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This was the best outcome possible for this procedure, drastically exceeded my expectations. Upon arrival I was extremely anxious about my surgery however the team at Martinick Hair restoration made me feel so comfortable and confident, constantly reassuring me that everything was alright and telling me how much I will love it (which I do!!). I had numerous conversations with Paul over the phone preparing me intensively about the procedure and reassuring me how good of hands I am in! Dr Jennifer Martinick was so easy to talk to and personable, i especially loved how she takes into consideration your facial harmony and proportions when doing the hairline lowering. She measured me for my “perfect proportions” however upon reviewing them we both thought my head would be too small so a simple fix was made, 3mm up and there was my perfect forehead. It’s simple things like this that really show she had an eye for the craft she does & really listens to her patient & wants the absolute best for them. Can’t thank her and her lovely team (Mai Fifi and Culoinbe) Enough for all the kindness, support and genuine compassion they gave me. So grateful I chose Dr Jennifer Martinick for this procedure. 10/10 couldn’t recommend enough! Updated on 8 Feb 2024: Almost 3 weeks post op and my hair is already growing through my scar, as well as my scar is barely visible. I do not regret getting this surgery one bit, all thanks to Dr Jennifer!! I’m currently using minoxidil on my scar like to grow my baby hairs as well as a bepantham scar cream to heal my skin.
Super happy I've done this surgery! Dr martinick and dr kotai are incredible !! Highly recommend!!! They've brought my hairline about 1.5-2 cm forward. Photos before and immediately after. I had my surgery on the 6/04/22
After months and months and months of having my surgery cancelled and rescheduled I was soo thankful to finally have it done on March 12th 2021 in Sydney. I am so thankful for Dr Martinick, Dr Kotai and Teri for their wonderful bedside manner, kindness and friendliness. I have been wanting to get this done for many years and due to border restrictions I was constantly pushed back but wow am I so glad and so happy already with the results! I can already see how amazing the results are going to be and the hard and amazing work they did. Couldn’t recommend them more!!!!! Updated on 16 Mar 2021: Day 0. After light sedation I was worried I would be quite tired and nauseous as I tend to get nauseous under anesthetic but I was completely fine. I remember maybe 30% of my surgery as I had a good sleep due to not sleeping the night before. The worst part was the needle for the sedation (I hate needles!!) but other then that it felt like half an hour and it was actually 2 hours! Got slowly woken up and showed my results (immediate pictures) and I was super pleased. Dr Martinick, Dr Kotai and Teri worked really hard to ensure it was even, I ended up getting 2cm off and 2.5 on my side where it is higher. I walked over to the other room and was given the option for some chocolate and protein bars with my lunch which was delicious. Had my Apple juice with my first painkiller and had the big head net which made me look like a Telly tubby on. This was a bit uncomfortable (see picture) but I tied a big headscarf around and put my hood on. I had my mum with me and we walked back to the hotel (1.5km) which I was shocked I was fine to do but I felt great after!! I then propped myself up with cushions and had a bit of a nap before ordering food later. Overall no pain on this day and slept like a baby! Day 1. Woke up not in much pain, I slept with a neck pillow too (highly recommend doing this) we walked back to the clinic to get the head stocking replaced to a head band! Felt absolutely fine, in the morning prior I even went shopping and tried on some new shoes to give you and idea of how easy this procedure really is on my body. Put a scarf on over the headband and went to the airport to fly home. I took only 1 of my three painkillers this day as I was feeling fine! Day 2. Slept with neck pillow again and big European pillows propping me up, overall fine day, just stayed in bed and resting taking the occasional nap. Head band and bandage were annoying me but was able to shower with shower cap! Day 3. Slept with neck pillow (going to do this for probably a week!) Had my mum assist me to remove head band and head bandage, head still quite swollen and bruised but super happy with my results. Started with washing of detol and aqueous cream but no pain just tightness! Day 4. Slept with neck pillow. Feeling some tightness in my head, working from home so am doing half days but feeling pretty good just more tired than usual. No pain medication needed, applying aqueous cream but can see the scabbing process is starting to begin. Let me know if you have any questions or want photos of anything specific :) Updated on 26 Mar 2021: Last week has been super super easy. Bruising has eased completely and I have been out and about not feeling self conscious about the scar that has evolved. Stitch removal was on Monday and I felt absolutely nothing, it was a very easy process (I had it done by a family member who is a nurse.) other than that I have been back to work properly, even attending meetings where no one has noticed!! Once again, if you have any questions please ask. It’s been such an easy recovery, I’ve felt relatively fine to go out in public with my hair down you can only see the peak of my head, which is a bit red but not noticeable at all. My friends who have known have been absolutely amazed at how amazing it looks! I’m so thankful to Dr Martinick, Dr Kotai and Teri! Updated on 9 Apr 2021: Last two weeks have been quite easy, I’ve often not remembered getting it done until I see myself in the mirror. I’ve not been wearing headbands and have been back to the gym and playing sport as I normally would. No one has said anything or really noticed as it’s only slightly red at the peak and I wear my hair up to cover it around the sides as well. Rolling with the bepanthen scar cream has started today, I noticed the redness full down immediately the first two times (it says to do this two times day.) shockloss wise I’ve had none, only noticed missing baby hairs as the suture line had to be slightly shaved. Now the baby hairs are sprouting!! Feeling in my head is nearly back to normal, I have noticed some extra dryness on the first part of my scalp, it’s more difficult to wash hair without the feeling. Scar line is tender when I accidentally tap my head or even doing skin care around it. But other than that back to normal life and feeling great, super super happy with the results :) Updated on 13 May 2021: Here is an update for my hairline lowering. Same thing as previously, I’m finding it difficult to wash my hair and scrub my scalp due to the numbness in some area so my scalp is a bit dryer than normal. Other than that have only had one person ask what happened and you can see a slight red line, I’ve not bothered to put make up on it every day as that’s a lot of effort for me and I don’t think it is so noticeable. As you can see the baby hair is well and truly there, just waiting for more growth but it is nearly back to the length of pre surgery. Super super happy still Updated on 7 Jul 2022: Haven’t posted any updates in a while as I’ve had nothing to really add, scar is basically invisible due to having such thick hair that has grown very quickly around it and even in the scar itself. I really have to pull my hair right back to see the scar. As you can see in pic 4 it isn’t visible with out pulling my hair right back. If you have a lot of of hair or thick hair you should have no concerns about the scar being visible, I covered it up for maybe 2 weeks after getting the stitches out. The best decision I made was to get this procedure done! Updated on 12 Jul 2022: Here are some up close pictures of the scar after 16 months, it is really just the tail end of the scar that is most noticeable, aside from that it is concealed by my hair. As I am more pale too it is very concealed within my scalp.
Dr Martinick was helpful and knowledgeable. She was realistic about what I could achieve and talked to me about my concerns with understanding. I would highly recommend her for the female Forehead Lowering procedure.
