change. Your chances of achieving your desired improvement, in my estimate are about '50 - 50.' I agree that there are few other consistently good options to get a thicker look than moving hairs. But you'll need a team which cuts grafts thinly and uses small recipient sites. Your hair transplant surgery is perhaps more challenging than you might otherwise realize.

William Rassman, MD (retired) · Answer

From the photos, it is difficult to say. First I would perform bulk measurements of your hair to see just how much hair you lost. I don't think that if this measurement is less than 50% loss, that I would recommend a hair transplant to fill in this area because you run the risk of losing hair from a transplant. If however, you wanted to move the hairline down say up to a half an inch, then it would take about 1300 grafts to accomplish this goal with medium weight hair of 1600 grafts with fine hair. Don't rush to transplant just yet as I don't know for sure if you are balding significantly.

How many grafts would I need to thicken up frontal third and fill in hairline? (photos)

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How many grafts would I need to thicken up frontal third and fill in hairline? (photos)

Answers (3)

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Everything you need to know about Hair Transplant

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.