Your hairline is one of the first things people see when they look at you. It can change significantly as you get older — research suggests 83% of women have a widow’s peak by the age of 40 [1], and 58% of men aged 30-50 have a receding hairline, often with more extensive hair loss [2].
A high or uneven hairline can have a big impact on your self-confidence, and if you don’t like the way your hair looks, you may wonder if it’s possible to regain the hairline of your youth. That’s where hairline correction surgery comes in. In this article, we’ll explore:
Hairline correction surgery is a procedure to correct a high or uneven hairline. There are two main types of hairline correction surgery — a hair transplant and forehead reduction surgery.
Both of these come with their pros and cons. A hair transplant is less invasive, and you can have multiple procedures if you have further hair loss in the future. However, there is a growing-out phase of hair, which takes around a year, so you won’t get immediate results.
Forehead reduction surgery is more invasive and leaves a scar along your hairline, but it provides a near-instant fix. The scar can be concealed when your hair grows, and there’s no wait to see the final results.
A hair transplant can look completely natural when performed by a skilled surgeon. However, forehead reduction will leave a visible scar unless combined with a hair transplant or concealed by cutting hair into a shape that conceals it. Here are examples of the results you can expect from the two different types of surgery:
Hairline correction surgery is not recommended for a low hairline, which can often be fixed by laser hair removal of unwanted hairs.
Hair transplants and forehead reduction surgery work in very different ways. Let’s look at the differences between the two here.
A hair transplant involves moving healthy hair follicles from areas of hair growth to areas of hair loss. This often means moving hair from the back or sides of the head to the top and frontal areas.
There are two main types of hair transplant: follicular unit extraction (FUE) and follicular unit transplantation (FUT). FUE involves harvesting individual follicular units with a micro-punch tool. FUT involves taking a strip of skin from the donor area containing hair follicles, which can be harvested and transplanted.
Both procedures are minimally invasive, but FUT leaves a strip scar at the back of the scalp, which may be visible if you cut your hair very short. Scarring from FUE is often impossible to see, even with very short hair. Here’s some more info about the differences between FUE and FUT.
Rather than adding hair to your hairline, forehead reduction surgery is the process of surgically removing skin from your forehead. This shortens the distance between your hairline and eyebrows, physically lowering your hairline.
In many cases, this procedure is combined with a hairline transplant to make the new hairline look more natural. It’s possible to lower a high hairline by an average of 2.1cm, but it may be possible to lower it by as much as 5.5cm in certain exceptional cases [3].
Hair transplants and forehead reduction surgery are suitable for different groups of people. A hair doctor can advise you on which procedure may be your best option.
You may be a good candidate for a hair transplant if you:
You may be a good candidate for forehead reduction surgery if you:
Hair transplants tend to have a smoother initial recovery than forehead transplants, but the impact of forehead reduction surgery will be obvious sooner. You will also have substantial scarring for a few weeks following forehead reduction surgery, whereas a hair transplant is less noticeable.
For both types of hairline correction surgery, final healing and results take around one year. Here are some key differences regarding recovery between the two procedures.
Surgery isn’t always the answer — many surgeons recommend trying non-surgical treatments before considering a hair transplant or forehead reduction surgery. In some cases, non-surgical treatments are used alongside surgery to achieve the best outcome possible. These include:
If you’d like expert help with a high or uneven hairline, look no further than the Wimpole Clinic. We work with expert trichologists and some of the best hair transplant surgeons in the UK.
Our hair doctors can identify why your hair is falling out using diagnostic trichology tests, such as blood tests for hair loss or a hair pull test. Once you have a diagnosis, they will present you with a range of suitable treatment options.
If you’re a candidate for a natural-looking hair transplant, you’ll benefit from our surgeons’ years of expertise. Consultants can create such natural results that it’s possible to get a hair transplant without anyone knowing.
Ready to start your hair restoration journey? Book a consultation at your nearest clinic location today.
The average UK hair transplant costs £4820. On the other hand, forehead reduction surgery in the UK usually costs between £5000 to £8000. See our cost analysis below for more details on the price of a hair transplant in the UK.
A hair transplant is a minimally invasive procedure, and while the initial days following the transplant may be uncomfortable, you shouldn’t experience any severe pain. Your surgeon will generally use local anaesthesia during the procedure to numb any discomfort.
Forehead reduction surgery is a more invasive procedure, and you may experience more pain in the weeks following surgery. Your surgeon may use local or general anaesthesia during the procedure, so you shouldn’t be in pain while the surgery is happening.
Hair transplant risks are generally low [9]. In general, the procedure does not come with any serious hair transplant side effects when performed by an experienced surgeon at a reputable clinic. At the Wimpole Clinic, success rates for a hair transplant range from 97% to 100%.
The UK is considered a better option for hair transplants if you are a UK resident. While there are undoubtedly some high-quality Turkish clinics, it could be harder to identify these online from the UK.
Turkey also has a problem with black market hair transplant clinics. So while Turkish hair transplants can be cheaper, cheaper is not always better. Any hair transplant performed on the black market comes with significantly higher risks, and is rarely worth the cost [13].
Furthermore, arranging follow-up visits to Turkey may add to the overall cost, and the costs may increase very significantly if there are post-surgery complications.
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