How Many Hair Grafts Do I Need? Insights From the Norwood Scale

If you’ve been contemplating a hair transplant, there’s a good chance you’re doing as much research as possible before taking the leap. One question you might be considering: How many hair grafts do I need?

Figuring out how many hair grafts you’ll need for your hair transplant can be confusing, as the best graft number is different for each person.

However, some general guidelines can help you make an estimate. Read on to learn more about hair transplant grafts, how many you might need, and other hair loss treatments you can do instead (or as a supplement to) hair restoration surgery.

When you get a hair graft, a surgeon removes a small piece of skin containing about one to four hair follicles from a donor area of your scalp, then transplants it into the part of your scalp you want to treat.

There are two types of transplants: follicular unit extraction (FUE) and follicular unit transplantation (FUT).

An FUE hair transplant uses a micro-punch to remove small hair grafts. FUT takes a large strip of hair from the donor area and then slices it into individual hair grafts. While an FUT procedure uses larger hair graft sections, an FUE procedure uses more individual hair grafts.

But in both types of transplants, the healthy and strong hair follicles from the donor site are implanted into the area affected by male pattern baldness, also called androgenetic alopecia.

See our guide to FUT versus FUE hair transplants for a more detailed breakdown of the differences.

With more than 735,000 surgical hair transplant procedures performed worldwide in 2019 — a 16 percent increase from 2016 — the demand for hair transplantation is undoubtedly on the rise.

If you’re one of the many people looking to undergo this popular procedure, you might be left wondering, How many hair grafts do I need? Good question — but hard to answer.

The number of hair grafts required varies from person to person, and there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Some may only need 500 hair grafts, while others with extensive hair loss might need upwards of 3,000 graft hair transplants.

Determining Hair Graft Needs With the Norwood Scale

One way a healthcare provider or dermatologist may determine how many hair grafts you need is to use the Norwood scale.

Developed to measure hair loss progress, the Norwood scale tracks the various stages of hair loss. It goes from Norwood 1 to Norwood 7, with 1 representing no hair loss (a full head of hair) and 7 being the most severe.

A hair transplant surgeon may use this scale as a hair transplant graft chart to determine the number of hair grafts you need.

The number of grafts your healthcare provider recommends is partly determined by where you fall on the Norwood Scale — but that’s not the only factor involved.

Norwood 2 represents the early stages of hair loss, most noticeably in the form of a receding hairline — if you fall there on the scale, you may only need a minimal hair transplant graft. Typically, creating a new hairline requires 250 to 300 single-hair micrografts.

A 1,000-graft hair transplant may be more common for someone at a Norwood stage 3.

Meanwhile, a 3,000-graft hair transplant is likely for someone at a Norwood 5, which signifies significant, obvious hair loss around the hairline and crown.

Factors Affecting the Number of Hair Grafts Needed

Generally, the more hair you’ve lost, the more hair grafts you’ll need — but there’s more to the hair graft calculation.

Criteria used to determine how many hair grafts you need include: 

• How fast your hair typically grows. In a normal hair growth cycle, hair grows one to two centimeters (or about a half-inch) every month. This growth (known as the anagen phase) lasts two to four years and then shifts to the resting (telogen) phase for around 100 days. The cycle may affect how fast your hair grows post-transplant and means you likely won’t see new growth right away.

• Your desired hair density. How dense you’re hoping to get things looking up there — compared to the baldness pattern you have now — will also impact the number of grafts needed. Higher-density transplants need more grafts per square centimeter.

• The affected area. If you require a full scalp transplant, this will need more grafts than, say, a crown transplant.

• Donor area availability. The larger your donor area — usually in the back or sides of the head — the more grafts that can be extracted and used. Otherwise, the number of grafts may be limited by the donor hair you’re working with.

• Your hair characteristics. The unique differences in each patient’s hair influence how many grafts are needed to achieve the desired texture and fullness. For instance, if you have thin or fine hair, you’ll probably need more grafts to fill the same area compared to thicker, curly-headed guys. 

You may also need to consider things like hair transplant cost, the time the procedure takes, and what hair transplant clinics are near you.

In both FUE and FUT hair transplant techniques, the number of hair grafts you could safely have ranges between 4,000 and 6,500. These will likely be transplanted across multiple sessions.

However, to avoid visible depletion from the donor area, the average number of grafts for each hair transplant session is between 2,500 and 3,000.

According to the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgeons, only one percent of hair transplant procedures require 4,000 hair grafts or more.

But no matter how many grafts you get, aftercare is vital. For many men, this will involve using minoxidil or finasteride as part of their post-hair transplant plan.

Depending on where your current hair loss falls on the Norwood Scale, less invasive (and more affordable) options might be effective for you.

Topical minoxidil liquid solution or minoxidil foam and finasteride are both approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to slow hair loss and increase hair density in men with male pattern baldness.

You can use topical minoxidil, take finasteride as an oral medication, or use a combination treatment, like our two-in-one finasteride & minoxidil spray.

If you’re seriously considering a hair transplant, you’ll likely Google or ask your provider, “How many hair grafts do I need?”

Here’s what to keep in mind about the number of grafts needed for hair transplant:

• It depends. The number of hair grafts needed for successful hair transplantation varies based on factors like the extent of hair loss, the availability of hair in a donor area, and what the area you’re transplanting to looks like.

• There are alternatives. Hair grafts not for you after all? No worries — there are other options, such as minoxidil or finasteride. Talk to your provider to determine the best course of action for your goals.

• The Norwood scale is a main guide. A hair transplant clinician or surgeon may use the Norwood scale for hair loss as a guide to determine how many hair grafts you need.

In short, the number of hair grafts needed for hair transplant surgery can vary among patients and depends on many factors.

Hair transplants have continued to rise in popularity over the years, and many hair transplant patients look to hair restoration surgery to boost their appearance and confidence.

Whether you decide to go through with a hair transplant or opt for a different treatment, you can start an online consultation with a licensed healthcare provider about hair loss treatments.