Statistics can help you compare transplant methods and understand who took part in a study. They cannot predict how many grafts you need or your result. Check the source, date and patient group for each figure.
The figures below cover transplant methods, patient groups, graft numbers and repeat procedures, as well as medication, PRP, recovery and costs. Each applies to a particular group and period.
Discuss Your Hair LossThe latest ISHRS Practice Census was published in 2025 and reports activity during 2024. Of 946 physician members with valid email addresses, 247 completed the survey, giving a 26% response rate.
The new census concentrates on activity among participating physicians rather than producing another worldwide procedure extrapolation. The most recent ISHRS estimate of total global surgical activity therefore still comes from its earlier 2022 census.
The 2022 census calculated those figures using survey data and regional extrapolations. ISHRS stated that the true worldwide procedure volume was unknown, so the 703,183 figure is best treated as the latest comparable worldwide estimate rather than a literal 2026 procedure count.
The newer 2025 census describes the work that participating physicians carried out during 2024.
The last worldwide regional extrapolation showed the largest estimated volume in Asia and Australia, followed by the United States and Canada.
| Region | Estimated procedures in 2021 |
|---|---|
| Asia / Australia | 256,835 |
| United States / Canada | 149,254 |
| Middle East / Africa | 124,475 |
| Europe | 112,742 |
| Mexico / Central & South America | 59,877 |
| Worldwide estimate | 703,183 |
Patients now compare UK clinics with providers abroad offering lower package prices. Price alone does not tell you who will perform the surgery, which regulations apply, how complications will be handled or what follow-up is available once you return home.
NHS advice on cosmetic surgery abroad recommends checking the surgeon, clinic, regulation, consultation arrangements and aftercare before you travel. Those checks matter when comparing clinics closer to home too. Our hair transplant cost guide explains how graft numbers, treatment area and procedure affect UK prices.
The latest figures confirm that FUE harvesting is the dominant surgical method among responding physicians. In male procedures, 85.4% used FUE harvesting compared with 12.5% using strip or linear harvesting. Among female procedures, the figures were 68.2% for FUE and 30.0% for strip harvesting.
A FUE hair transplant removes follicular-unit grafts individually from the donor area. It avoids the permanent linear strip scar associated with FUT, although the extraction sites still create small circular scars within the donor region.
A FUT hair transplant removes a narrow strip of hair-bearing scalp before that strip is divided into individual follicular-unit grafts. FUT remains an option for selected patients and leaves a linear donor scar.
A DHI hair transplant usually describes how grafts are implanted rather than a separate form of donor harvesting. Follicles may be harvested using FUE and then placed with an implanter device, which explains why DHI does not appear as a separate harvesting category in the ISHRS figures.
Most FUE surgery in the survey was carried out using motorised hand-held devices rather than manual or robotic extraction.
Just over half of respondents, 50.8%, said they typically used a punch measuring 0.81–0.90mm. A further 38.0% reported using 0.91–1.00mm. Only 6.7% normally used a punch below 0.80mm.
The scalp remains by far the main source of FUE grafts. The latest census records 91.7% from the scalp, followed by 6.1% from the beard and 1.1% from the chest. Belly, leg and other body donor sites represented much smaller proportions.
Our hair transplant donor-area guide explains how the back and sides of the scalp are assessed when planning surgery.
The average varies between first and subsequent procedures, and between harvesting techniques.
| Procedure | Average grafts |
|---|---|
| First surgical procedure | 2,347 |
| Subsequent surgical procedure | 1,637 |
| Typical FUE case | 2,262 |
| Typical FUT case | 2,100 |
When physicians were asked which technology could represent the next major leap in hair restoration, the leading answers were not robotics.
Men make up most surgical hair-restoration patients, though women also account for a meaningful share. The latest census recorded 84.7% male patients and 15.3% female patients.
The largest age groups for both men and women were between 30 and 49. Male surgical patients were slightly younger overall than female patients.
| Age | Male patients | Female patients |
|---|---|---|
| Under 20 | 1.9% | 2.1% |
| 20–29 | 16.0% | 16.2% |
| 30–39 | 30.2% | 29.5% |
| 40–49 | 28.5% | 24.5% |
| 50–59 | 15.6% | 17.7% |
| 60+ | 7.9% | 10.1% |
Among first-time surgical patients, 57.6% were aged 26–35 and 37.3% were aged 20–25. Together, those two groups account for the overwhelming majority of first-time surgery reported by respondents.
The census also found that 73.0% of responding physicians used a minimum-age cut-off for younger patients. Among those physicians, the average minimum was 22 and the median was 23.
For older patients, 80.0% of respondents said they did not impose a fixed maximum age. Among those who did, the average reported maximum was 72.
Scalp restoration remains dominant, representing 81.6% of male procedures and 78.9% of female procedures.
Among men, approximately 4.9% of procedures involved the beard or moustache, 4.4% involved eyebrows, 2.7% involved scar repair and 4.1% involved repair following a previous black-market transplant. Patients researching facial restoration can read more about beard transplantation.
For women, the eyebrow was the most commonly reported non-scalp recipient area, accounting for 12.2%. Our eyebrow transplant guide explains how graft selection, direction and brow design differ from scalp restoration.
39.8% of participating physicians reported an increase in transgender hair transplantation within their practices, while 58.5% reported no change. Among physicians who treated transgender patients in 2024, scalp transplantation was the most commonly reported treatment at 81.9%.
Our transgender hair transplant guide covers hairline, scalp and facial-hair restoration according to the individual's treatment goal.
Afro-textured and tightly curled hair can be transplanted, but follicular curvature beneath the skin can make extraction technically different from straight hair. The direction visible above the scalp does not necessarily show the full path of the follicle beneath it.
