There is an art and a science for placing hairlines. The normal midpoint of a mature male hairline lies 1.5-2cm above the highest crease of the furrowed brow. If you go to a mirror and lift your brow, you will see two things:
- Where the hairline was when you were 8 years old (it hugs the crease)
- By moving up 1.5-2cm above the crease, you will see where the central point of your hairline belongs
Some people do not raise their hairline to the 2cm point with a transplant, as they may go upward only 1cm as their hairline matures. But placing the hairline in the proper position is critical when the transplant is done and it is critical in your understanding of what constitutes balding versus the changes associated with a maturing hairline (which is not balding).
Here’s a patient’s hairline at 17 years old (left), and the same man at age 30 (right). Click the photos to enlarge:
My challenge was to help him select the proper location for his new hairline. I used the 1.5-2cm rule, and he was happy with what we drew. The photo here is just used to point out the change in his hairline over 13 years (an almost juvenile hairline to a balding Norwood Class 3 pattern). The actual hairline he chose was between the two lines (juvenile hairline and the highest receding point of his leading frontal edge). I could not help but wonder if he had taken Propecia when his hair loss began, would he have lost this much hair?
