Am I a candidate for forehead reduction and hairline lowering? (photo)

Most patients can expect to get around 2 cm of hairline lowering in a single stage procedure safely. Some patients we can get even more, up to 3 cm or so. This is very patient dependent. The female hairline should generally not be brought any lower than 5.5 - 6.0 cm from the brows in most patients. The procedure takes me about one hour to perform, and we perform it under IV sedation, so patients recover very quickly and are able to go home after surgery. Most patients are back to all normal activities except for strenuous exercise within about a week. All sutures and clips are removed at one week as well. Be sure to see a hairline lowering expert to review the procedure in detail and discuss all the goals and options.Best,

You need an examination for a better understanding. The Internet will only give you generalizations.You need an examination of your scalp and understanding of risks with realistic goals/expectations.

One risk is that forehead reduction surgery leaves a scar on the hairline no matter which surgeon or type of surgery performed. However, most of these scars are not as noticeable depending on how the individual heals. One limitation is that it does not round out the face (temple corners).

Hair transplant surgery may be an option for a forehead reduction. Hair transplant surgery does not leave a scar on the forehead. It actually can give you a natural and soft hair line as well as rounding of the temple corners. Like all cosmetic surgery, how "natural" this may look depend on the artistry of the surgeon. Hair transplant surgery limitation is that the results are not immediate and the growth will not be as "full" as a forehead reduction surgery.

You can see examples of hair transplant surgery results in the VIDEO.

The best way to determine scalp laxity is to put your finger on the central hairline and see just how far forward and backwards you can move the hairline  -  that will determine the likely amount of hairline advancement.  I suggest you do your homework for you can see before and after patient photos as well as read some patient testimonials -  this is a great procedure on the right patient!

Forehead by hairline advancement can be done in one or two stages, depending on how high your forehead is and how much scalp laxity you have. The height of your forehead can be seen in pictures but your scalp laxity (or lack thereof) can not. What matters most is scalp looseness not forehead skin looseness. Most patients can get up to 1 to 1.5 cms of forehead reduction in the midline in a single-stage procedure, which is often enough. This is done by full scalp elevation to the back of the head to get sufficient tissue mobility. 

Your pictures posted show the need for significant advancement of the hairline to give a feminen shape.

Almost most plastic surgeon have or can do it but may not have pictures to show (Did it in reconstruction many times and may not have pictures)

You have two options

1: Hair transplant

2: Tissue expander under the hair bearing scalp, expand the expander, then advance the hair bearing scalp to the desired line. The expander should be put subgalial, and when advanced must be fixed to the bone (Coapt or screws) to prevent posterior migration and prevent tesion on the scar.

while expanding the expander, you will look deformed one to two month..

 After the scalp advancement you will have swelling bruisingand visible scar. The scar will soften and loose the redness within one year.

There are two types of procedures for lowering a woman’s hairline. One, is a surgical excision of the upper forehead followed by the downward advancement of the hairline up to an inch from where it was prior to the surgery. To accomplish this, the entire scalp from the frontal hairline to the very back of the crown, is lifted up and pulled forward. When this is done by an experienced surgeon, the hairline can often be advanced about 2/3rd – 1 inch if there is enough looseness when this lifting process is done. This procedure is often complete in one surgical session; however, it may not address receded corners of the hairline if the corner recession is significant. A great advantage of this surgical approach is the immediate impact of the procedure on hairline location with healing usually complete in a week or so. Sometimes this procedure produces a scar in front of the hairline, and if this is this is the case, a hair transplant in front of the hairline can address the scar. If there is corner rounding that is not addressed by the surgical lowering, then hair transplants can address this very well.  Hair loss does occur rarely in women who have has any type of facial surgery, including forehead advancement surgery

The second type of hairline lower procedure is done through hair transplantation. The number of sessions varies by the thickness of the hair. For women with other than fine hair, they might do this in a single session. With finer hair, it often takes two sessions. The time to see the impact of a hairline lowering hair transplant procedure is 7-8 months and if a second session is required, it will take another 7-8 months to wait for full growth. Speeak with your doctor about which one is better for you

Years ago we described forehead reduction using a trichophytic hairline incision which is hidden by hair which grows through that incision after surgery. This gives the patient total freedom of hair styling. There are multiple testimonials available on websites of physicians doing this work. You can submit any questions that you have about this surgery or the results.

There are too many factors to consider in answering all your questions in this forum. If you are of average height, I would think you would want the hairline lowered about one inch. To do so without the two stage expander assisted operation, you should have enough laxity to actually pick up a fold of forehead skin below the hairline.  My website should have answers to some of your other questions.