Curl and strand thickness also affect coverage. Thicker, curled hairs can sometimes look denser than the same number of finer, straight hairs. The assessment needs to consider donor density, thickness, curl and how the follicles are likely to behave during extraction.
The cause of hair loss and the person's own reasons for wanting restoration usually both inform a decision about surgery. The latest census asked physicians which motivations their patients reported most often.
A patient's personal motivation differs from the medical or cosmetic reason for considering restoration. Genetic hair loss remains the largest treatment category by far.
Hair transplantation is becoming more openly discussed, although attitudes remain mixed. When physicians were asked whether the majority of their patients planned to tell friends, family and co-workers about their surgery, 44.1% answered yes, 31.8% were unsure and 24.1% answered no.
The census asked physicians how many procedures they performed, on average, to achieve the desired restoration. This is different from counting individual patients who had a second transplant.
Across the responses, the mean was 1.5 procedures and the median was one.
One reason is progression of the patient's original hair loss. A transplant moves selected donor follicles into an area that has thinned or become bald, but native non-transplanted hair around those grafts can continue to thin later.
Restoration may also be planned in stages. Someone with extensive loss might treat the front first, then consider other areas later, rather than restoring everything in one procedure.
Hair is normally selected from donor regions that are more resistant to androgenetic hair loss. Successfully established transplanted follicles can therefore continue producing hair for many years.
Hair outside the transplanted area can still become finer. Its future pattern of loss can therefore affect how the result looks years later.
The 2025 census also asked physicians how often different non-surgical treatments were prescribed or recommended during 2024. The figures below show the proportion answering “always” or “often”.
The survey measures prescribing patterns among participating physicians, not how effective one treatment will be for an individual patient. At our clinic, PRP hair treatment can be discussed as a non-surgical option for selected patients with thinning or reduced density.
Home-use low-level light or photobiomodulation was reported as being prescribed or recommended often or always by 24.6% of respondents. In-office low-level laser or photobiomodulation treatment was reported by 31.2%.
There is no single current ISHRS percentage that can accurately be described as the universal success rate of hair transplantation. “Success” can refer to graft survival, visible growth, density, natural appearance or patient satisfaction, and those are not the same measurement.
Check any clinic's quoted percentage against what was measured, the method used and the length of follow-up.
A poor result may mean less growth or density than expected, an unnatural hairline, hairs placed in the wrong direction, a visibly depleted donor area, excessive scarring or a complication that affects healing.
The ISHRS uses the term “black market” when discussing hair-restoration surgery performed without appropriate physician involvement, licensing, medical oversight or professional standards.
In the latest census, 59.4% of members reported black-market hair-transplant clinics operating in their city. Among repair work seen by respondents, the average percentage of cases attributed to previous black-market transplantation was 10%, with a median of 5%.
The NHS describes hair transplantation as generally safe, but it remains an operation. Recognised risks include bleeding, infection, an allergic reaction to anaesthetic, scarring and the possibility that some transplanted hair does not take.
There is no reliable universal mortality percentage published by the NHS or the current ISHRS census for hair-transplant surgery, so claims that the fatality rate is literally zero should not be presented as an established statistic.
Our hair transplant timeline explains the growth stages in more detail. Temporary postoperative shedding and shock loss are covered separately, while the aftercare guide explains washing, sleeping, exercise and scalp care after surgery.
The NHS gives a broad UK hair-transplant price range of approximately £1,000 to £30,000. The amount can vary substantially because the treatment area, level of hair loss, procedure, graft requirement and clinic are different from one patient to another.
At Harley Street Hair Transplants, surgical treatment currently starts from £3,499. Our hair transplant cost page explains current prices and how treatment area, estimated graft numbers, donor characteristics and procedure type affect a quotation.
Dr Harpreet Kalra is our Principal Hair-Transplant Surgeon, GMC reference 7126076. Assessment includes the patient's hair-loss pattern, donor-area strength, scalp health, medical history and proposed restoration plan.
FUE is the dominant donor-harvesting technique in the latest census. It accounted for 85.4% of male surgical procedures and 68.2% of female procedures reported by participating physicians.
84.7% of surgical hair-restoration patients reported in the 2024 data were male and 15.3% were female.
57.6% of first-time surgical patients were aged 26–35 and 37.3% were aged 20–25.
The latest census reported an average of 2,347 grafts for a first surgical procedure and 1,637 grafts for a subsequent procedure.
The scalp represented 91.7% of FUE donor harvesting in the latest census. Beard hair represented 6.1% and chest hair 1.1%.
30.8% of responding physicians reported performing an average of two procedures per patient to achieve the desired result. 67.3% reported an average of one procedure and 1.9% reported three or more.
Successfully established donor follicles can provide long-lasting growth. However, native hair surrounding the transplanted area can continue to thin as the patient's original hair-loss pattern progresses.
There is no single universal percentage in the current ISHRS census. Graft survival, visible growth, density and cosmetic outcome are different measurements and should not be combined into one generic success figure.
Yes. Afro-textured and tightly curled hair can be transplanted in suitable patients, although follicular curvature beneath the skin can make donor extraction technically different from straight hair.
NHS guidance gives a broad UK range of approximately £1,000–£30,000. Harley Street Hair Transplants currently lists surgical treatment from £3,499.
International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery: 2025 Practice Census
International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery: Full 2025 Practice Census Results
International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery: 2022 Practice Census and worldwide estimates
A consultation can review your hair-loss pattern, donor area, scalp condition, options, likely graft requirements and expected costs before deciding whether surgery is suitable.
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