A hair sample should be about an inch long and the diameter of a pencil.... bear in mind that hair from the back of the head tends to be darker than at the front, so try get the majority of the hair snipped from near / towards the front, otherwise the front of the system can look too dark compared to the side [growing]hair. People who know you are probably going to ` notice` something, unless you go for a very light-density for the first system, and then ` step-up` the density on subsequent orders..... you`ll need a ` decent` length of growing hair in order to blend the system in onto it..... just leave your hair grow back to where you had it before shaving it off. Make your template now, while there is relatively little hair ` in the way` and you can see what you`re doing. Pictures of you when you had all your own hair, and as you are now, will help get a good ` match`...you can send those by e-mail to John and he`ll be able to help get your order correct.Maybe a Swiss-lace with a ` lighter` density for your first system, and you could simultaneously get a heavier density system , so you have it to hand when you are ready to change-over ----- once people have gotten used to seeing you ``with hair``, you can then change over to the ` heavier` density / ` normal` -coverage system. That will ease the transition from how you are now, to what you require.