Understanding Hair
Valued member
While every aspect of hair restoration plays a key role, from donor harvesting to hair angles and density, arguably the most important aspect of hair restoration is the immediate hairline. The hairline frames the face, complements your facial bone structure, resulting in a more youthful appearance. This works naturally when the hairline blends with the facial features, becomes one and does not court attention or stand out. Regardless of the hairline being conservative or aggressive in design and position, there are natural parameters that must be followed to ensure this aesthetic balance is achieved. This requires both an artistic or aesthetic appreciation of facial structure and the surgical skills to create the hairline.
Hairline design and position is not simple, there are “cheats,” gadgets to help map key positions of a hairline, like join the dots, but that results in a one hairline fits all, rather than each hairline being slightly or quite different from the next, as we are individuals. Along with creating the natural progression of the immediate hairline to ensure even the strongest of hair characteristics appear soft and natural, fundamentally, not uniform, or man-made.
The process starts with understanding the face is not symmetrical, and neither is the hairline. This contradictory fact gives the face, and hairline it´s natural balance, the fact they are not symmetrical. While the difference in bone structure or temple recession maybe subtle, almost invisible to the eye, if they were not there the face would be aesthetically less pleasing, ironically, less naturally balanced, if each side perfectly mirrored the other. For instance, the worse hair transplant hairlines can look flat and symmetrical, as if a bowl has been placed on the forehead and drawn around.
Surgically the hair placement is vital, the hair angle, orientation, the density, the design, and the transition between single to multi-hair units all need to be perfect to create an undetectable natural looking hairline. The temple point angle is a tricky area, especially if the goal is to round off the temple, rather than taking it to a distinct point before the hairline transitions into the side lateral. As the hairline moves towards the temple the angle of hair placement needs to change, as does the orientation and placed hair density. If the changes are not made or the placement follows the same pattern around the temple it will look obviously artificial, even to the untrained eye.
Often, the hairline shape, and position are talking points between the doctor and patient, and can go either way, that the patient wants too aggressive or conservative or the height of the apex (central forelock) is too aligned with the angle, or lack of to the temple point. A good doctor will resist to design a hairline they know will not be suitable and guide and educate you to a more appropriate hairline design, which will continue to complement your features as you age. As a hair transplant will permanently fix the hairline in one position and not easily changed without leaving impairment to the skin. This is important, as is you being happy with the design, so make it a priority to discuss and agree before committing to having the hair transplant, it´s not something ideally that needs to be debated hurriedly on the day.
It´s not only surgical hair restoration that has issues creating a natural hairline, but scalp micropigmentation has also its own problems, with the design, height, and hardness of the hairline.
The biggest complement for a hairline is not to be noticed, or if noticed, simply commented on that you are lucky to have kept a good hairline. In other words, to seamlessly blend with the facial bone structure. The worst things a hairline can do is draw attention to itself, to move the focus of the eye to the hairline, be it because of the shape, height, or hair placement. The untrained eye may not understand why their eye is drawn to a hairline, simply they know it´s not right, not aesthetically natural looking.
Having to repair a poor hairline is invariably not simple, takes great surgical skill to do well, can often take multiple procedures to complete, and eats into the finite donor resource, as well as often having to sacrifice previously placed hairs that are damaged during the redesign. Do your best to get it right, research the quality of the doctor and clinic, and look at their hairlines with similar hair characteristics to yourself. Importantly have an open mind as to the design and position in relation to your age now and how it will stand the test of maintaining a natural, aesthetically pleasing look over the years.
Hairline design and position is not simple, there are “cheats,” gadgets to help map key positions of a hairline, like join the dots, but that results in a one hairline fits all, rather than each hairline being slightly or quite different from the next, as we are individuals. Along with creating the natural progression of the immediate hairline to ensure even the strongest of hair characteristics appear soft and natural, fundamentally, not uniform, or man-made.
The process starts with understanding the face is not symmetrical, and neither is the hairline. This contradictory fact gives the face, and hairline it´s natural balance, the fact they are not symmetrical. While the difference in bone structure or temple recession maybe subtle, almost invisible to the eye, if they were not there the face would be aesthetically less pleasing, ironically, less naturally balanced, if each side perfectly mirrored the other. For instance, the worse hair transplant hairlines can look flat and symmetrical, as if a bowl has been placed on the forehead and drawn around.
Surgically the hair placement is vital, the hair angle, orientation, the density, the design, and the transition between single to multi-hair units all need to be perfect to create an undetectable natural looking hairline. The temple point angle is a tricky area, especially if the goal is to round off the temple, rather than taking it to a distinct point before the hairline transitions into the side lateral. As the hairline moves towards the temple the angle of hair placement needs to change, as does the orientation and placed hair density. If the changes are not made or the placement follows the same pattern around the temple it will look obviously artificial, even to the untrained eye.
Often, the hairline shape, and position are talking points between the doctor and patient, and can go either way, that the patient wants too aggressive or conservative or the height of the apex (central forelock) is too aligned with the angle, or lack of to the temple point. A good doctor will resist to design a hairline they know will not be suitable and guide and educate you to a more appropriate hairline design, which will continue to complement your features as you age. As a hair transplant will permanently fix the hairline in one position and not easily changed without leaving impairment to the skin. This is important, as is you being happy with the design, so make it a priority to discuss and agree before committing to having the hair transplant, it´s not something ideally that needs to be debated hurriedly on the day.
It´s not only surgical hair restoration that has issues creating a natural hairline, but scalp micropigmentation has also its own problems, with the design, height, and hardness of the hairline.
The biggest complement for a hairline is not to be noticed, or if noticed, simply commented on that you are lucky to have kept a good hairline. In other words, to seamlessly blend with the facial bone structure. The worst things a hairline can do is draw attention to itself, to move the focus of the eye to the hairline, be it because of the shape, height, or hair placement. The untrained eye may not understand why their eye is drawn to a hairline, simply they know it´s not right, not aesthetically natural looking.
Having to repair a poor hairline is invariably not simple, takes great surgical skill to do well, can often take multiple procedures to complete, and eats into the finite donor resource, as well as often having to sacrifice previously placed hairs that are damaged during the redesign. Do your best to get it right, research the quality of the doctor and clinic, and look at their hairlines with similar hair characteristics to yourself. Importantly have an open mind as to the design and position in relation to your age now and how it will stand the test of maintaining a natural, aesthetically pleasing look over the years.
