Section 1
What is the difference between a graft and a hair?
Hair grows in natural groups called follicular units, and a graft is one of those units moved during a transplant. Each graft usually holds between one and four hairs, and many patients average around two.
That means a quote for 6,000 hairs might describe something in the region of 2,500 to 3,000 grafts. Neither figure is dishonest on its own, but comparing a quote in hairs with a quote in grafts makes one clinic look far more generous than it is.
Section 2
How is a graft estimate normally worked out?
A proper estimate starts from the area to be treated and the density you want, then checks that against your donor area: how dense it is, how much it can safely give, and how much should be kept back for hair you may lose later.
The result should be a range rather than a single promise, because the exact number that can be taken well is only known on the day. A good clinic explains the range and what it is meant to achieve.
Section 3
How do graft counts get inflated?
Inflation is rarely a single lie. It is usually one of a few habits that make a number look bigger or more certain than it is.
- Quoting hairs rather than grafts, or switching between the two.
- Giving a firm count from photos alone, with no donor assessment.
- Leading with the top of a wide range as if it were the plan.
- Dividing natural multi-hair units into more, smaller grafts to raise the count, sometimes called graft splitting.
- Per-graft pricing, where every extra graft adds to the bill.
Section 4
Why is a bigger number not always better?
Your donor area is the only supply you will ever have. Taking more grafts than it can spare can leave it visibly thin, and grafts used now are not available for any loss you have in ten years' time.
The right plan often uses fewer grafts than a patient hoped for, especially for a younger patient whose hair loss has not settled. A clinic that tells you this is protecting your future options, not underselling you.
Section 5
What should you ask before accepting a number?
With fixed price bands, like ours, the exact count within a band does not change what you pay, which removes the incentive to add grafts. It is still worth asking why your case sits in the band it does, and the same questions apply to any clinic.
- How did you reach this number, and did you assess my donor area?
- Is this figure in grafts or hairs?
- How are grafts counted on the day, and will I receive the final count in writing?
- What happens to the price if fewer grafts can be taken?
- How many grafts could my donor area give over my lifetime?