Hi guys I've been meaning to post a review for ages now but never got the chance to do it until now. Towards the end of 2016 I finally got the courage to do something about my high hairline and booked a consultation with a company in Brisbane to have hair transplants placed around my hairline to bring my hairline down. Looking back at this now I wish I had never done/wasted my money on it as I think my expectations were definitely higher then the outcomes that I was actually going to be left with. I had seen so many hair transplant reviews online and they all looked so "natural" but maybe it's because my hair is naturally fine and dark blonde that mine does not look natural at all. (I have attached photos of my current hairline after one session of hair transplants so you guys can see). My other complaint was that the company only seem to fill in one side of my receding hairline, who knows why.. but it only became really noticeable to me once I had fully recovered. The company I had the transplants with are a reputable company and they made me feel very safe and comfortable during the procedure so I don't want to say anything negative about them personally but I guess the procedure just wasn't right for me. Anyways so after I wasn't satisfied with the transplants I knew I needed to do something about it as I couldn't stand how unnatural it looked so I looked into other options and the only two I was left with was get more transplants to fill in the already sparse hairline I was left with or get a forehead reduction. Before getting my transplants I thought that the forehead reduction was only done overseas and I knew I would never be able to afford it but then when I found out they actually perform it in Australia I was devastated as I wish I had just done this first rather than having the transplants :( I found three surgeons who perform it, Dr Nettle in Sydney who is very expensive, Dr Marzola in Adelaide or Dr Martinick in Sydney. Both Martinick and Marzola were much more affordable and I decided to settle with Dr Martinick as she has been performing the procedure for over 20 years and Sydney is closer for me to travel. So I flew to Sydney to have my consultation with her daughter Dr Sara Kotai who was amazing and soo lovely and explained the whole procedure very well. I was also able to see heaps of photos from their past procedures and I was confident that I had made the right choice. My procedure date is for early March this year and I can't wait to have it done. I'm travelling to the states during June with my friends so I'm really hoping I'm fully recovered by then but I guess I'll have to wait and see. I also haven't told any of my friends/family that I'm having this done, nor did I tell them about my transplants so I'm hoping I'll be able to hide this procedure as well.. Sorry this review has gone on foreverrrrr but I hope there are some lovely ladies on here who can somewhat relate to my situation and if anyone has any tips that I should be doing/taking prior to my procedure I'd love to hear it. Feel free to ask me any questions as well. Thanks xx Updated on 3 Mar 2018: Hey beautiful people. So I finally had my forehead reduction surgery today with Dr Martinick. I started day my day by rushing to get up and eat breaky because I had woken up late and was told that I couldn't eat anything past 9am as I had to be fasted for the procedure (I finished eating breaky at 9:30 but I doubt it would've made a difference). Anyways so I then lounged around all morning and then caught the train into the city as I am staying at an Air BnB just outside of the city. When I got there I was greeted by a young lovely lady who was part of the Martinick team. She made me feel so welcomed! I then saw Dr Martinick and her daughter Sara who were just as welcoming and sweet, which made me feel much more relaxed. Shortly after this we began to draw the lines across my forehead and before I knew it, It was time for the procedure to begin! From what I was remember I was awake the whole time and felt a bit of pain once or twice but other then that it went very well (and so fast too!). Once it was finished I got changed out of the gown and popped an oversize jumper on which covered my head perfectly. I was also happy to know that I didn't have a drain in my head as on most other reviews I saw all the girls did have them, but not having one definitely made it easier for me to cover up my whole head. I then caught an uber home and about half way home I started to feel really light headed and nauseous.. once I got home I sat down quickly and started eating a muesli bar as I thought this would help seeing as I have eaten all day, but then I began to get some pains so I took 2/3 of the pain tablets I was told to have once I got home however 10 mins afterwards the nausea returned and I had a small vomit :( which no doubt brought up the pain tablets I had just taken. Lucky I still had one more to go which I was waiting to have once I had eaten more food. After taking this tablet and applying ice to my head I felt a bit better. Right now the pain is about 4-5/10, it's almost like a constant throbbing headache with a really tight feeling. Hopefully the ice will make it feel better but if not I was given a sleeping tablet to use later on and I'm sure that will knock me out so I can have a wonderful sleep. Anyways, sorry for the long post but I have uploaded some photos of what I look like right now and I'm going back to the clinic tomorrow for a follow up appointment so hopefully the bandage can come off and I'll upload more photos then xx Updated on 4 Mar 2018: So I had my follow up appt today and unfortunately I have to keep this bandage on my head for another three days but I've taken some sneaky photos of the scar and it looks a bit gross with the blood scabs but they should all wash off once I'm allowed to wash my hair in a few days Updated on 4 Mar 2018: So I wasn't supposed to remove the bandage til tomorrow but I'm flying home in the morning so I wanted to wash my hair tonight as I probably won't have time to do it in the morning. The dressing is also pretty big so I thought if I remove it tonight and put a fresh (smaller) one in the morning it will be less obvious at the airport. So I very gently washed my hair this afternoon because it felt awful!! But I didn't actually wash the incision as I thought I'd leave cleaning that til the morning. As you can tell by the photo I have quite a bit of bruising and swelling. I also have some really scabby parts and there's one fresh bit of blood in the middle of my hair part where it must've gotten stuck to the bandage and because my head is so numb I've accidentally ripped it off :( My head still feels superrrr tight, like I have a swimming cap on but it's not really painful. All I've been taking is panadol and nurofen and I might just stick to nurofen from now on to hopefully help with the swelling. I'm still icing it every now and again but I don't want to do it too much so the blood flow can be restored to my hairline. Updated on 6 Mar 2018: So today is day 4 post my procedure. I'm feeling better each day! I was quite tiered the first few days but yesterday I flew back home and I definitely feel better after a night in my own bed. I've also been gently washing my hair daily with baby shampoo however I haven't been putting it on my incision. Ive been using dettol soap on my incision that was given to me by my doctor. The swelling is going down slowly and the yellow bruising has subsided aswell. I have also managed to wash off some of the scabby parts but haven't gotten them all off because I want to be gentle. There is only one thing I'm slightly concerned about, there is one spot right in the middle of my hair part that seems to keep bleeding very slightly. And I'm not sure if it's getting infected but I reaaaallyyy hope it's not (knowing me I'm just being paranoid). But just incase I bought some betadine ointment and I've put some of that along my incision to keep it extra clean and if it continues to bleed I'll call my doctor and send her a photo so she can see what's going on. I forgot to take a photo before I put the betadine on so sorry if the photo looks weird with it all on but you can still see the progress of my healing. I'm planning on having my stitches out on day 7, so in a few more days. Updated on 7 Mar 2018: Today is just another day. I thought I'd upload some photos I was suppose to take yesterday but forgot to do it before I put the betadine on. Nothing's really changed since yesterday but from what I could see that one little spot in the middle hasn't bled anymore (thankgod!) but it's hard to tell cause the betadine could easily mask any sign of bleeding. I thought most of the bruising had gone but you can still see quite a lot of it in the photos where I've pulled my hair back. Just some points I thought I'd make too incase anyone was wondering: • I'm only taking "hair, skin and nails" vitamins. My surgeon didn't recommend I take any specific ones but I thought they'd be enough. • I haven't noticed any big hair loss currently, but I also haven't been brushing my hair as hard as what I usually do because I don't want to put tension on my incision. I do know that I'm definitely not out of the danger zone yet so I'll wait and see. • I'm no longer taking pain relief. I stopped taking nurofen/panadol on day 3. I do get pains every now and again but it's more just the tight feeling that's bothering me and hopefully it goes away slowly but surely. • The top of my head is soo numb!! Weirdest feeling ever, it feels like I have a swimming cap on or something but I know it's normal post procedure. I can't think of anything else to mention but if anyone has any questions feel free to ask me :) Updated on 10 Mar 2018: Hey guys so today I had my stitches removed. I was instructed to have them out yesterday (on day 7) however the GP I went to yesterday recommended that I keep them in for another 2-3 days. At first I went home and thought maybe having them in for another few days will help but then I remembered about the scarring!! So I went back to the GP today (which was a walk-in GP and you just see the first available doctor) and she sent me down to the nurse to get them removed. It took the poor nurse about 30mins to get all the stitches out because she was trying to be so careful as the sutures were so small. Unfortunately however she did have some trouble in one little section where I had a massive scab attached to it. While she was trying to get the stitch out that section, its like it was stuck and attached to something on the inside of the incision so I did start to bleed a little bit. She then managed to get the stitch out however by then a very small part of the incision had opened :( Because my head is still quite numb I didn't feel most of the stitches being pulled out but I definitely felt a little sting when she was trying to get the stuck one out. She clean the area and then tried to stick a steri strip over it however because it's right along the hairline it's impossible trying to stick one properly on so I told her not to worry and that I'd sort it out when I got home. At home I gave the entire incision a gentle clean myself and then I put a dressing called "Comfeel" over the whole scar. It's a really flexible dressing that promotes would healing and keeps incisions together. Now I'm just hoping my skin reattaches itself and I don't end up with a big thick scar there :( Updated on 10 Mar 2018: Sorry forgot to attach the photo without the dressing on it. Here it is Updated on 16 Mar 2018: Hi guys, so today I am 2 weeks post hairline lowering surgery. I'm slowly but surely recovering. I still get some pains every now and then, especially when I sneeze or laugh hard. I also have some slight pain where my incision was opened up during stitch removal. I've been super careful with it and have been putting bandaids over it everyday as I don't want to dislodge the scab. About two days ago I've started to put some argon oil all the way along my incision including the scab. As you can see from the photos I've got some little hairs growing through, more on one side than the other. I'm hoping some will grow through the scab round the front but I highly doubt it now :( I've measured my forehead and it's about 6cm. I was really hoping for 5.5cm but I guess it didn't quite make it. My original hairline was around 7.5cm but with the transplants I previously had it actually brought my hairline down to around 6cm. So I think during surgery they've pretty much only just removed the transplants and that's it, which I'm happy about as the transplants looked terrible. But because I already had hairs there my forehead doesn't really look any different than before in length. I'm still very early in my recovery and I've got a check up in about 6 months time but I will definitely look into having this done again to remove 1 more cm from my forehead. 