Based on data from the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery
, it’s estimated that more than 700,000 people worldwide underwent hair restoration in 2021. While hair transplant may not be as extreme as something like open-heart surgery, it’s still a surgical procedure. If hair transplantation is something that you’re seriously considering, read this first.
Hair transplantation is used to treat hair loss. In the hair restoration world, there are two different hair transplant options: FUE and FUT. In this article, we’ll talk about FUE hair transplant and everything there is to know about it.
For a little bit of background, I used to work as a surgical technician for a top hair transplant company. Having worked on a couple hundred patients and transplanting close to 100,000 individual hair grafts, I feel that I can offer a different, behind-the-scenes point of view so you’ll know exactly what to expect. Here we go.
Table of Contents
Key Terms
Before we get started, take a look at these key terms. (It’ll make reading the rest of the article much easier. Trust me.)
- Hair follicle: the structure at the base of the hair from which hair grows
- Hair graft: a tiny, cylindrical unit consisting of 1-3 intact hair follicles and surrounding scalp tissue (approximately 4 mm in height and 1 mm in diameter)
- Donor area: the area from which grafts are harvested (usually the back and sides of the head)
- Recipient area: the area to which grafts are transplanted (usually the hairline and crown of the head)
What Is an FUE Hair Transplant?
FUE stands for follicular unit extraction. FUE hair transplants are a form of surgical hair restoration that involves harvesting individual hair grafts and transplanting them one by one in thinning or balding areas.
Here’s what the grafts in FUEs look like. If you look closely, you can see that each graft has hair follicles (dark bulbs) in groupings of either one, two, or three:
FUEs are the most common type of hair transplant procedure performed and considered to be the more modern approach, compared to FUTs. At the office where I worked, approximately 90 percent of our cases were FUE procedures.
Do FUE Hair Transplants Work?
Yes, FUE hair transplants work. However, it’s important to be realistic in your expectations, since results can vary from person to person.
It’s difficult to determine the exact success rate of FUE hair transplants, as there are lots of areas for subjectivity. If you speak with a surgeon, they’ll likely acknowledge the fact that results can differ and then proceed to inform you that experienced and competent hair surgeons can achieve 90% or higher success rates.
Based on past studies, it’s fairly reasonable to expect approximately 72% of transplanted grafts in an FUE hair transplant to survive and grow.
The top 3 factors that determine whether a hair transplant will be successful are:
- Whether the patient is a good candidate for hair transplant
- Quality of the hair transplant surgeon
- Proper post-operative care
Per reports, the percentage of “failed” hair transplants appears to be around 5%, but it’s hard to know. Success or failure of a hair transplant doesn’t just come down to the amount of hair that survived but also observable improvement, natural appearance, and overall patient satisfaction. In most cases, some percentage of grafts survive so it’s more a matter of “how successful” versus of “success or fail.”
Important Note: Hair transplants are permanent. However, keep in mind that they do not prevent any future hair loss.
How Much Does an FUE Hair Transplant Cost?
First things first, hair transplantation is an elective procedure so it is not covered by most insurance plans. Secondly, the price of an FUE hair transplant procedure can vary. It all comes down to the cost of each hair graft, the number of grafts agreed upon, and the clinic you choose.
Most places charge based on the number of grafts you get. In general, it costs from $2 to $10 per graft, depending on where you go.
Important Note: FUEs tend to be slightly more expensive than FUTs.
Again, most FUE cases that I’ve seen are in the 2,000 to 2,500 grafts range. However, there are larger and smaller cases. It really depends on what your particular case requires and what your surgeon thinks is reasonable to extract. (You might ideally need 3,000 grafts to cover an area, but depending on the amount and quality of donor hair available, it might not be feasible to get that high of a number.)
After you and your surgeon agree on the number of grafts, you’ll pay for that amount in advance. As an example, let’s say that you plan on 2,400 grafts, and each graft costs $5. Then, you’re looking at an FUE hair transplant that costs around $12,000.
If you end up getting fewer grafts than initially planned, a lot of places will refund the difference so you’re only paying for the grafts that you do get.
Warning: Like with other types of elective procedures, there are people who go to other countries to get hair transplants. While there are good hair surgeons elsewhere, please proceed with caution. Turkey, for instance, is known for overharvesting.
Overharvesting is when too many grafts are taken from the back of the head and transplanted. While this may give you more to work with in the front, overharvesting leaves too little hair remaining in the donor area. Not only is this an issue in terms of appearance, but the uneven growth and excess scarring also means that you’ve eliminated the potential for any future transplants, since there’s not enough left in the back to work with.
