Now these ideas are being used in hair restoration every day. To understand how follicular units have affected hair transplant surgery practices, it is necessary to first understand what a follicular unit is. A follicular unit is a single entity that is made up of several parts. All these parts are necessary to the whole. Wherever you take the hair from is called the donor site. There can be different donor sites for different people. The most common donor site for hair transplant surgery is on the head. If the sides and back of your head have full lustrous hair, you are in luck. This hair can be used as donor hair to replace hair you have lost on your balding spots. As long as the surgeon knows what she is doing, the scars are a minor consideration. Another aspect of scarring is when doctors go in for multiple hair transplant surgeries. A new strip of donor tissue has to be taken each time to supply the grafts for the new transplant. It would seem that this would lead to a large number of scars on the back and sides of the head. You should start to get concerned if your doctor has no specific good stories to tell about hair transplant surgery they have done. You need to see before and after photos. You need a way to contact former patients. If at all possible, you need to be able to visit with patients the doctor has treated so they can show you the results in person. You will be told to quit smoking, at least until after you have healed from the surgery, if you are a smoker before the hair transplant procedure. This is important because smoking makes you heal slower by inhibiting blood from flowing to your skin. It may be hard to do, but if you quit smoking just for the surgery, it might not be so hard. However, if someone has seen a person with this problem, it will likely turn them off to hair transplant surgery for good. 5. Old-Fashioned Plugs. People with the large plugs that look like doll's hair or toothbrush bristles are still around. While this type of hair transplant is rarely done anymore, the effects are still evident among people of a certain age.