Hair Transplant Basics:
Hairlines
Proper selection of donor areas and graft sizes are vital
aspects of the surgery. Designing a hairline and recipient
site placement are also crucial to an aesthetically successful outcome. There are doctors
who create the same standard hairline on every patient. This is a less than ideal practice.
Natural hairlines vary from one individual to another as much
as facial features do. The hair transplant specialist must be aware of
the spectrum of variations that normally occur. Few natural hairlines
are symmetrical; therefore, one should not attempt to create a perfectly
balanced hairline, as it is distinctly unnatural looking. Men of European
descent with naturally full heads of hair often have receded corners at
the temple or a slightly pointed hairline. Men from the Middle East and
Asia often have wide, flat hairlines with a gentler curve. Men of African
descent tend to have a very straight, flat hairline.
Mistakes can occur when over-demanding patients or over-aggressive doctors
place the hairline too low on the forehead, or restore the juvenile hairline.
The patient must have an active voice in all decisions concerning the
placement and design of the hairline, but it is up to the physician to
educate the patient so that his decisions will be appropriate in the future
as well as the present. Bad decisions, once acted upon, will be permanent.
The only remedy for a hairline that has been placed too low is to remove
the grafts surgically; a situation that is better avoided than treated
after the error has been made.
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