Hair Transplant Techniques: FUT vs. FUE Explained by Dr. Zandifar
Understanding how hair is harvested is the foundation of any informed hair-restoration decision. In this video, Dr. Hootan Zandifar—double board-certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery and the American Board of Facial Plastic Surgery, UCLA-trained, and a member of the American Society of Hair Restoration Surgery—walks through the two primary harvesting methods used in modern hair transplantation.
Whether you are exploring options for scalp, temple, eyebrow, or beard restoration, Dr. Zandifar’s overview helps clarify what each technique involves so you can have a more productive consultation.
- Hair transplantation moves resilient donor hair from the back and sides of the scalp to areas of loss, including the scalp, temples, eyebrows, and beard.
- FUT (strip technique) can yield a large number of grafts but leaves a linear scar that is visible with short hair.
- FUE harvests follicles individually with minimal visible scarring and is considered the current gold standard by Dr. Zandifar.
- FUE requires shaving the donor area and involves a longer procedure time, but typically provides sufficient grafts for most patients.
Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT): The Strip Method
FUT, sometimes called the strip technique, is the longer-established approach. As Dr. Zandifar describes, a strip of hair-bearing skin is removed from the back or sides of the scalp—areas where hair is naturally resilient and tends to remain throughout a person’s lifetime. The strip is then carefully dissected so that individual follicular units can be transplanted to the target area. A key advantage is the volume of grafts that can be obtained in a single session.
The primary trade-off Dr. Zandifar highlights is a linear scar at the donor site. That scar is well-concealed when hair is worn longer, but it becomes visible with shorter styles. Patients who prefer to keep their hair very short at the back and sides should weigh this factor carefully before choosing FUT.
Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE): The Gold-Standard Approach
FUE harvests hairs individually rather than as a strip. Dr. Zandifar explains that a specialized suction-extraction device identifies each follicle, creates a small opening in the skin, and removes the unit on its own. Because no strip is excised, the result is little to no visible linear scar—making FUE particularly appealing for patients who wear their hair short or who want maximum flexibility with future styling.
To allow precise identification of each follicle, the donor area must be shaved before the procedure. Dr. Zandifar notes that FUE does take somewhat longer than FUT and may yield a slightly lower total graft count in a single session; however, he emphasizes that it typically provides enough grafts to meet each patient’s individual needs. He considers FUE the current gold standard and expects it to remain the dominant technique going forward.
Choosing the Right Technique for Your Hair-Restoration Goals
Both FUT and FUE are performed at ZMDHair and remain viable options depending on a patient’s anatomy, lifestyle, and restoration goals. Donor-area characteristics, the extent of hair loss, desired styling flexibility, and tolerance for procedure length all factor into the recommendation Dr. Zandifar makes during a personalized consultation.
- FUT may be considered when a high graft count is a priority in a single session.
- FUE is often preferred by patients who keep their hair short or want to minimize visible donor scarring.
- Both methods transplant grafts to the scalp, temples, eyebrows, or beard area.
- A thorough in-person evaluation is the best way to determine which approach fits your specific situation.
Full Video Transcript
hey everyone I want to take a minute to go over the different techniques in hair transplantation that are available today now when we talk about different techniques we're really talking about different ways of harvesting hair what do I mean by harvesting hair in hair transplantation we take hairs typically from the back and side of the scalp and these are hairs that are very resilient they don't tend to fall off and they tend to stay there for most of our lives and we take these hairs and we transplant them other parts of the body such as the top of the scalp the temples or the eyebrows and even the beard area now we have two common ways of removing the hairs from back here now the first way it's called The Strip technique or the follicular unit transplantation and it's the older way of doing it it's been around for decades the strip technique involves us removing a strip of hair about year wide and yay long and removing that closing the defect that we created in the back of the scalp and taking that strip and removing the hairs one by one and then transplanting them the strip technique has benefits one of the benefits is you can get a lot of hair out of it and then one of the disadvantages is that it leaves a linear scar that's hidden if your hair is long back there but if your hair is short it's clearly visible the newer techniques that are available today are techniques that are called follicular unit extraction or Fue how is follicular unit extraction performed it's done via typically a device that is a suction extractor so it's a device that's able to identify those hairs to kind of burn through the skin a little bit and remove those hairs individually this results in an area that has little to no visible scar to do this we do have to shave the back of the head so we can identify those hairs one by one and remove them on my mind the main limitation to the follicular extraction is that it's a little bit longer of a procedure and you can't get as much hair as you would with follicular unit transplantation but typically you can get enough to get what you need to do in every patient so these are the two techniques and they're both readily available the follicle unit extraction has become more of a gold standard today than follicular unit transplantation and it'll probably continue to be the main way of doing hair transplantation in the future thank you
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What makes FUE the preferred technique today?
- As Dr. Zandifar explains, FUE leaves little to no visible linear scar and allows patients more flexibility with shorter hairstyles. He describes it as the current gold standard and expects it to continue as the primary method of hair transplantation in the future.
- Will I have a noticeable scar after a hair transplant?
- The answer depends on the technique used. FUT leaves a linear scar at the back of the scalp that is hidden by longer hair but visible with short styles. FUE results in minimal to no visible scarring because follicles are removed individually rather than as a strip.
- Can hair transplants be performed on areas other than the scalp?
- Yes. Dr. Zandifar notes that donor hair can be transplanted to the scalp, temples, eyebrows, and beard area, making hair restoration applicable to a range of cosmetic concerns beyond scalp coverage.
- How do I know which hair transplant technique is right for me?
- The best way to determine the appropriate technique is through a personalized consultation with Dr. Zandifar. Factors such as the extent of hair loss, donor-area characteristics, lifestyle, and styling preferences all inform the recommendation.