5cm forehead is my dream!! however I will have to seriously think about the risks involved after already have one transplant and one hairline lowering done.. So far I haven't had any serious hair loss. I've definitely had some slight shedding around the incision and I still get my daily overall hair shedding after brushing/washing my hair. Fingers crossed I continue to heal well and scarring/hair loss is kept to a minimum :) Updated on 24 Mar 2018: I wasn't originally going to do a review this week but I've seemed to develop some sort of vertical indentation/depression from the middle of my hairline down to my right eyebrow. Definitely wasn't there a few weeks ago or before surgery. I spoke to my surgeon who said not to worry and that it's probably due to the way I slept the night before, however that was well over a week ago and it's still there. Has anyone else experience this? If so please DM me, it's making me look aged/angry looking and it's super obvious in some lights and I just want to get rid of it! Thanks :) The rest of my incision is doing well. My scab has finally gone and hair is slowly beginning to grow through that side. On the other side I have heaps of little hair! Updated on 1 Apr 2018: Just a quick 1 month post op review. Not much has really changed. Still getting lots of growth through the scar on one side, not much on the other :( Don't really have any pain whatsoever, pain definitely subsided within the first two weeks. I'm covering my scar with makeup when I go to work, it's somewhat noticeable but no one has pointed it out or said anything about it. It kinda just looks like I've had some hairline shedding/thinning. I still have these random indents/depression on my forehead, which is a shame because it's really obvious under some lights. I've spoken with my surgeon who says it's definitely not related to the surgery, but I 100% did not have it before surgery, I actually had a really nice, smooth forehead :( I'm looking into having a consultation with a cosmetic nurse/doctor so they can have a good look at my forehead and potentially get it filled in with filler. Definitely didn't think at my age I would be getting filler in my face, but the dents are really bothering me every time I look in the mirror or catch my reflection in a window. Updated on 25 Apr 2018: So it's been about two months since I had my hairline surgery. Recovery hasn't been easy, but was definitely tolerable. The biggest thing I was scared about was hair loss and luckily I didn't have any significant hair loss. I had some light shedding around the scar and maybe some increased overall shedding (like when you brush your hair after washing it) but other than that I didn't really notice any difference. About 3 weeks after surgery I noticed random dents just above my eyebrows in the middle of my forehead which haven't gone away and unfortunately I think they're here to stay.. but im looking into getting filler to fill them in and hopefully that improves them. Once I went back to work I started putting makeup on my scar to cover it up and after about week 5/6 I started to notice a part of my scar right in the middle of my hairline looked a bit off and I definitely put it down to putting makeup on it. I then started to put a small bandage over it and one day when I took the bandage off some of the new skin came off with the bandage :( which was unfortunately another set back in my recovery.. However after keeping it clean and gently cleansing it each day it's definitely gotten better. I've got a lot of the feeling in my scalp back which is great! It's still numb right on top of my scalp, but everywhere else has significantly improved. I have heaps of little hairs continuing to grow on one side of my hairline, but still none in the middle and to the left of my hairline where my incision was opened up during stitch removal. It definitely hasn't been as easy as I thought it would be to cover up my scar, however life would've been a lot easier if I had cut a front fringe into my hair! If I could've done this over I definitely would've gotten a front fringe and not put any makeup on my scar until it was fully healed. I also would've asked for my hairline to be taken down as much as possible because I really wish I had gone lower. I'll wait to see how I heel over the next few months, have my 6 months review and see what my options are to possibly having this done again. If anyone has any questions please feel free to DM me :) Updated on 14 May 2018: Just a quick review. The colour of the scar is definitely getting better! It's more red some days and when I exercise but I'm happier it's becoming less noticeable. Still putting makeup on it everyday and definitely not wearing my hair back yet, but hopefully it continues to heal well with no other little complications :) Updated on 14 May 2018: Whoops forgot to add photos to the previous post. Here they are Updated on 30 May 2018: For those of you who have been asking about what my hair looks like styled, here are some photos of my hair down and tied up in a pony tail. I have no issue with how my hair looks when it's styled down as my receding sides don't show and my hairline looks a good length. However as soon as I pull my hair back my receding sides show so much and make my forehead size look much bigger!! If I didn't have the receding sides I wouldn't mind the length of my forehead now as it would make my face appear slimmer, however my forehead is quite square and wide looking (I've always had receding sides but since the surgery my hair appears more thin on the sides making the recedingness more prominent). The middle of my forehead where I had some troubled healing is still red and annoying to cover up but there are hairs starting to grow through it so fingers crossed the redness goes away soon. Updated on 30 May 2018: Sorry my hair down photo didn't post with the last review I just did. Here is the hair down photo. Updated on 11 Jun 2018: Scar is becoming less and less noticeable in all areas other then where my incision was pulled open during stitch removal and I'm still slightly red in the middle where I had some troubled healing. I'm still covering my scar everyday with makeup as it's still noticeable however if I didn't have the redness in the middle I wouldn't have to apply makeup. I have a little bit of extra thinning on one side of my hairline but my hairline has always been super thin there so it's nots surprising to me. I don't have any pain whatsoever, pain went away months ago but my head is still somewhat tight. I'm getting my hair done next week and I'm hoping the hairdresser won't notice the scar because it's always a bit awkward talking about the surgery because most people don't even know it exists! Updated on 14 Aug 2018: Hey everyone, I wasn’t originally going to do a review at 5 months because I was going to wait until it had been 6 months but I’ve had a few people message me wanting an update so here are the photos. The scar is now not pink at all, it’s white and looks like a normal scar. The scar is a lot more obvious than I thought but it can easily be covered with makeup. I’m not wearing my hair pulled up and back yet as I have heaps of little stray hairs at the front going threw so they look super weird if I try pull my hair back. The indentation in the middle of my forehead is gone, I ended up having to get Botox to smooth out my face and it’s helped a lot. If I press in that area though I can still feel a dent but at least it’s not obvious anymore. My sensation has come back a lot! There is still a small area right at the top of my scalp that is numb but I can feel everywhere else which is great! I have a 6 months review coming up at some stage and I can’t wait to discuss my treatment options for covering up my scar. Ideally I’d like to have a mini hairline lowering again to hide the big scar and then months later put transplants in and around my hairline. Or if I can’t do that I’ll just go ahead and put transplants in and around this scar, but only a very small amount because last time I had transplants they were soooo obvious and I do not want that again!! *i have taken heaps of photos with my hair pulled back and then with my hands pulling all the little hairs back so you can actually see the scar :)* Updated on 10 Feb 2019: Hey guys, last week I went back to the Dr who did my forehead surgery to have some scar revision on the section of scar that was accidentally teared open by a local GP nurse who was removing my stitches. My lovely Dr was able to revise the scar for me for free which was an absolute saver as I’m planning on getting some transplants to fill out my receding corners of my hairline and to further hide the rest of my scar. I have uploaded a photo of my stitches and will have them removed within the next few days. Not sure when it will be safe for me to get some transplants but will discuss that with my doctor over the next couple of months. Updated on 10 May 2019: Hi everyone so on the 6th of May I travelled back to Sydney to see Dr Martinick for a FUT to cover the hairline lowering procedure scar. I’m hoping this is the last thing I’ll ever have to do to my hairline as I have been adjusting it since late 2016 when I had my first transplant done (which was a total mess). I had about 600 grafts done this time and the incision was about 1cm wide by 8cm length (i think). I had twilight sedation and all up took about 5-6hours from start to finish. My first night was pretty easy. I was still numb and had moderate swelling but was fine to manage with the meds I was given. The next day felt like I had a tight headband around my head and felt virtually no pain from the incision at the back of my head. I spent most of the day chilling in my hotel room but went on an hour walk around Sydney cbd to keep myself moving. Day two was okay aswell. Most of my pain was coming from the recipient area but it wasn’t really a pain, more of a tight feeling. Around noon I flew back to Brisbane, which was fine as I just put a lose headband around my head. That night I didn’t sleep too well as the pain from the back of my incision kept me awake. But I took some panadol and that helped. Days 3-4 were pretty much the same. I was able to