do velous hairs in your donor strip count toward your graft number? I would think they shouldn't since they are so small and don't make any cosmetic difference.

Also, whats a good density per cm2 for the hairline? I'm getting 1300-1500 grafts. all my hairloss is restricted to the hairline/temples and some diffuse thinning through only the frontal 1/3.

Thanks for any help

hatrick,

There shouldn't be many (if any at all) vellus hairs in your donor area. A vellus hair is a miniaturized hair that is dying most likely due to DHT. This is different from a hair in the catagen (resting) phase.

Vellus hairs, if there are any, would not be used for transplanting. Hairs in catagen are not visible, so many of these are going to be lost, especially when trimming skinny grafts. Those who trim chubbier grafts may find that the number of transplanted hairs actually increases because catagen hairs are alive and well in the cells in the tissue around the transplanted graft. The downside of chubby grafts however, is larger incisions have to be made in the scalp, hairs can't be as densely packed together, and there may be higher levels of trauma to the scalp.

Regarding density for the hairline, opinions will vary, but I'd say a good 50 grafts per square cm is pretty good in most cases, especially for those with thicker hair. Remember, a good quality hairline is made of single haired FU grafts so 50 grafts will be equal to 50 hairs in the hairline. Behind the hairline, 2 and 3 haired grafts are used to help add to the illusion of density.

I hope this helps.

Falc