A strip of hair bearing skin is taken from the back of the head. This area is relatively unaffected by the male hormones which are responsible for baldness. The hair bearing strip is separated to single follicular units under magnification. It is to be noted that each follicular unit contains more than 1 follicle. A good team performing hair transplant manages each unit to contain 1-4 hair follicles. On an average each graft or a follicular unit contain 2.5 hair follicles or hair. While the assistants are separating grafts from the strip, the surgeon makes micro slits in the area of the transplant. This step is the most important step since the surgeon decides the density of the transplant, and the direction of the transplanted hair at this stage. The next step is implantation of the grafts into these pre formed slits. This procedure can take 3- 6 hours depending on the number of grafts. Usually these two procedures are done side by side, so the whole process can be expected to last 4-6 hours. For the front of the head about 1500-2000 hair follicle units are required. For a complete coverage, about 6000 units may be required. It is preferable to make a second replacement after 6-8 months.