wash my hair gently and I felt that made a difference. The tightness from my head is about 50% gone but the pain from my incision is pretty intense, worse when trying to do house chores or any activity. Sleeping is also really hard, even with a neck pillow as the neck pillow rubs on the incision and I can’t sleep on my side because the transplants will rub, so I somehow manage to still use the neck pillow to elevate the back of my head but sleep on my side also so the transplants don’t rub on my actual pillow. I’m hoping this pain will start to ease over the next few days as I have to return to work on Tuesday. I’m planning on removing all the crusting on Monday that way I can put some makeup on on Tuesday. I was able to remove my crusting from my previous transplant with an old lice comb I found from when I was a kid, worked a treat! Updated on 10 May 2019: Was able to gently scrub of some of the scabbing today. Still getting pains from the incision on the back of my head but it’s definitely easing (thankgod). I haven’t taken any pain relief today. I have some yellow/purple bruising to the side of my head. Updated on 15 May 2019: Majority of scabs gone now :) Updated on 19 May 2019: I’m having heaps of transplanted hairs fall out in the shower, which is apparently normal because they shed then grow back a few months later. Last time I had a hair transplant I don’t think I lost many hairs at all so it’s definitely an adjustment. I’m due to get my stitches out tomorrow. To be honest I don’t really feel them in there so they don’t bother me, but I’m nervous to have them pulled out as last time the nurse from the GP accident ripped my scar open. Updated on 24 Jul 2019: So I’m about 11 weeks post my FUT. I still have some redness present at the site, I’m hoping some hairs will start to grow through too. I have about 40% of hairs that didn’t fall out which are growing but right now it’s looking super sparse (which I was expecting) so hopefully I’ll start to see some growth soon. I’ve had this done before so I know I have a long wait ahead of me but still hard waiting all this time Updated on 9 Aug 2019: I’m now just over the 3 month mark post FUT. I always knew this was going to be a long road waiting for these hairs to come through, but within the past couple of weeks I’ve noticed lots of little hairs sprouting through. One side of my head looks a lot thicker than the other. I don’t know if it’s cause of the way the hairs were placed and they all fall one way as they’re following my natural hair line so that area looks more dense. But I’m definitely still lacking some hair to my left temple peak. I’ve always been lacking hair that side but I will wait til the hairs have grown through more to decide whether I might need some more hair placed there or to just leave it alone. At this current time I’m using hair spray to help part the hairs and some foundation to cover some of the redness I still have. Updated on 24 Sep 2019: I’ve noticed quite a big difference since my last review. The hairs have definitely become more define and thickened up. Unfortunately the scar in the middle of my forehead is still quite pronounced but if it continues to bother me then I’d be pretty tempted to get a couple of transplants added to that area to further cover it. Updated on 18 Dec 2022: So it’s been nearly been nearly 5 years since I had a forehead reduction and 4 years since I had a transplant to try hide the scarring left by the reduction. In just over one months time I am planning on having another reduction by another doctor as i’m not happy with my results. Not only was I left with more than what I consider to be normal scarring from this procedure, but I was assured that the transplants I had done to conceal the scar would not be like the ones I had 6 years ago. But even 4 years on they’re so unnatural! They’re frizzy, kinky, growing in all sorts of directions and barely grow past about 10cm without breaking. I’m angry at myself that I agreed to have more done but I guess I was desperate to cover the scarring. I’ve attached photos of what my current hairline looks like. You can see how sparse and unnatural a lot of the hairs look! I’m definitely not looking forward to going through the whole process again but I know how much these transplants have negatively impacted my self confidence over the years and I can’t see myself ever getting used to them or having people staring at my hairline wondering what went wrong with it.. Updated on 27 Jan 2023: So today is day 1 post having a second and hopefully my last every hair lowering procedure. I chose to go have a revision done with Dr Mario Marzola at Norwood day surgery in Adelaide. They were absolutely fantastic yesterday and I can’t thank them enough for taking such good care of me. What did surprise me a little bit was they decided to do my surgery under GA instead of twilight but either way it still went smoothly, my throat today though still feels a little sore from the ventilator tubing. I had my bandages removed today and have been able to wash my hair. Pain is about 4/10, at most gets up to about 6/10 but is definitely tolerable, especially with the medication they have given me. Will post some photos of my new hairline to this update. I haven’t measured it yet but we agreed on around 5.5cm so hopefully when I get some tape to measure it will be around that! Updated on 30 Jan 2023: It’s been 4 days since I had the procedure done. I flew home yesterday from Adelaide and definitely feel better being back home. I was still regularly taking pain relief yesterday and from today onwards will only take the stronger pain relief at night to help me sleep. The bruising is settling in across my forehead but luckily it’s mostly yellow so it’s not too obvious. The swelling is finally going down too! Every time I looked in the mirror my head looked and felt like a big soccer ball it was so swollen each morning I’m continuing to use the antiseptic shampoo the clinic provided me and it’s helping to get rid of some of the left over blood scabs over the sutures. It’s mostly number over the sutures but there is one spot that’s more swollen and quite tender so will keep an eye on that area. I’m planning on getting the sutures out of day 7 at my local GP and will do another post then. Updated on 31 Jan 2023: So this morning after I washed my hair I was trying to remove some left over dried blood from my scalp and noticed this small bleeding spot behind my hairline. It didn’t bleed much but it worries me as it’s just above a tender part on my forehead where up until now I thought was just a tender and a bit red as it’s left over bruising but when I told my Doctor about it he was concerned for infection, which I did think in the back of my mind but really wanted to believe it couldn’t be. I finish my oral antibiotics this morning so surely that should be enough to cover for infection but I’m currently waiting to hear back from him again incase I need more time on the antibiotics which I’m all for as the last thing I’d want is an infection. Updated on 6 Feb 2023: So I had another review a few days ago with a local surgeon who works with Dr Marzola and he thought I had a very small infection occurring in that spot I previously posted about so I was started on more antibiotics which seems to have cleared up that spot. Today I had my sutures removed by that same doctor, was more painful than I expected in some areas but he got all the sutures out within less than 5 mins. He’s encouraged me to continue with the Bactroban for another few days then to stop it all together. So far I’m happy with my hairline and I hope it continues to heal well Updated on 10 Feb 2023: So I’m officially at 2 weeks post op. I still have numbness at the top of my crown but otherwise no pain. Haven’t taken any sort of pain relief for at least a week now. I have a few hairs sprouting through the incision, my only worry is that I can tell most of them are old hair transplants because the hairs are coming through in bunches and are thick and wispy, which is exactly how the transplants grew through. So I’m nervous to see how they grow out as the transplants looked so awful on me due to there texture of them but I guess I’ll just have to wait and see what happens and hope some of my normal hair comes through as well. Updated on 23 Feb 2023: So it’s been 1 month since I had the surgery done and time has flown by! I have a few hairs sprouting through the scar but as more grow the more I see that most of them are old transplants, which again is super annoying as they’ll likely grow out to be coarse and kinked so I’ll be tempted to cut them once they become more noticeable. I’m still covering my hairline everyday, especially now that more hairs are sprouting through because they look pretty weird. I’m also still applying strataderm once a day along the scar to hopefully improve its healing. The other day I developed a pimple looking thing along my hairline and after I washed my hair it started to bleed and I got super worried something was infected so I went back to washing that spot with antiseptic shampoo and putting Bactroban on it. I’m pretty sure it was an ingrown hair but it seems to be healing for now so I’ll keep a close eye on it. Hopefully the redness will start to go down, but from memories it took nearly 3 months last time, so still have a while to go. Updated on 24 Mar 2023: It has now been 2 months since I had my surgery. The scar is continuing to heal nicely. I did have two spots along the left side of the scar where I had ingrown hairs again. One of the spots healed quickly and the other one is still a little pink, it was also exactly in the same spot as my ingrown last month. The hairs are continuing to grow through but it feels like they’ve slowed down. As a lot of them are old transplants, the hairs are growing in all sorts of directions which make them hard to style but hopefully it will get easier. The top of my scalp remains pretty numb but I have no pain at all, just tightness when I sneeze. Updated on 19 Sep 2023: Hi guys, It’s been a while since I’ve done an update on here. But my scar has well and truly healed. It’s more obvious than I hoped it would be, particularly along one side where you can see white dots from the suture scars. I was encouraged to keep my sutures in longer but I think if I had gotten them out earlier my skin wouldn’t have been as scarred. I’ve also been left with a lot more transplanted hairs than I wanted to be. I think when I originally had the transplants done they must’ve extended the grafts well into my hairline (super annoying) because even though I had a chunk of my hairline removed they’re still growing! My scalp sensation has completely returned and my hair has filled back out again. I had lots of hairs begin to grow along my hairline around 4 months ago so I’m patiently waiting for these to grow out so I can wear my hair up without heaps of flyaway hairs sticking out. I haven’t had a follow up with my surgeon because they never reached out to me for one, which I thought was weird but I’m not going to go out of my way to contact them. Overall I am happier than I was after my first hairline surgery and hopefully with some more time the transplants will grow out to settle into my natural hairs more
I underwent HT Surgery by Dr Jennifer Martinick a few years ago and achieved great results in a short span of time. She is a wonderful person and a highly experienced surgeon in Australia. She helped me a lot before, during and after my procedure. I would definitely recommend her for my future procedures.
