Do you have to shave your head to have a hair transplant? I am not looking for a very big area to be implanted. Thanks

Unless your hair is very long and it can cover the area to be shaved, you need to shave the back of your head for FUE, ARTAS, Neograft, SAFE, system.Long hair FUE can be done on a limited basis of about 300 grafts.

The answer really depends upon what type of transplant you are undergoing. If you are undergoing an FUT transplant (one with an incision), minimal shaving is needed.  In an FUE or NeoGraft procedure, you would need to shave an area of the back of the scalp for the donor but no shaving is needed on the top of the head for either.

For an FUE the back and sides of your head will be shaved. The top can be left at your preferred length. For an FUT shaving of the back of the head is not necessary. Longer the better to cover the stitches.

For FUE procedures such as Neograft hair transplant, the donor area needs to be shaved. Strip procedures generally do not leave behind any shaved scalp becaue the donor area strip is completely excised.

The recipient site (where the hair grafts are placed) does not have to be shaved for the procedure or implantation of follicles.  The donor site for Neograft/FUE needs to be cut very closely but not necessarily shaved in order for the punch to be placed over the hair follicle itself and be extracted. Once the small crusts or scabs have come off, the recipient/grafted area looks like it did before the procedure.  For most patients, it will take months to notice new hair growth in that area.  The hair around the donor site follicles will grow at their normal rate.

Whether you need to shave the scalp depends on whether you are speaking about the donor or recipient area.For FUE (follicular unit extraction) techniques, where hair is taken from the back of the scalp "one-by-one" the donor area is shaved (or at least a portion of the donor area is shaved).For the recipient area, this particular area does not necessarily need to be shaved.

This depends on if you want FUE or FUT and the features of the area to be transplanted.  You can learn more by searching on FUT and hair transplants, OR by reading about U-FUE

I always tell my patients not to cut their hair and let it be long for a hair transplant. Long hair allows the patient to cover up the surgery nicely. 

Most hair trabsplant surgeons try not to leave any shaved areas unless extesive work is being done.