Hairline Lowering Surgery

Your hairline is the lowest point at which hair grows on your scalp, and for some, it can be a source of anxiety. The gap between the hairline and the eyes is a key part of the face, framing other features and often causing disharmony when out of proportion. Hairline lowering surgery seeks to resolve problems related to a lack of facial harmony. It does so by reducing the height of the brow, often by one to two centimetres. That way, lost hair can be compensated for, and facial proportions can be radically changed. What it doesn't do is provide a solution for hair loss. In that case, if the hairline was lowered, scarring would become visible as soon as the hairline started to recede - with adverse aesthetic results. If you are looking for a permanent way to restore hair growth, an FUE Hair Transplant might be what you are looking for. Get in touch with Qunomedical for more information!

How Does Hairline Lowering Surgery Work?

Hairline lowering is a surgical procedure, meaning that it requires incisions and some degree of invasive work by cosmetic experts. Procedures vary a little, but a typical lowering surgery has a few common steps.

1. Initial Consultation With a Cosmetic Specialist

The first stage in any facial cosmetic surgery is a meeting with a surgeon to discuss your options. Forehead lowering is one option among many for dealing with hairline issues, and it may not even be necessary to undergo surgery. Your surgeon will discuss options like brow lifts and contouring, and they will explain how the hairline lowering process works. They may also be able to provide computer-enhanced images of your appearance after the operation, giving valuable insight into the possibilities. You will then be booked in for surgery and given a plan for preparation. This needs to be followed, as you'll be given a general anaesthetic, which can interact adversely with some medications and substances like alcohol.

2. Anaesthetic and Incisions

When you enter surgery, the first step will be to administer a general anaesthetic. After that, your surgeon will make an incision across your hairline, usually from ear to ear. This requires extreme care as the incision scar will potentially be visible, but skilled surgeons know exactly how to minimise any visible scarring.

3. Hairline Manipulation

When the incision has been made, your surgeon will be able to physically move the hairline downwards before applying surgical sutures to fix it in a new position.

4. Follicle Transplantation

Next, hair follicles will be removed from elsewhere on the scalp - generally from the back of the head. These follicles are then transplanted onto the new hairline so that they can grow over any incision scarring.

5. Dressing and Discharge

When transplantation has been completed, a dressing will be applied to protect the sutures, and a bandage may be added as well. This is usually removed the next day, but dressings will be required for at least a week after surgery.

Are There Different Types of Hairline Lowering Surgery?

The process above is the most common form of hairline surgery and is often referred to as "surgical hairline advancement." In older versions of the procedure, skin was simply stitched into place, lowering the brow by around 2cm. More advanced procedures use degradable scalp inserts which connect skin together, resulting in much less visible scarring. Alternatively, you might want to investigate hairline grafting. In this procedure, the skin isn't physically lowered. Instead, surgeons will take hair from other parts of the head and implant it on the hairline, which has similar results to lowering procedures. This is much less invasive but also has less permanent and reliable results. Additionally, many patients undergoing forehead lowering choose to add other procedures in order to maximise the aesthetic benefits. So, you might add a brow lift to enhance the appearance of your eyes while also lowering your hairline. This is often the best route to rapid aesthetic improvements.

What Should I Expect?

When you undergo hairline lowering surgery, expect impressive, permanent results which correspond very closely to the predictions of your cosmetic surgeon. In most instances, hairlines can be altered significantly, reducing the height of the brow by 1-2 cm, which can have a huge impact on the overall appearance of an individual. Self esteem boosts are a common side effect. In the short term, expect some discomfort (and symptoms like nausea resulting from the general anaesthetic). Swelling and numbness around the incision point is very common and not something to be worried about. Your stitches should be removed around one week after surgery, and you can generally resume most of your everyday activities. Full healing takes time, as with all cosmetic surgery. The tissues in your brow and scalp need to adjust to the position of your hairline, and residual bruising may take a month or two to reduce. In the long term, scarring will remain, but it should be effectively concealed by the new hairline and the skill of your surgeon.