I’ve wanted this surgery for as long as I can remember! However in Australia it’s not a very popular surgery, so I struggled with finding a surgeon with good before an after after photos and that was under 20k. After a lot of digging I found Jennifer but she was in Perth. Willing to travel for the procedure I did a FaceTime consultation with her. The before and after photos she showed me did seem a bit old which put me off a bit but she was very confident with her knowledge of this procedure and has a lot of experience. Plus her price was significantly lower than plastic surgeons who do the procedure in sydney. About half what is plastic surgeon charges however she does not do the procedure under general. I was a bit worried about this but seeming it seems like a procedure with not a lot of risk I’m more comfortable with the idea now. Dr Martinick travels to Sydney to do the surgery from her daughters clinic (her daughter (Dr Sara Kotai) is also a doctor and assists her with the surgery). About a month after my FaceTime with Dr Martinick I had a consult with Dr Kotai in her clinic at double bay. The clinic is beautiful and Dr Kotai is really bubbly and nice. She felt my scalp laxity (which I had been consistently working on since told to by Dr Martinick) marked up my forehead with about an inch off. We talked about possibility of a hair transplant over the scar if I get shock loss which hopefully I don’t !! But it’s reassuring to know they can do that for me if I do. I am also hoping for an eyebrow lift to bring up the corners of my eyes, not completely foxy but to tighten up the corners of my eyelids :) My surgery is booked for tomorrow so I’m writing this review the night before lol! In terms of communication the clinic has not sent me any correspondence aside from payment invoices. They called me a lot regarding payment and even my last payment I called to tell them it’s been paid and they have not invoiced me yet. They also told me my post op instructions over the phone. I would have rather an email. Anyway my surgery is tomorrow so it will keep you all updated. Looking forward to meeting Dr Martinick tomorrow!! Nervous but excited :) will update soon! Updated on 6 Jun 2023: Apologies for my late update - I’ve been in a complete sleepy blur. The pain/anti inflammatory medication I was given gave me horrible heartburn since day 1 so I have been trying to manage that and not irritate my stomach even more by taking any other pain meds. So I’m recovering with no pain meds!! Which is ok today but it has been really rough the last 3 days. I’ve basically been sleeping all day and waking up with horrible heart burn to the point I would be in tears if my face could move lol! THE SURGERY: Dr Martinick has such a lovely personality, she made me feel really relaxed and took my forehead length very seriously - she measured my ideal shape to the exact millimetre! She was like an artist! I appreciate this so much because I felt nervous as hell to be honest!! As I was settling into the chair for surgery she made sure I was comfortable and was very positive and reassuring. The nurses were lovely too, one in particular I can’t remember her name but she kept telling me how amazing it’s going to look and when I woke up the first thing she said is it looks sooooo good!! Haha so I loved that. As soon as I had the IV I was feeling super relaxed and don’t remember anything - however not to freak anyone out but I did wake up towards the end!! and I could feel Dr Martinick stitching my forehead - no pain though!! So I made them aware I was awake and they offered for more sedation but tbh I was so excited I just laid there happily not feeling any pain listening to the magic happening lol! When I was feeling well enough to sit up I went to a different room where they had some cute snacks, I had a muesli bar and unfortunately this is also when I took the ‘non steroidal anti inflammatory’ pain medication and boyyyyy was that a mistake because I should have eaten a way fuller meal with it - hence why I have horrible heartburn since then - so that’s my only regret!! Aside from that the experience was lovely!! I can’t thank Dr Martinick and Dr Kotai for making my forehead dreams come true :) and all the lovely clinic staff !! <3!!! RECOVERY: I’ve been keeping my incision moist with saline solution provided by the clinic - day 3 I commenced silicone gel the clinic also provided onto the scar to keep it moist which I think is working really well. I had an eyebrow lift only on my right side as we decided the other side is ok. However now my eyelid on the right is so snatched I wish I did the other side!! Hard to tell with so much swelling though. I trust Dr Martinick’s judgement :) If I didn’t have such a horrible reaction to the pain meds I’m sure this whole experience would be much nicer so please don’t be discouraged with my complaints haha I’m very sensitive to any discomfort (princess life lol) I started walking 1km yesterday very gently and am going for a longer walk today - keeping my incision wrapped with many layers to prevent the elements getting to it :) My stitches are booked for removal on the 14th of June (a week away) so until then I’m going to keep on top of aftercare as I’m prone to keloid so I’m trying everything to not have that happen!! Also finally uploaded some photos :) I hope this review helps just one person! Seriously it feels so surreal that my biggest insecurity has been chopped off (literally lol) I can’t even recognise myself - I feel like when I look in the mirror I see my eyes now and not a huge blank space *tears of happiness* Will keep updating now I feel better :)
I have always wanted to do this procedure. After losing my hair from being on the pill and naturally having a protruding forehead, which is now prominent looking on the side since the hairloss, l have felt really self-conscious ever since. I always edit my photos to make it look smaller and l always have a parted fringe to cover it. After 2 years looking through these feeds online, l decided to finally do it. I am turning 28 this year so l thought, f*CK it. I am going to do this for me! I don't want to live my life hiding behind my fringe and bronzing the hell out of my forehead to make it smaller or look at hacks to shrink my forehead. You only live once so why not go for it! It is 7.45pm on Sunday 28 July, Sydney time. My operation is this Saturday 3rd August 2019 and will be down by Dr Martinick and her team. The place is based at Man Cave in the city. I will be posting photos, my experience and post-op updates. I will answer any questions you might have and take you along this journey with me incase you too are thinking of having it done :). Eeik so excited! Updated on 2 Aug 2019: Ok, so it is the night before the surgery. Feeling a mixture of emotions: nervous, a tad anxious, but mostly excited! I have prepared myself with the essentials after l get out of surgery. I have a zip up hoodie, scarf and big glasses for when l come out so l can disguise myself from the real world lol. My mum will be picking me up so l just need to make it from the building to the car parked outside and l will be fine. I also purchased benpanthen (scar treatment) from Chemist Warehouse and have a travel pillow for when l need to be kept upright post-op. My appointment is booked for 8.30am tomorrow. I can’t eat anything in the morning but can have water. I have washed my hair with no products left on (oils/serums) as per the request. They said l should be done by 1pm. I’m hoping l don’t have the drainage tube left in - that’s placed in case there is excessive bleeding. I will need to return the next day if that is the case. But I am repeating positive mantras as l sit here and complete my last round of head massage exercises before the op tomorrow :). I guess l will leave it here until tomorrow/Sunday. Might be out of it tomorrow so let’s see. Can’t wait! Updated on 4 Aug 2019: So the surgery went well on Saturday. It is Monday today. I was a bit out of it so l couldn't post but here is a summary of the day of the operation and the day after. Operation Day (Saturday): Heading into the centre for the operation l felt a little bit nervous. As l woke up, l made sure to do 15mins of meditation to relax myself and just listened to feel-good music as l headed in via train. I couldn't eat and was only allowed to sip a bit of water that morning. As l got in, we went over what was going to happen during the procedure and any complications that may occur - this was the only time l felt slightly anxious but l reminded myself to think positive thoughts and know that everything was going to go well. After signing the forms, l was then dressed in a gown and robe and the main Doctor (Jennifer Martinick) came in to draw up the measurements on my forehead. I explained to her what l wanted and as l had massaged my head every night, my forehead was pretty flexible. I was very happy with what we were going to try and achieve. She then took photos and l then headed into the operation room. Once there, l layed down on the chair and they played music which l requested - jazz music of course, to make me feel relaxed :). They gave me local anesthesia which they explained was the worst part of the procedure because it stings a bit. But as l only had 6 hours of sleep l was pretty