My Hair Was Transplanted with Micrografts Lower than My Juvenile Hairline!

Hello Dr. Rassman,

I had a couple of HT procedures in the late 90’s that placed several hundred “micrografts” and “minigrafts” into my hairline. While the result is not as bad as some of the super-pluggy transplants I’ve seen, I now know that an FUE procedure could produce much better results. The issue is that the surgeon placed my hairline too low – it was lower than my juvenile hairline, but still along the forehead muscle. Due to this, I have no room to have a “transition zone” transplanted in front of it.

Would it be possible to have my hairline taken back a centimeter or so over a few sessions by individual graft excision and then have some refinement with FUE? I have spoken to one doctor who wants to bring my hairline down further, but I am completely opposed to this (I would like it to be a little higher at the end of any repairs).

Without examining you, I wouldn’t be able to define your options (particularly based on your unique case, which might be very difficult to correct). Generally, a brow lift may essentially bring the hairline up to a level that can be worked with, but it’s really not a sure thing. There will always be some risk of scarring when you take out old grafts in the front, but with a brow lift and a surgery to bring up the hairline you might be able to have follicular unit extraction (FUE) to thin it out some. People have entertained using laser hair removal which may expose the micrograft scarring (I personally have not seen a successful one yet) and even with FUE there are issues of scarring and a risk of an unnatural appearance.

You need to find a surgeon that will work with you, and assess the risks and benefits. You have limited options, but you need an expert to analyze your problem.