It’s extremely common to lose hair around your temples, especially as you get older. In men with male pattern baldness, the hair around your temples is normally the first to go and can be seen as early as Norwood stage 1.
While a receding hairline is pretty common, it’s also normal to want to preserve your temple hair. A temple hair transplant is the most effective way to tackle temple hair loss.
So how does a temple hair transplant work, and is it the right treatment for you?
Temple hair loss affects the hair directly above your eyebrows. These hair follicles are often highly sensitive to dihydrotestosterone (DHT): a male sex hormone that causes the hair follicles to shrink and stop producing hair.
In fact, while pattern baldness is progressive, most hair loss related to male pattern baldness begins at the temples [1]. So it’s likely you’ll notice thinning here before it spreads across your scalp.
Yes, it’s possible to get a hair transplant just for your temples. This is usually requested in the early stages of hair loss, typically around Norwood stage 2.
These photos show two Wimpole Clinic patients with different degrees of temple hair loss before their temple hair transplants:
A temple hair transplant works the same way as other hair restoration procedures:
Temple hair loss can often be tackled with fewer grafts than a crown bald spot or mid-scalp thinning, so most patients choose the FUE or unshaven FUE (UFUE) technique.
FUE and UFUE hair transplant surgery leave less scarring in your donor area, and while these methods take longer than FUT, they have a shorter recovery time. So they’re more practical and less invasive for temple hair loss patients.
Temporal peaks are a natural part of your hairline which can also be affected by male pattern balding. Temporal peaks or points are areas of fine hair at the side of your head:
Good hair transplant surgeons should restore your temporal peaks in hair restoration surgery. While the hair here shouldn’t be overly dense, temporal peak restoration is important for framing your face and making your forehead appear smaller.
Anyone who’s eligible for a hair transplant can have a temple hair transplant procedure. However, there are some instances where a hair transplant might not be the best option:
If you haven’t yet lost much hair, you may be able to restore your temples with non-surgical treatments like Finasteride or Minoxidil. These should always be tried before you turn to temple hair transplant surgery. They should also be used in conjunction with a hair transplant to prevent ongoing hair loss and reduce the chances of needing a second hair transplant.
Overharvesting often reduces the number of grafts available in your donor area. So you might not have enough grafts to give you adequate temple coverage.
If you have a type of alopecia other than pattern baldness, a hair transplant may not be appropriate. So it’s best to get a hair loss diagnosis, especially if you’re a woman with female temple hair loss or you’re unsure what’s causing your hairline recession.
Your temples are super visible, so it’s important to find a hair transplant good clinic that can give you excellent results. Here are some of the before and after hair transplant results we’ve achieved for our temple hair transplant patients:
Procedure: FUEGrafts: 1,200Time: 8 months
Procedure: FUEGrafts: 700Time: 8 months
Procedure: FUEGrafts: 600Time: 8 months
Procedure: FUEGrafts: 500Time: 9 months
You generally need 500 – 1,500 grafts for a temple hair transplant. The actual number of grafts you need depends on how much hair you’ve lost.
According to our UK hair transplant cost research, the average cost of a temple hair transplant is £4,820. This is based on a Norwood stage 2 hair transplant and includes approximately 1,500 grafts.
For hairline transplants that require fewer grafts, you can expect to pay between £3,000 and £4,000 for your procedure.
The actual cost of your temple hair transplant will depend on several factors, including:
The amount of temple coverage you get from a hair transplant depends on your age, and the hair available in your donor area.
A thick, full hairline that completely fills the temples doesn’t always look natural, especially in older men. That’s why restored hairlines often retain slight recession, such as Elon Musk’s hair transplant:
Because temple hair loss is usually the first sign of pattern baldness, you can take action to stop it progressing further without resorting to surgery.
Here are some of the best non-surgical treatments for temple hair loss:
That said, many of these treatments are more effective at treating crown hair loss than temple hair loss [2]. So to get the most targeted, effective treatment for frontal balding, a temple hair transplant is your best bet.
Book a free consultation at the Wimpole Clinic to get a full hair loss assessment and a temple hair transplant quote for your hair loss, with prices starting at £3,499.
Our hair loss specialists will diagnose the cause of your hair loss and work with you to come up with a treatment plan to restore hair and prevent further hair loss. Take a look at our reviews page and gallery to get a better idea of the type of high-quality services we provide to our patients.
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