What expectations can we have with a hair transplant?

Everyone who suffers from alopecia at some point in their lives has considered getting a hair transplant, but everyone has the same question. What expectations can we have with a hair transplant? Today, we’ll tell you in depth what to consider and what to expect.

Hair transplant expectations

Expectations vary depending on two main conditions: capillary density and the number of follicular units present before transplantation to the recipient area.

The density of the donor area will be an important factor as that will determine the number of follicular units available. The average density ranges between 70 to 80 follicular units per square centimetre, more or less. This degree of variation may be important to the outcome of the hair transplantation.

The number of follicular units prior to transplantation in the recipient area will also be of vital importance. The more follicular units there are that can be combined with the units to be transplanted, the better the result will be.

It is always be advisable to have realistic expectations. Keep in mind that the areas of alopecia usually differ from patient to patient and the end result will depend, mainly, on the type of hair you have. Fine blonde hair is not the same as dark curly hair, and for the same number of follicular units we’ll achieve more visual density with black, brown and curly hair than with fine blonde hair.

The number of units we’ll be able to extract will depend on the number of follicular units in the donor area, bearing in mind that the aesthetics of the donor area cannot be compromised. Hair transplantation is a medical procedure, but from the aesthetic point of view, which cannot be forgotten, we want to achieve greater density in the recipient area without sacrificing the donor area in the process.

You can’t take all the follicular units you want from that area, otherwise the donor area would go bald and it would have to be repaired with another procedure such as scalp micropigmentation (also known as tricopigmentation).

The desired average density for a hair transplant is 45 follicular units per square centimeter. However, it’s important to keep in mind that the donor area typically has a density of 70 to 80 follicular units per square centimetre. As a result, it may not always be possible to achieve the same density in the recipient area as in the donor area That being said, 45 strategically placed units will provide more than sufficient density to hide the alopecia.

Evaluation specialists

Each case must always be assessed individually. And finally, we would like to make it clear that a transplant will always increase the number of follicular units in one area or another, and will always result in an improvement.