Provided herein is an instrument and method useful to incise in to the skin to a precise depth and at a specific angle with respect to the surface of the skin of a patient, for the extraction of individual follicular groups or individual follicular units. An instrument according to the invention precisely limits the depth of incision, and creates a circular incision around a hair, follicular unit, or follicular cluster in a manner such that no damage occurs to any of the hair shafts.