Since hair naturally grows in groupings of 1 to 4 hairs, today’s most advanced techniques harvest and transplant these naturally occurring hair "follicular units" in their natural groupings. Thus, modern hair transplantation can achieve a natural appearance by mimicking nature, hair-for-hair. This hair transplantation procedure is called follicular unit transplantation (FUT).

Transplantation procedures are performed on an outpatient basis, with mild sedation (optional) and injected local anaesthesia, which typically last for about six hours.

The scalp is shampooed, and then treated with an antibacterial agent prior to the donor scalp being harvested.

There are several different techniques available for the harvesting of hair follicles, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Regardless of which donor harvesting technique is employed, proper extraction of the hair follicle is paramount to ensure the viability of the transplanted hair and avoid transaction—the cutting of the hair shaft from the hair follicle. Hair follicles grow at a slight angle to the skin's surface, which means that regardless of technique, transplanted tissue must be removed with a corresponding angle and not perpendicular to the surface.