tired so l didn't really notice the sensation (good tip if you don't deal well with needles - sleep less the night before haha). It worked straight away and l was completely out of it. At times l could hear them talking, here and there, but you honestly do not feel anything at all! So if you're worried about that or the thought of feeling something cutting along your forehead, don't even think about it because it feels like you are sleeping, in a dream-like state. The whole procedure went so quickly! They woke me up and l felt nothing! I was able to look at the stitches and it wasn't scary at all! From memory, l was super pleased with the result - l can't really remember as l felt high at the time lol. After that, l was able to move/walk around. They had the bandage and a netting (which was the compression head piece) wrapped around my head. I had something to eat, which they gave me, and took the first pink tablet to ensure l felt no pain. After dressing, l wore a thin scarf and wrapped that around my head, wore a jumper that had a hoodie along with glasses - bring this! So you don't feel self conscious walking out of the building. Once my mum picked me up outfront, l was in and out of sleep. I got home but started to feel nauseous. My mum called the doctor and she said for me to sleep on my back facing up. I bought a travel neck rest (definitely get one of these!) Which l wrapped around my neck and slept for a few hours facing up. Not sure if this is for everyone as depending on how swollen you get you should probably rest sitting upwards. I've been sleeping on my back and l haven't got any swelling or bruises under my eyes (which they said is normal after 2-3 days). Oh they also gave me a post-op pack which includes instructions, pills, and scar cream. I bought bepathen scar cream (from Chemist Warehouse) which they said is better to use. I just slept mostly for that day and took the sleeping pill and 2 painkillers that they supplied and had an amazing sleep! I wasn't given any cream/solution for hairloss prevention which they do include in the post-op pack. I'm guessing they decide based on the type of hair you have, how much they remove and extremity of the procedure on whether or not you would be prone to hairloss. I have veeerry thick hair and my procedure was pretty simple which is probably why. Day 2 Post-Op (Sunday): Waking up l did not feel any pain. I did feel light on my feet walking around. I had to go back into the clinic to get one of the stitches removed. They checked the incision and removed the head compression so I'm only left with the bandage (as shown in the photos). They told me to leave the bandage on for an extra 2 days to help the healing process. After 2 days l can then wash my hair - using detol hand wash for the top of my hair and normal shampoo/conditioner for the rest of my hair. Felt slightly drowsy yesterday but was able to move around and felt more aware of my surroundings. I will post again in 2 days time when l get to remove the bandage and see the stitches. I have been drinking heaps of water and have been resting so l don't stretch the area. So far, everything has been pretty good. It wasn't as bad or complicated as l anticipated. It went so quick and l haven't felt any major discomfort at all. So don't feel worried about getting it done. If l can do it, you surely can! More to come soon ;) Updated on 19 Aug 2019: So sorry for the late update. Here is a summary of how the 9 days that l had stitches it went: - Felt very tired since being on the post op meds given - Took the entire week off work and was bed bound - l would suggest doing this as l think me resting and not moving much/putting strain on the stitches helped the healing time later - After day 2 l did not take any panadol, l was lucky that l did not experience any headaches - Had no feeling in my forehead and the last stitches on either side was a little painful (meaning l had twitches here and there) - Had no bruising under my eyes or forehead, just along the incision - I used a travel pillow and slept on my back - had no side effects. They do advise to sleep upright as this can cause bruising and affect healing time but l was ok - Washed my hair (using detol wash around the stitches and the top of my head and normal shampoo on the ends of my hair) and took the bandage off on day 3 - Did not blowdry my hair just let it airdry - Used Aqua cream given to soften the scabs as l did have a little build up of bleeding in some parts of the stitches - Day 9: Went in to get the stitches out. You don't feel anything - plus you forehead is numb anyways haha Overall: 1st week of recovery was a breeze! There was hardly any pain and the numbness isn't that bad. You get use to it ;) Result: 2cm taken off Updated on 19 Aug 2019: It has been 2 weeks and l couldn't be more happier with the results. Here's a summary of how it's been so far: - Have 80% of feeling in my forehead - Was still sleeping on my back with the travel pillow under my neck for 2 weeks - highly recommend this so you don't irritate the area - Had been applying aqueous cream to the scabby areas (area cleared after 12 days) - do this! It will help soften them and get rid of them - Have been using bepathen cream morning and night - please use this!! It has healed my scar so quickly. - Scar: Almost invisible on the left side but still a little bruised in the middle. But l can see that it will be almost invisible in 3months time! Hairloss - thought to dedicate a section as this is what l was worried about before undergoing surgery - Only had a little on the right side where the incision cuts into my hair (0.5cm into the hair) - l've seen images/procedures where they make an incision across your forehead and a line going into your hair on either side. I think because my procedure was simple, with just a line going across, l didn't disrupt the nerves around my hair which is probably why l don't have patches of hairloss around the sides of my head - Hardly experienced any other hairloss! I'm happy about having a little as they say in the notes that initial shockloss is a normal and good sign as it is just from the surgery which most likely would be the only hairloss that you would experience. They do say it does happen from week 4 onwards so keep an eye out during this time for excessive loss - l have new hair growing where there was a little gap on the right side which is good :) the shockloss didn't last for long and l can see little hairs growing through the scar! What have l been doing to prevent further shock loss: I believe the following has really helped me so far with not having shockloss. Will be different for everyone but here are my thoughts: - No to Hair-A-Gain/Rogaine: l did not apply this even though they advised me to. From my research it is part of the process for your hair to fall out when you apply this, with hair growing back 2-3months later. I did not want to take any chances and decided to it another way. As l thought my hair will grow back naturally in the first couple of weeks anyways. Sometimes it's better to just be patient. I think use this once you see excessive hairloss. - Biotin & Zinc: l believe this has helped me tremendously. My hair around my hair line is growing and the ends of my hair have been growing pretty quickly too. I've never had my hair grow this fast. - Water: l drink 2.5L of water every day and feel this has helped with my hair growth and overall healing time - Be gentle!: I haven't put direct heat around my hairline and have been lightly brushing my hair. Even when l wash my hair l try not to pull or be rough with my hair - Opalex: l've been using this and it has made a difference in detangling my hair ( making it easier to brush, thus not pulling my hair from my hairline). I also think it has helped with hair growth - Massages: l have been lightly massaging the top of my scalp which l feel has helped and keeps me relaxed - Positive Affirmations: l have been saying positive affirmations everyday about quick healing and hair growth to help me stay positive and know that l will not experience shockloss and new hair will grow in quickly. I think this is important because stress can cause hair to fall out even when you haven't had surgery. Stay positive and know your body will listen to you. I also prevented myself to look up posts about shockloss online as this can feed into your negative thoughts. I think look up positive results and know you will have the same, great result - Healthy diet: l have been on a high protein intake for healing and ensuring this stimulates new hair growth To cover up: - Have been using concealer for the parts that are bruised and have styled my fringe so it covers the scar - no one has noticed anything! :) - Order this if you do have shockloss or just as a precaution. It will blend into your hair: Color Wow Root Cover Up Will post again at the 1 Month mark with updates :) l will be better at answering questions x Updated on 19 Aug 2019: Not sure why my photos did not upload but here they are. I added in a dotted line to show where the scar is and where new hair is growing. I wanted to get my hairline starting at where my forehead protrudes. I didn't want to go too low as l wanted it to be in line with the rest of my features. Dr Martinick was really good at listening to what l wanted.
