For years doctors were cutting round plugs with 5-8 hairs from each. These were known as plugs. They looked like a doll's head, pluggy, corn rows, and very unnatural. A "graft" is the dermatological term for transplanting hair from 1 area of the scalp to another.
In the early 90's (prior to any other doctor), Dr. Larry Shapiro noticed that cutting the hair into their natural bundles or groups (either 1 hair, two hairs or three hairs) was the most natural way to place these back in the head. Then with the special blades that Dr. Shapiro developed he was able to take these bundles or follicular units and place them back in the scalp for a
natural appearance. It is only recently that other doctors (15 years later no less!) started using the term "follicullar unit" and of course trying to take credit for something that he has been doing since 1990. So whether you call them grafts or follicular units it is important to actually see the work before you commit to the procedure so you can tell what the doctor is actually doing.
Dr. Shapiro is the only doctor that actually shows you a surgery at the time of your consultation so you can see the follicular units/grafts and how they are placed. BEWARE! If a doctor doesn't show you an actual surgical procedure during your consultation, he may not be doing as many surgeries as he claims and he can state anything he wants about his techniques, such as the newest
claim of "ultra refined follicular units" (which is really just the dissection of the follicular units into their natural individual bundles).
Every year a new marketing technique is used, it is unfortunate that these doctors don't
spend as much time developing their skills rather than making claims to a "new" technique
that Dr. Shapiro has developed and refined for over 18 years.
Dr. Shapiro's Hair Institute