Scalp Laxity
Scalp laxity is how much your scalp moves over the skull. It decides how wide a strip can be taken in an FUT and closed without tension.
Where you'll meet it
In an FUT consultation, where the surgeon will push your scalp around with their fingers to judge it.
Why it matters
A strip has to be closed without tension, because tension is what widens a scar. A lax scalp takes a wider strip and still closes easily; a tight one does not.
Take too wide a strip from a tight scalp and you get a stretched, visible line, which is the classic FUT failure and is largely predictable in advance.
Laxity also falls with each strip taken, which is why most people have two FUT sessions in them and few have four.
What it means for FUE
Very little. FUE extracts individual units and does not need to close anything, so laxity is not a limiting factor. It is one of the reasons FUE suits a wider range of scalps.
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