Long hair transplant is transplanting grafts with a long hair shaft.
This is very different than unshaven hair transplants where the transplanted grafts do not contain a long hair shaft because donor hair was shaven before the graft was harvested.
A long-hair transplant preserves the full shafts on harvested follicular units, letting surgeon and patient judge density, direction, and curl while the procedure is still under way.
By watching how the strands settle across the scalp, the team can fine-tune angle and distribution on the spot, using direct visual feedback rather than waiting months for regrowth. Achieving this effect demands precise handling: follicles are dissected under high magnification, chilled in hypothermic solution, and implanted without trimming, because every extra millimetre of shaft increases traction forces and therefore mechanical fragility during placement.
Keeping those shafts intact also masks the early healing phase. Fresh grafts lie beneath a curtain of existing length, hiding the pinpoint crusts that form around each incision.
Patients often resume social and professional routines within days because the transplanted hair blends with neighbouring strands and conceals the redness that follows micro-wounding. Clinical data show that psychological stress peaks in the first postoperative fortnight; by reducing visible stigmata, long-hair techniques lower that stress and improve adherence to hygiene and photoprotection protocols that directly influence graft survival.
FUT remains the preferred harvest technique for long-hair sessions because strip excision preserves follicular architecture and avoids clipping the donor zone. A single elliptical strip can supply thousands of units whose shafts stay pristine, delivering immediate coverage without the checkerboard stubble seen after FUE. Laboratory assays demonstrate that strip-harvested follicles maintain higher anagen viability thanks to minimal torsion and desiccation—factors that grow more important as handling time increases with hair length. Although FUT leaves a linear scar, trichophytic closure can narrow it to a few millimetres, making it easy to conceal under native hair.
Transplanting hair is not like planting a tree when the tree continues to grow from when it was planted, it is more like planting seeds so that a new plant is created in time.
When a follicular unit graft is transplanted onto its new site, the piece of skin dry up and create a scab and the short piece of hair shaft together with the dried piece of skin all come of within a few weeks leaving a bear scalp until new hairs are created with 6 to 12 months.
Whether the transplanted grafts contain a short hair shaft or a long hair shaft does not affect the healing process or the final outcome.
In a long-hair transplant the surgeon harvests follicular units with full-length shafts intact, so the strands are already visible on the scalp when implantation ends. Unshaven FUE removes donor hair after clipping it to stubble; the shafts must regrow before you see coverage. Both approaches eventually shed the initial hairs during the shock-loss period, but only the long-hair method provides an on-table preview and immediate concealment of recipient sites.
No. Those shafts are a temporary bonus; they fall away with the micro-scabs during the first few weeks. The follicle, not the shaft, determines future growth. New anagen fibers emerge once the follicle completes its brief reset, usually between months three and six, and mature in thickness by month twelve.
Strip excision lets the team collect thousands of follicles without shaving the donor zone, keeping each shaft pristine. Laboratory data show that strip-harvested units retain higher anagen viability because they undergo less torsion and desiccation than FUE grafts of the same length. A narrow trichophytic closure makes the linear scar easy to hide under existing hair.
Because every graft must be dissected and inserted with added care, session size often tops out at roughly half the yield of a standard FUT procedure. In practical terms, 1,000–1,500 grafts are common for hairline or temporal work; larger totals may be split across two consecutive days to protect graft integrity.
Not when the team follows strict microsurgical protocols. The grafts are trimmed only at the sub-cutaneous level, kept in chilled hypothermic saline, and transported with minimal handling. Studies comparing long-shaft and trimmed grafts find no statistically significant difference in survival when mechanical forces are properly controlled.
You will keep the transplanted area dry for the first 48 hours, then begin gentle rinses with a pH-balanced solution. Sleeping on a slight incline for one week limits forehead swelling. Topical antibiotics and low-dose corticosteroids may be prescribed to curb inflammation. Most patients resume desk work by day five and unrestricted exercise after two weeks.
They are technically possible but less common. The crown demands a whorl pattern that is harder to calibrate with full-length shafts, and the visual camouflage benefit is smaller because surrounding hair tends to swirl and mask scabs on its own. Many surgeons reserve the technique for frontal or mid-scalp zones where immediate disguise matters most.
Yes. The procedure is more labour intensive, requires longer operating-room time, and involves specialized preservation media. Those factors raise the per-graft fee. Patients often consider the premium worthwhile if short-term visibility is a primary concern, for example before public engagements or film work.
Individuals seeking modest density improvements—such as lowering a female hairline or refining temples—benefit most. Candidates should have stable donor reserves, realistic goals, and no dermatological conditions that impede healing. During consultation, Dr. Karadeniz evaluates scalp laxity, follicle calibre, and hair growth cycles to confirm suitability.
Ultimately, density depends on graft count, calibre, and angulation, not on whether the original shaft was long or trimmed. Once the follicles cycle into a new growth phase, the regenerated hairs mirror the donor’s natural characteristics, providing coverage identical to that of a standard transplant performed with equal technical precision.
