Can I Get A Hair Transplant After A Frontal Hairline Advancement Forehead Reduction?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am interested in forehead reduction by hairline advancement. Would I be able to get a hair transplant in the future sometime after the surgery if my forehead is not lowered enough? 

A: My concerns remain, as probably stated previously, that in a thin Caucasian female the scalp is usually quite tight with limited ability to stretch. When this is combined with a high M-shaped hairline, the concerns about how much movement will be obtained is magnified by how well the scar will turn out.

You will probably improve the M-shape but how much forward movement you will get is probably limited to 10mms or less.

This is why the ideal approach for a high hairline like yours is best treated by a first stage scalp expansion which helps overcome the previously described limitations.

But regardless of the outcome, hair transplantation can always be done secondarily. Although using hair transplants to lower a frontal hairline is frequently met with disappointing results due to inadequate density. It is better used for scar camouflage and/or filling in the recessed temporal regions.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana