Why Smaller Blades Produce Better?
Today's hair transplants are so much better and more natural looking than they used to be. Even since the invention of follicular unit transplantation (FUT) - transplanting hairs as they appear naturally in the scalp, hair restoration surgery has gotten more refined and natural looking? Why? Because today's expert physicians are using more refined tools and techniques than ever before.
The surrounding tissue on each follicular unit should be trimmed as much as possible while preserving the integrity of the follicular unit. Some of the surrounding tissue needs to be preserved however, elite hair transplant surgeons who regularly use ultra refined follicular unit "skinny" grafts have proven to get high hair growth yield and a greater ability to dense pack.
The number of hairs per follicular unit also plays a significant role in the size of the blade needed for hair restoration surgery. Surgeons who regularly make .7mm incisions do so for single hairs. In many cases, even surgeons using ultra refined follicular unit grafting will use up to 1.1mm or 1.2mm for the larger 3 and 4 haired follicular units.
It's highly important for grafts to fit perfectly into recipient incisions. The fit should be "snug", but not forced. A forced fit often results in "popping", and as a result, cobblestoning. That's why not only the size, but the depth of the incision is vital.
Larger incisions create a greater risk for scalp trauma and eliminates close graft proximity (dense packing).
Hair charateristics will also play a role in the size of the graft, and thus, the size of the incision.
Custom cut blades or tiny needles are often ideal because you can cut the blade to meet the needs of the patient.