We use follicle units. They are also called micro grafts. The hair on all of our scalps is in natural groupings, one-hair, two-hairs, or three-hairs or very rarely four hairs together. These natural groupings are called follicular units. We use a feathering technique for follicular unit graft placement. The feathering technique with random placement creates a gradual natural transition by using fine single hairs in the hairline and 2 and 3 follicular units behind the single hairs. Since this is the way that our natural hair grows this technique avoids any detectability. It depends upon how many grafts are required; usually a procedure for a thousand grafts takes 2-3 hours. 1,500 grafts take about 3-4 hours. If more than 2,000 are required the procedure would take about 5-6 hours. At North Shore Hair Transplant Specialists the hair transplant procedure is virtually painless. Due to N.S.H.T.S's highly developed system, known as the Award winning Expansion Technique, many of the discomforts associated with a hair transplant procedure of the past have been eliminated. After the transplant procedure most of the transplanted hair goes through a healing phase of two months. After the initial two months the hair starts growing at the same rate as your non-transplanted hair. The average rate of growth is half an inch per month. There is no scarring involved in the transplanted area. The donor area where follicular units are harvested is left with a very fine scar. This fine line is usually completely undetectable even by someone trying to find it by lifting the hairs in that area. Your own hair covers the incision in the donor area. It is not visible even right after surgery because your hair covers the area. Once the area is completely healed it is hard to find the incision line. Before harvesting the grafts from the selected donor area the hair above the selected area are lifted up. After removing the donor strip the lifted hair is released and naturally covers the area just after your surgery. The transplanted hair is permanent. They will continue to grow for the rest of your life. The transplanted hairs are taken from the back or side of the scalp. They have a different genetic makeup than the already lost hair and are genetically permanent. Once they have moved to the thinning or balding area they will continue to grow for the rest of your life. No. The grafts never fall out. The grafts are trimmed before being transplanted. After being transplanted they look like the size of an unshaven face after a week. Within a few weeks most of the hair stubs fall out. The actual grafts, which are inside the scalp, go through a six-week process of a healing resting phase. After this dormant phase, hair starts growing from these grafts, and will grow for the rest of your life. The average growth is half an inch per month. In six months your hair can be styled the way you like. The number of grafts depends on the person. Most of the patients needs range from 200 to 2,000 grafts. If a patient needs more than 2,000 grafts in one procedure the surgeon will make the judgment by examining the scalp and its laxity. If the scalp is very tight, as in the African and Chinese races, then performing more than 2,000 grafts might put a stretch on the donor area that can lead to delay in healing and scarring. This should most likely be avoided. Caucasians, however, can receive up to 3,000 grafts without putting a strain on the donor area.