Upper sideburn hair transplants look unnatural. Here's why we don't do them.

[Dr. William Lindsey]

We get asked pretty frequently to add some hair down from those "frontal triangles" to connect to the sideburn area.  Lots of books on hair transplantation show this and I do see a fair number of guys who have had it done and it frequently looks UNNATURAL.   First off the donor hair is usually thicker than sideburn hair, second..its hard to get it to lie flat with the skin like sideburn hair does, and lastly as people lose hair behind the transplant...it looks like the state of Florida or Baja California....in a sea of skin.

 

We go into this in this short video.

 

 

 

Dr. Lindsey McLean VA

[Melvin- Admin]

Great video Dr. Lindsey

[ciaus]

While I agree with the philosophy of keeping things unremarkable so you don't draw attention, one of the dead giveaways for a guy having a HT is a nice defined top hairline while his temple points, or upper side burns as you refer to them, continue to thin and recede.

I think a mature framing of the face should always be the goal, and that will necessarily involve some work on the sides for some guys. Maybe body hair, neck hair to approximate the extra thinness/fineness. The mature part is key, not too aggressive to avoid those big islands and waste hair that will be needed down the road. 

I've seen some pretty impressive results posted here, and think its worth the risks of technical difficulty and unpredictable loss down the road. No guts no glory!

Thanks for posting the video, great topic.

 

Edited April 12, 2021 by ciaus

[Aftermath]

Great points, and I agree you do see a lot of issues in this area, but when done correctly it really sets a great result off.

I had that exact area done about 12 years ago with Dr Hasson and I think without having it done and with the amount of hair I now have that would look very unnatural. 

Personally I’ve had no hair loss behind and it sits pretty damn flat, but I do have to use hair wax on it, as I do anyway with the rest of the hair. The hair caliber is slightly larger than the rest of the hair in that area but I don’t think it’s really an issue, I’m happy I got it done.

Edited April 13, 2021 by Aftermath

[1978matt]

Glad I had mine done and the doc was very meticulous about them:

• Low caliber hairs
• Density match to surrounding area.  (about 150 singles either side)
• Flat as possible to the skin.
• Follows the natural flow of existing hairs.
• No pitting etc

Worst case I could trim them down if there ever became an issue, or just fill in the space behind.

Similar to Aftermath, they are not 100% flat.  So long as they are trimmed fairly short it's not a problem.

[1978matt]

[Aftermath]

1 minute ago, 1978matt said:

You’ve got great results mate and the salt and pepper look enhances it further IMO. One of the best results on the forum 

[1978matt]

4 minutes ago, Aftermath said:

You’ve got great results mate and the salt and pepper look enhances it further IMO. One of the best results on the forum 

And your's son.  I think you need 3+ HTs to get there as nothing is perfect 1st time.

Edited April 13, 2021 by 1978matt

[BDK081522]

Agree with @Aftermath and @1978matt that doing the temple points can turn an average result into a phenomenal one. Of course, you have to take into account future loss and make a decision based on the proposed final pattern of loss. I also agree that patients who get a dense packed hairline and have completely lost their temple points look unnatural.  After all, the goal is to mimic nature to achieve the most undetectable results possible. In nature there simply aren't super dense hairlines without the temple points. I find it odd that Dr. Lindsey would suggest that this is unnecessary for a great result and should be avoided. Surgical skill is paramount and if you don't possess the skill then I agree you should not be performing temple point restorations. They are difficult due to angle of insertion and caliber of hair. If the surgeon chooses donor hair meticulously then the results can be great. Dr Konior did mine and he only used the finest of singles. Presumably from the nape or above ear area. They are indistinguishable from my native temple hair other than not being as gray as the surrounding hair. 

Edited April 14, 2021 by BDK081522

[Melvin- Admin]

On 4/13/2021 at 4:42 AM, Aftermath said:

Great points, and I agree you do see a lot of issues in this area, but when done correctly it really sets a great result off.

I had that exact area done about 12 years ago with Dr Hasson and I think without having it done and with the amount of hair I now have that would look very unnatural. 

Personally I’ve had no hair loss behind and it sits pretty damn flat, but I do have to use hair wax on it, as I do anyway with the rest of the hair. The hair caliber is slightly larger than the rest of the hair in that area but I don’t think it’s really an issue, I’m happy I got it done.

Temple points are definitely an aesthetic cherry on top.