39 days to go - hairline lowering booked for 1 September 2018. BACKGROUND After a childhood of bullying and a lifetime of wearing a fringe, I was so happy to discover there was a procedure to fix my huge forehead. A quick google search showed two surgeons in Australia who perform hairline lowering - Dr Nettle and Dr Martinick, both in Sydney, both with excellent online reviews. I emailed both for a consultation but was able to get in with Dr Martinick first. Over email I found out, Dr Nettle quoted $15,000 and Dr Martinick quoted $6,350. CONSULTATION Dr Martinick's consultation room is in a man's cosmetic clinic in Sydney CBD. That threw me a little at first as I expected a Dr's surgery style set up. Dr Martinick didn't have a lot of information on her website about hairline lowering but was able to show me plenty of pictures of other patients. She was very professional and friendly and happy to answer my many MANY questions. During our consultation, Dr Martinick took photos and measured my forehead and according to "standards" for a woman, my forehead is 6cms too large. With daily massage, Dr Martinick hopes that we can get at least 4cms. Dr Martinick then popped a headband on and styled my hairline to show what my results might be like. I cried! I was so happy with what could be possible. I had originally booked my surgery date for July but some unexpected issues meant that I needed to reschedule twice. Dr Martinick's admin were so accommodating and wonderfully understanding about the date changes. They've really been great. With a month to go, I'm starting to get nervous and excited. My two biggest fears are shock loss and scarring. I have fine wavy hair that I dye copper red. My hair density is already thin so I really really don't want shock loss - I'm googling all possible preventatives! My surgery is on Saturday and I have to be back at work on Tuesday so I hope for a quick recovery. I'll continue to wear a fringe to cover the scarring but am already researching ways to minimise the scarring. I hope to have the scar healed in time for Christmas. I've been open about my surgery so my family and most friends know but it's not something I want popping up on FaceBook. Updated on 27 Aug 2018: 4 days out and I'm starting to get really excited/nervous. My mum is flying down on Thursday to take care of me post-op and my very energetic Australian Shepherd puppy is going for a holiday for a few days so he doesn't jump on me and rip my stitches. Scarring and shock loss remain my biggest concerns. I haven't had a lot to do with Dr Martinick pre-op but Nhu on admissions has been wonderful. I got sent a preoperative info kit two/three weeks ago that's full of information. It would have been better to have been sent at the time of booking to save Nhu answering my silly questions but I think it's a new info kit they've put together. I'm not taking any additional vitamins or medication preop but am continuing to do do the massage daily. From what I've read from other patients, I need to get a neck pillow, antihistimes, strataderm and arnica tablets for post op. Nhu from the surgery said that Dr Martinick will give me a post op pack so I probably don't need to worry about half that stuff! Although I'm supposed to have a week off to recover, I'll be working from home on Monday and Tuesday and will have to head into work from Wednesday to Friday. If I can work from home all week I'll definitely try. I'm a contractor so I don't have the luxury of sick days. Will provide my next update post surgery. Wish me luck! Updated on 27 Aug 2018: So I've just received a call from the surgery to make sure I'm ready for the procedure on Saturday. I asked about the likelihood of shock loss and the lady on the phone said that it's a normal occurance and 60-70% of patients experience some shock loss. So I'm now freaking out! I have thin hair that takes ages to grow! I can't afford to lose patches of my hair! Trying hard not to cry. I'm now waiting to hear back from one of the medical team before I go into complete meltdown. God, please let me be in the 30% that experience no shock loss. Updated on 31 Aug 2018: Today’s the day! This is my first surgery ever so the nerves have kicked in. Reading other people’s reviews hasn’t helped assuage any of my fears of shockloss. It seems to be normal to get a little bit of hairloss around the scar that will regrow over the next 6 months (and I’m totally fine with that) but all these patients took supplements like Biotin, Regaine and Vitamin C before treatment. The ladies I spoke to at Dr Martinick’s office told me not to take anything! And I never got the call back about it that I was expecting at the beginning of the week. Some reassurance would have been helpful. I just want to be reassured that I won’t lose 2 inches of hair from the front of my scalp. Oh well, too late now. My mum’s flew down to take care of me after the op. It’s great to have support but I’m kind of feeling alone in this. Wish me luck! Updated on 1 Sep 2018: Got out of surgery a few hours ago. Pleasantly felt as high as a kite when I woke up hahaha! I arrived a little before my 2pm appointment. Dr Sara Kotai met my mum and I at the entrance and was so welcoming. I was really nervous and seeing a friendly face really helped. Dr Alia took me in to mark me up. She gave me a run down of the procedure and asked if I had questions. I mentioned the extreme shockloss I had seen on RealSelf and she put my fears at ease. When Dr Alia pushed back my fringe she was shocked with how far back my hairline was. I have a “widows peak” that puts the corners of my hairline really far back (see first photos). She was worried that we couldn’t minimise those areas as much as we wanted but they would try. In Dr Martinick’s notes, it said we were wanted 3cms but after checking my laxcitiy, Dr Alia said we could hope for 2-2.5cms. I have realistic expectations so was please with the idea of 2.5cm. Dr Martinick came in to check the mark up before surgery and agreed that we could hope for 2.5cms. She warned me that there maybe be some puckering in my skin for about a year as the scar starts to settle. She said that it was likely that I wouldn’t scar white because I have olive skin and the pigment will colour my scar, making it more blendable. Yay! I got changed into a gown and went into the surgery. It’s a comfortable chair, kind of like at the dentist. The nerves really started to set in here but Dr Alia was so warm and friendly that I was soon comfortable. Dr Martinick and Dr Alia performed the op. I was “sedated” but it was awake like being in a dream state. I did wake up a little bit high and to excellent news that they were able to take a whole 3cms off!!!!!!! Yay! When they showed me the result I cried. It was so much better. The before and after pics are UNBELIEVEABLE!!!!!!! So amazing. I immediately looked for proportional and feminine. I had a drain put in, got a bandage wrapped around it and instructions for post-op care for tonight. A pink pill with dinner, three painkillers before bed - repeat tomorrow. Tomorrow I go in to get the drain removed and to get told more post op care to help with healing. Will post photos then. So far, so good! Updated on 2 Sep 2018: Woke up this morning with zero pain! I slept on a travel pillow last night and the mess I got for after care put me right to sleep. I woke up at around 2pm with some localised pain, took some panadol and went right back to sleep. Today I went back to the surgery to get the drain removed. Dr Alia said I only have 5ml of fluid and that everything is looking fantastic. Dr Martinick came to check in, looked over the incision and both docs were marvellous. Dr Martinick gave me a care package to take home with everything I need before my stitches come out next Tuesday. The stitches are going to stay in for longer than a week due to how much stretching was involved. I’m going to have some puckering at first but that should subsides with rolling and regular massage after the stitches come out. When I was reading other people’s reviews, I found it hard to find one post that said what to do pre and post op so here’s what I did. Pre op: - no extra supplements - already eating a high protein diet - bought a travel neck pillow - bought some cute head scarves to tie around my hair until the stitches come out Post op: - was given 4 tablets to take every evening for the first 2 nights - slept upright using the travel pillow (will do for the first 3 nights) - took nurofen and panadol during the day to lessen the tightness in the front of my scalp - was given a saline solution and gauze to spray and gently dab at my incisions every 2 hours - given dettol handwash to wash my hair with on day 3 - given aqueous cream to run on my scar after the stitches come out Dr Martinick said that there was no need to use Regaine around my scar but I might check if I can do it anyway because my hair is pretty thin at the