Follicular Unit Excision (FUE), formerly called Follicular Unit Extraction, is a method of removing or "collecting" donor hairs in a follicular unit hair transplant procedure. In FUE hair transplant surgery, an instrument is used to make a small, circular incision in the skin around a follicular unit and separate it from the surrounding tissue. The unit is then removed (pulled) directly from the scalp, leaving a small open hole.

This process is repeated until the hair transplant surgeon collects enough follicular units for the planned hair transplant. This process can take 6 hours or more and can be performed over two consecutive days in large sessions. Donor wounds, about 1 mm in size, heal completely in seven to ten days.

Before the grafts are taken, tiny "recipient areas" are opened in the balding area of the scalp using a fine-tipped instrument. The grafts are then placed in recipient areas where they will grow into healthy hair-producing follicles.