At Acorn, we collect your cells via plucked hair follicles. Hair plucking is the method of extracting individual hair follicles from the scalp. The average adult has roughly 100,000 hair follicles on their head and with Acorn we only collect 50 fully in-tact hair follicles, and the procedure lasts roughly 15-20 minutes. Here are some suggestions to make the experience as seamless as possible: 

  1. Make sure your hair and scalp are clean and dry before beginning the hair plucking process.

  2. Avoid adding hair gels, pomades and other products that significantly effect the texture of the hair. 
  3. If you shave your head, please grow out to have at least 5mm, or 1/4 inch of hair length of free hair strands
  4. If you are balding, but still have hair growth on your scalp, you are still eligible for cell collection, please ensure you have at least 5mm or 1/4 inch of hair length.
  5. If you have braids, locks, or other intertwined hairs, consider opening up a few patches of freely accessible hairs that are not intertwined, it can make the collection process much easier.