It’s better to be on the conservative side, wait to see your full results, and then possibly go for an additional procedure if needed. Again, the total cost of a hair transplant is based on the number of grafts, not the number of procedures. The main downside to this would be having to go in for a second procedure.
What Happens During an FUE Hair Transplant Procedure?
An FUE hair transplant can be broken down into six main parts:
- Pre-op
- Injecting local anesthesia
- Harvesting grafts
- Creating recipient sites
- Transplanting grafts
- Post-op
To get a better idea of what surgery entails, check out this realistic video animation (2:30) of an FUE hair transplant procedure:
How Much Hair Is Transplanted in FUE Procedures?
This really depends on your situation. Some people need more hair, while others need less. In general, I’d say that most FUE hair transplants average around 2,000 to 2,500 grafts. However, I have seen cases with as few as 100 grafts.
Normally, FUEs don’t exceed 3,000 grafts. For higher graft counts, an FUT procedure is strongly preferred. Not only does an FUT allow the surgeon to harvest more grafts, but it also helps to lower the risk of any visible patchiness or decreased hair density in the donor area.
How Long Does an FUE Hair Transplant Take?
Hair transplants are outpatient procedures, which means that you’ll go home to recover instead of staying at the clinic. In my experience, an average FUE procedure of 2,400 grafts takes around eight hours – four hours to harvest and another four hours to transplant.
The exact amount of time that an FUE hair transplant takes really depends on several factors:
- Number of grafts
- Quality of the donor area
- Quality of the recipient area
Something else to take into consideration is the number of sessions. The office where I worked always finished cases in one day. However, there are some clinics that complete FUE transplants in multiple, shorter sessions.
Important Note: Hair transplants for African American patients usually take longer to complete. This is because African Americans tend to have stronger tissue
If possible, PLEASE shave all of your hair – both the donor area AND recipient area. Shaving the donor area is required for FUE procedures, but many surgeons will give you the option of not shaving the recipient area.
Choosing not to shave the recipient area can potentially extend the entire hair transplant procedure by hours because the surgical techs will need to navigate through long hair in order to find all of the recipient sites. This is exceptionally time-consuming and can become irritating to the staff who are working extremely hard to give you the best results. (You’ll also have to keep still for the whole time, which isn’t fun.)
More importantly, you’ll get better hair transplant results if you shave the recipient area. There’ll be less hair that can potentially catch the grafts and pull them out before they’ve had a chance to heal. If a graft becomes dislodged, it most likely can’t be saved. The viability (likelihood of survival) of a graft significantly decreases after 24 hours so many surgeons won’t even attempt to put it back.
Does an FUE Hair Transplant Hurt?
An FUE hair transplant shouldn’t hurt. However, the before and after portions might involve some minor pain.
Before Your Hair Transplant
The worst part of an FUE procedure is the local anesthesia injections. During the actual harvesting and transplanting portions, you shouldn’t feel any pain. If you feel any slight pinching or burning sensation during your procedure, make sure to let the staff know so they can inject more anesthesia.
Interesting Fact: General anesthesia
Local anesthesia along with an oral sedative that you take in pre-op should keep you pain-free and relaxed throughout the procedure.
After Your Hair Transplant
The only other time you might feel some discomfort is in the week following the procedure. Unlike FUTs, FUEs don’t require any sutures and are thus associated with less pain. Some patients report mild soreness or tenderness the day or two after their transplant. This is totally normal. However, the majority of patients report no pain after an FUE hair transplant.
What Are the Side Effects of an FUE Hair Transplant?
Here are the 10 main side effects associated with FUE hair transplants:
- Swelling
- Redness
- Bleeding
- Crusting
- Itchiness
- Shock loss
- Scarring
- Pain
- Infection
- Tingling or numbness
Swelling, redness, bleeding, crusting, and itchiness are common side effects associated with any surgery. You’ll be prescribed medications, and the surgeon will go over at-home instructions with you. Shock loss, which we already went over, is also common in hair transplant.
Now, let’s talk about scarring. FUEs involve making hundreds to thousands of tiny incisions. Any time an incision is made, some scar tissue will form. However, any scarring from FUE procedures will likely not be visible to the naked eye so you’ll be able to wear your hair short. The main issue that arises is that scarring may make a second procedure – if you choose to have one – slightly more challenging because scar tissue is stronger than normal skin.
