Hairline lowering (advancement)

[lou-anne]

Hi,

i'm a 25 year old woman from Germany and I had a few questiona about a surgical hairline lowering procedure.
First of all I would like to know how much it would cost to have a hairline advancement (I'd like to lower my hairline about 1,5 and max. 2 cm),
that being a one stage procedure. I can't find any pricelists online.
I am from Germany so what would be the best way to go about the procedure in terms of how long not to fly etc.
I've also read that you will be 'hospitalized' for one day, is that true?
Also, what type of sutures are used, so would I have to come back to have them removed? And how long does the procedure generally take?
Also I would like to know if anyone on this forum has had this procedure and how it went.

A lot of questions i know, but you can never be prepared enough right!

[CIT_Girl]

For hairline advancement, you will probably need to actually call around to clinics to get specific pricing information. It is an outpatient procedure and will not require hospitalization; the procedure is performed under intravenous sedation and local anesthesia. You should be able to return home one or two days after surgery and sutures will be removed after 4-7 days (I imagine you could have a local physician back home remove them for you if necessary). There are a couple of drawbacks to this procedure, namely scarring along the hairline, though this will likely be hidden as hair grows and the wound matures. You also might experience some distortion in hair growth angles following a hairline advancement procedure.

Another option to achieve a lower hairline would be grafting, or hair transplantation.

Hope this information helps- let me know if you have any additional questions.

[lou-anne]

Hi,
thanks for answering my questions.
I did want to do a hairtransplantation at first, and I researched it and diffrent clinics for about a year and a half when the last clinic I was going to for a consult told me that I wasn't a fit patient as I have a very high density of my own and they wouldn't be able to reconstruct such a high density.
So there would be a visible diffrence in density in the new hairline and my original.
So basically a hairline advancement is my only option left, and I now prefer it over the ht due to the quick recovery. And yes, the scar is a downside but everything has a down side and I feel like I should just take a risk on this one as my huge forehead is really bothering me.
But to come back to the point, I did have some other questions.
First of all will a bit of the hairline be shaved? (I think I read that somewhere) and if so how much?
Also, how long will it take before you can exercise again? And how long before you can properly wash and comb your hair? (I got curls and a lot of hair so when I comb it's really like pulling very hard on my hair, despite using a lot of conditioner)

[RobinSigismondi]

As someone who has worked with both hair restoration physicians and facial plastic surgeons, I have seen the question of hairline lowering come up frequently.

Dr. McAndrews would consider hair transplants for you as long as you understand that in order to achieve a satisfactory density, it would take at least 2 sessions of hair restoration a minimum of 9 months apart. Each session will take 9 - 12 months to fully grow in. Most patients, like you, want a more immediate result and are not willing to endure the thin look until the 2nd procedure fully grows in.

One thing you could consider is a combination of procedures. The best plastic surgeons use a trichophytic closure. This is a special type of incision/closure that allows hair to grow through the incision to cover it. This does help to conceal the scar, however many women still want to keep their natural soft hairline. Hair transplants are often used to soften the hairline after a lowering procedure. Just something to consider....

[lou-anne]

I'm really questioning whether I would get the right density with a ht. I had my mind set for a ht for allmost 2 years, and I have to admit, that even then I was wonderen how to cover the whole thing up. I don't see how I could do that for let's say 2 years (that being having 2 sessions and waiting for the hairs to grow).
But like you said, having a combination of the procedures could be better. So I intend to have the hairline lowering procedure and later, I will asses my hairline and scar, if the scar is still too visible even after maturing a little I plan to have a minor ht to plant some grafts in my scar/hairline.

It is also hard to really see what the scar will be like. Just going by pictures isn't ever ideal. But as I said I have to fly in so I don't really have much of a choice. The problem is that I have yet to see a picture of a hairline lowering procedure, that is a good close-up with the hairs combed back. All I see are pictures from a distance with hairs combed over the scar.
So with that one, if anyone has close-up pictures, please post them!

Thanks in advance!!

[CIT_Girl]

Lou-Anne,

I wish I could be more help but Dr. Cole doesn't do these procedures so my knowledge of them is quite limited. My understanding is that the scar will be virtually undetectable and, if it is something that bothers you, you can have some additional hair transplanted there to soften the look later on (as you and RobinSigismondi mentioned). Best wishes with the rest of your research and your eventual procedure!

By the way, you might want to try posting a similar topic in one of these female-oriented threads and see if you get some more responses:

Female Hair Transplantation: http://www.baldtruthtalk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=14

Female Hair Loss: http://www.baldtruthtalk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=27

[Winston]

I would think that if your current hairline is very thick, having a hair transplant to lower you hairline, might not work out too well. Even if the surgeon can recreate 50% of your original density it might look thin compared to your original hairline. Do you have any images you can post to show us where your current hairline is? It might not be as high as you think. Unless your hairline is abnormally high, it seems like you are taking a bit of a chance having surgery to correct something that might not need to be corrected.
Just my 2 cents.

[lou-anne]

Originally Posted by Winston

I would think that if your current hairline is very thick, having a hair transplant to lower you hairline, might not work out too well. Even if the surgeon can recreate 50% of your original density it might look thin compared to your original hairline. Do you have any images you can post to show us where your current hairline is? It might not be as high as you think. Unless your hairline is abnormally high, it seems like you are taking a bit of a chance having surgery to correct something that might not need to be corrected.
Just my 2 cents.

Hi,
What you said about the density is exactly what they told me on my last consult so that's why I now am considering a hairline advancement.
My hairline is about 8cm above my eyebrows, and I have an M-shaped hairline. I want to keep my M-shape, and I don't need a tiny forehead which wouldn't suit me anyway. But the combination of that really makes it big and masculine. And it sucks when your forehead is the first thing people notice about you.
And I feel like everyone on this forum is taking a chance, no matter what procedure you take. And there doesn't pass a day without me stressing about my forehead, and having to face the pictures is even worse.
There is a whole history behind my desicion as I think is with most of the people on this forum (if not all).
Trust me I'm not someone who needs to be picture perfect. But this has affected me for over 10 years now, and I want to be able to wake up one day and not have to worry about it!
I want to do this so I don't have to look at my forehead everyday, not so I can look at it and think how pretty it is.
But thanks for your comment and I definitely understand your point as I (eventhough I don't know their history) have seen a lot of pictures of women who did the procedure who in my opinion really didn't need it. And when i say really, i mean really.
But like I said, everything has a history.

[hairplease]

I jUST had a consult with Dr. Kabaker on this procedure. I am a 30 yr old african american woman suffering from traction alopecia and a high hairline. I intially went to Dr, Kabaker for a hair transplant consult. I recently saw a top hairplant surgeon prior to seeing Dr, Kabaker that explained the risk of hair transplants with my hair texture. (Afro kinky hair). Gr. Baker agreed. Dr. kabaker showed me pics of his clients with this procedure done and the results were amazing and half the cost of transplants! I am now leaning more towards this procedure as the risk of having a succusful transplant with my texture are too much of a gamble for me. Not too mention the time for the grafts to grow. The Dr also mentioned a possible combination procedure for grafts for more fullness if desired. I have big forhead and a scar that has always bothered me so i feel i am geting three procedured in one!

[Winston]

A hairline lowering procedure is kind of like a reverse brow lift so I’m assuming their can be complications if not done properly. I have read that Dr. Kabaker specializes in this procedure so you should do well if you choose to do it. Did he discuss the possibility of keloid scaring since you are genetically a little more prone being of African decent?
You should post some pictures here so some of the experts can give you some more opinions.