front anyway. Will post another update next Tuesday after my stitches are removed. In the meantime, here are some pretty awesome before and after photos. Updated on 2 Sep 2018: I forgot to mention that an added bonus is the Botox after effect! I can’t move my forehead at all and I think it will really help relax my forehead muscles for the next few months during recovery. Dr Alia and Dr Martinick are amazing. Girl power in med because this whole experience has been fantastic so far. Updated on 13 Sep 2018: 12 days and 60 stitches later and I’m on the road to proper recovery! Since my last post I’ve had a little bit tightness throughout my head that I’ve had to take panadol for. It’s uncomfortable but not unbearable. There’s two spots in my “peaks” that have a weird nervy tingle. It makes me think of staples or metal hooks being under my scalp and kind of shocking me a little hahaha! I haven’t noticed any hairloss at all. I’m not in the clear yet but things look good. From today I’ll start using Men’s Rogaine and QSilica tablets to help prevent shockloss. The only downside has been the reaction to the dettol soap I was give to clean the wound. I broke out with dermatitis across my forehead, chin, neck and chest because I have sensitive skin. I stopped using the wash when I broke out and started using baby shampoo instead. I have an appointment with my dermatologist on the weekend to get it sorted out. It hasn’t affect my healing though. At today’s appointment to get the stitches out, the nurse said that my skin was healing so well that my skin was starting to push out the stitches! Dr Sara Kotai took my stitches out today. I LOVE her bedside manner! So friendly. We gossiped, and I didn’t feel a thing when they were removed. The stitches were tiny! Dr Sata took some before and after photos and recommended that I start using bepanthan straight away to help with scarring. I asked about the Rogaine and she said to start immediately but watch how it rinses off so I don’t end up with a monobrow hahaha! Hilarious! While removing the stitches, Dr Sara also removed the scabs that I didn’t want to pick off myself for fear of scarring or pulling out a stitch. So now it will be a few months of religiously applying bepanthen, Rogaine and taking QSilica. I won’t start using the bepanthen roller until after 4 weeks. That’s all the key updates I can think of. Feel free to ask questions or let me know if I’ve missed anything! Updated on 22 Sep 2018: Hi Real Selfers! I was going to wait until next week to post an update at 1 month but it seems to be worthwhile to post it earlier. Everything is still going fantastic. My scar is pretty red but I think it will fade quickly. The bepanthen scar gel is helping with the healing but it feels dry still. I do have puckering in my skin which was bound to happen when you take a forehead of 17cms wide and make it 13cms with 3cms off the length! I need to wait another week before I can start to use the roller to smooth the bumps out. I haven’t had any ingrown hairs yet but I can see new hair spring up every morning. Which is lucky because I’ve experienced some shedding! Wah!!!!! Not a lot but I can see that it’s thinner right at the front in the middle and at the slides a little. At Dr Sara’s recommendation, I been using men’s Rogaine twice a day. It has been giving me dandruff but it’s a small price to pay. I’ve already regained a lot of feeling in the top of my head and am experience “zingers” as the nerves reconnect. That feeling I mentioned previously of the staples has been electrocuted has lessened. I think this feeling was a type of zinger too. Surprisingly, no one has really noticed I had anything done. I tuck my fringe behind my ears now and it covers my scar so no one can see it. My skin has cleared up after a lot of TLC. No more dettol for me! If I’ve missed anything, feel free to ask questions. Updated on 18 Aug 2020: It’s been almost 2 years since I had my hairline lowering surgery. I cannot explain how much of a positive impact it’s had on my life. I grew out my fringe! I’ve never not had a fringe! My friends who have known me since before the surgery have all remarked on how my face is much more proportional. Every single one of them say that it’s a huge improvement to my appearance. I’m pretty open about the surgery so when I tell people they’re pretty shocked. You would never know I’ve had my hairline lowered. I have almost zero scarring. There’s a teeny white line at the very front of my hairline that can only really be seen if I’ve been in the sun a lot, like peak Bondi summer. My hair grows through the scar. And so much new hair! My hairdresser was so happy hahaha! It was a little more wirey for the first year but I think that’s because my hair is wavy and it needed some weight behind it. I think that’s an unknown point that people need to consider - post-op, make sure you’re seeing a hairdresser who will care for new post-surgery hair. I’m an unnatural redhead and my hairdresser was really particular about what colour she used so she didn’t damage the new growth. Especially if you’re highly tuned to every little hair like I was because I had a small amount of shock loss around the scar for the first ~6 months. I think it’s still a little high but the difference is amazing. I think it also kickstarted me taking control of my body image and self-love. I’m booked for an autologous fat transfer to my breasts (a boob job using my own body fat) on 4 Sept. This time of the year is auspicious for surgery for me! Haha! When shopping for a surgeon for my breast augmentation, I had to disclose my hairline lowering surgery. A very prominent plastic surgeon was happy to hear it was done by Dr Martinick and gave her a rave review, albeit surprised that she was still in Sydney (she flew back from Perth for the surgery). For those asking about the roller, it comes with the Bepanthan cream. I probably should have used it more to break down scar tissue but it was painful so I just used my fingers in the end. I have zero puckering! I think I have a small lump of scar tissue but that could just be the shape of my skull. You can’t see it, but I can feel it. I should have used the roller more! This is my last post about my hairline lowering surgery. My biggest takeaway from this is - I should have done it earlier. Dr Martinick (for surgery) and Dr Kotai (for follow up care) were absolutely amazing. I love that they’re a mother daughter team too. My result is outstanding and it’s had a life changing impact on my body confidence.
I've always had a quite big forehead, up until university I didn't take much notice of it because... well because I was young and didn't worry about dating and appearance. Since then I've had new friends ask me if I'm balding and some say " Dam your forehead is massive", and generally people who don't know me estimate me to be older than I am, maybe partly due to my forehead. Eventually it got to me that maybe I do have a big forehead, I had fringe for a while but when wind blew my forehead was like " surprise motherf***er", I got sick of telling people that I'm not balding I just have a large forehead. While googling " big forehead" I became aware of this hairline lowering procedure over a year ago, but I'm really a supporter of cosmetic surgery, and I'm a broke university student so I never really thought about undertaking it until recently. I've done some research into this procedure, saw some before after, watched some youtube videos, considered my payment options and now am considering this procedure. I have a consultation booked with Dr J Martinick next week and we will see how it goes, if I go ahead with it I will update this post, I would really appreciate any support! I currently have 8cm forehead, I feel that my scalp is quite mobile so I should be good for this procedure. My forehead gets quite wrinkly if I raise my eyebrows, and my eyebrows are somewhat heavy (probably due to the excess forehead skin making my face loose lol) Updated on 23 Apr 2018: I went to the consultation, hairline lowering procedure is apparently not very common for guys because most guys go through male pattern baldness at some point of their life! Luckily my hair is quite good right now (hopefully it stays that way). I was told i could get my forehead reducted by about 2cm, so im ok with that, surgery booked for July so ill be starting to massage my scalp, good luck to me. Updated on 22 Jul 2018: About 2 months prior to surgery I ran into some financial problems so I had to cancel the procedure, martinick hair was nice enough to refund my deposit. I might consider hairline lowering again in the future, however i now have some doubt as I found out one of my uncles is very bald and Im unsure if Ive inherited the unlucky bald gene. If I get the surgery and go bald its going to look very ugly, ill need to observe my family hair history more.
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