Does vertex / crown area grow slower than other parts or is that a phenomenon?

We often see a delay in vertex growth compared to the frontal area. For us vertex growth usually begins in the 4-5th month, and are usually fully grown in by 12 months. There have been cases, however, where there were changes in the vertex all the way to the 18th month.

The vertex area does grow a bit more slowly than other sections of the head, simply because the anatomy is different. On the vertex, the hair is placed in a different pattern to look natural, so it is more difficult to achieve density. It typically takes at least 12-14 months for full results of your hair transplant to be visible, and can take as long as 18. If you are still concerned, you should speak to your surgeon. They can examine you, and may recommend nonsurgical treatments (like PRP or topical options) to further encourage growth. Best of luck! - Elbert T. Cheng, MD

There are a variety of reasons that transplanted hair may not look as full on the crown area. Crown is usually larger in size and unlike the hairline the hair shaft direction is in a way that it goes away from the center of whorl area. That makes it more difficult to cover the crown baldness and much more difficult to make the skin not visible at the center of it. There is no evidence that documents that hair growth is slower on the vertex or crown area. Patients should have realistic expectations from the density they get on the crown area.

In a usual hair transplant, the results can take 12-14 months with crown showing a delayed growth of upto 3 months than the frontal area. With addition of Platelet rich plasma, liposomal ATP and other bio enhancement, the initial shedding phase (effluvium) can be reduced and hair can directly go in growing phase with results seen as early as 6-9 months. Also, transplanted hair from beard grow much faster than scalp and other body parts (if they have been used in your case). I would suggest you to wait for another 3-6 months for full results. vertex will also have less coverage as compared to other areas with the same number of grafts due to its variable anatomy. 

9 months by no means is the end of hair growth.  In fact, sometimes there can even be a bit of a dip when hairs start to cycle again in a normal pattern of growth and loss. The crown is particularly difficult because it is on the vertical plane of the scalp so it is more visible to the naked eye, making it harder to camouflage in a single session.  I call this the billboard effect.  Also, the grafts are placed in a whorl pattern meaning they are harder to achieve visual density in that  arrangement.  The crown can also eat up a ton of grafts through a simple formula of pi x radius squared so it can take a lot more grafts to achieve visually density.  Finally, the blood supply is less in the crown so I always tell my patients that the crown may take two sessions especially if I am trying to cover front to back in a single session and if the crown is large.  This is why I believe the use of fertilizers (see video) can truly help with improving the percentage and speed of growth.  I have seen good growth as soon as 3 to 4 months (not full growth but early growth) in a lot of patients by virtue of PRP, ACell, ATP, and HypoThermosol usage.

At 9 months you can see over 90% of the growth in all areas of your scalp. If there are areas where the growth is substandard, return and have a discussion with your surgeon