Hair transplant techniques
You may hear these terms during a consultation. Here's what they mean and how they relate to hairline design — explained neutrally.
FUE — Follicular Unit Extraction
- How it works
- Individual follicular units are extracted one by one from the donor area with a small punch, then placed in the recipient area.
- Scarring
- Tiny dot scars, spread out — usually not visible with short hair.
- For the hairline
- Well suited to hairline work: single grafts can be placed precisely for a soft, irregular front edge.
FUT — Follicular Unit Transplantation (strip)
- How it works
- A thin strip of scalp is removed from the donor area and dissected into individual grafts under magnification.
- Scarring
- A single fine linear scar in the donor area (hidden by surrounding hair).
- For the hairline
- Can yield a high number of grafts in one session; the hairline itself is still built graft-by-graft.
DHI — Direct Hair Implantation
- How it works
- A variant of FUE where grafts are implanted directly with a special pen-like implanter tool, without pre-made incisions.
- Scarring
- Same dot-scar profile as FUE.
- For the hairline
- Allows fine control of angle, direction and depth at the hairline — useful for a natural front.
Techniques — common questions
What is the difference between FUE and FUT?
FUE removes individual follicles directly with a small punch and leaves tiny dot scars. FUT removes a thin strip of scalp, dissected into grafts, leaving one fine linear scar. Both build the hairline graft by graft.
What is a DHI hair transplant?
DHI (Direct Hair Implantation) is a variant of FUE where grafts are implanted directly with a pen-like tool, without pre-making incisions. It gives fine control over angle, direction and depth at the hairline.
How does a hair transplant work?
Healthy follicular units are taken from a dense donor area (back and sides) and relocated to thinning areas. The surgeon creates tiny recipient sites at a chosen angle and density, then places each graft to design a natural hairline.