While possible, pain, infection and tingling/numbness are uncommon in FUE hair transplants. In all the patients that I’ve seen, there hasn’t been a single FUE patient who got an infection or experienced tingling or numbness after their procedure.
How Long Does an FUE Hair Transplant Take to Heal?
After getting an FUE, you’ll notice both the donor and recipient areas begin to heal all within the first week following the procedure.
Donor Area
When you leave after your procedure, you’ll have lots of 1-mm, tiny red dots in the donor area from where grafts were harvested, as well as shaved hair. The red dots will heal within a week, and hair will start growing back fairly quickly. Most of the FUE patients that I saw already had hair “fuzz” in the donor area at their one-week follow-up and virtually no evidence that hair was ever harvested from there.
Recipient Area
The transplanted hair won’t grow for a while, but any dried blood or scabbing in the recipient area will be gone one week after your procedure – when you start washing your hair normally again.
In the weeks following your procedure, you’ll notice your transplanted hair starting to fall out. Don’t panic! This is called shock loss, and it’s totally normal. The shaft of the hair will fall out, but the follicle – which grows new hair – will remain.
How Long Does It Take to See Results from an FUE Hair Transplant?
Patience is key when it comes to hair transplants. Typically, it takes three to four months to start seeing new growth from a hair transplant and one year to get your final results. This is because hair follicles have a dormant cycle that lasts for several months before new hair begins to grow.
As a visual reference, here’s what you should expect in terms of a timeline for hair transplant:
How Long Do FUE Hair Transplant Results Last?
Hair transplant is permanent and will last your entire life. When the grafts heal, blood supply connects with your transplanted grafts, and the hair grows and functions as if it was naturally there to begin with. You can do anything with transplanted hair that you can with natural hair (comb, wash, curl, style, etc.).
Can You Get Multiple Hair Transplants?
Yes, you can get multiple hair transplants. The majority of patients achieve their final look with one or two procedures. The most hair transplants that I have seen someone get is four.
The only things that would limit you from getting more hair transplants are the quality of your donor and certain medical conditions. If there’s too much scarring or not enough hair density in your donor area, then your surgeon will recommend against having another transplant.
Likewise, a chronic and/or serious health condition may prevent you from getting another hair transplant. For instance, we had to cancel procedures every now and then due to patients having too high blood pressure.
Who Is a Good Candidate for an FUE Hair Transplant?
Before any plans for surgery even take place, you’ll have a consultation with the surgeon and counselor to discuss the procedure and any concerns. Whether someone is a good candidate for hair transplant surgery in general comes down to these five main factors:
- Amount of hair loss
- Quality of the donor area
- Age
- Pre-existing conditions
- Reason(s) for getting a hair transplant
What I will say about FUE hair transplants in particular is that while both men and women can get them, it is far more common for men to get FUEs than it is for women. This is mainly due to the way in which the grafts are extracted. FUEs require shaving at least the donor area, but FUTs only require shaving a tiny strip. In my experience, I’ve only seen men get FUEs.
How Do I Find a Hair Transplant Surgeon and Schedule an Appointment?
My best advice when it comes to finding a hair transplant surgeon is to first do your own research online. Some things to consider are the surgeon, location, and reputation. Try to find a surgeon who is board certified. It’s an added bonus if they have a background in plastic surgery and/or dermatology.
Interesting Fact: At the hair transplant clinic where I worked, we actually had a lot of patients who either drove or flew in from other states. They would stay for a night or two and then go back.
Once you settle on a few choices, give those that you’re interested in a call and set up a consultation. Most hair transplant practices offer a free initial consultation. This is the time to decide which surgeon you want to go with. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, look at before and after photos, and gauge their experience. You should feel comfortable with the surgeon you ultimately choose.
Likewise, the surgeon and consult team will go over all of the information with you, determine if you’re a good candidate for hair transplant, and go from there.
Conclusion
Hopefully I’ve answered all of your questions about FUE hair transplant in this article. Getting a hair transplant is a big decision so it’s important that you learn everything there is to know about it! My main goal was to give you some insight as someone from the other side so you can know the facts and make the best decision for yourself.
Lastly, be sure to keep an eye out for my other hair transplant articles. Some of the topics that I’ll be going over include FUT hair transplant, the differences between FUE and FUT, and other hair restoration options to explore before committing to hair transplant surgery. See you in my next article! Stay healthy and keep learning. 😀