Let's talk about temple points

[rob7331]

Hi HRN,

As my second HT approaches (shortlist Eugenix or Demirsoy) I have struggled for a while with deciding if I should get my temple points done. My hesitations stem mostly from the following questions:

1. Will they genuinely help frame my face?

2. Will they look natural?

I've noticed in older photos that my temples were never really that apparent to begin with. However I do notice that they were "present", if that makes sense. Part of me wonders that as I further restore my hairline, it might be valuable to put a few grafts in there to help frame my face. Which leads me to question 2.

Out of all the results I've seen, temple points are easily the most "volatile" in that they can either blend in quite naturally, or stick out and look wiry. I've seen this result from top rated clinics across the board - it happens everywhere. It's such a tricky part of the head that Eugenix's Dr. Pradeep Seethi dedicated an entire video to it (very informative by the way). For some examples of what I'm talking about see below.

Patient with strong hair characteristics, temples touched up


Larger temple restoration

Now obviously these situations are not a 1:1 and of course, hair characteristics and physiology comes into play. But if you spend time researching you'll see it is generally a truism that, with the exception of a few world class surgeons, temple points can be a mixed bag in the final result.

So it does make one wonder - is it worth getting my temples done? Any thoughts from forum members on temple points?

Temples 6ish years ago.

 

Edited July 9, 2021 by rob7331

[MazAB]

From what I can see in the photos, while you still have fading in the temple points, the formation of them are still intact. I think the results for you could be very good because there is still enough native hairs to blend in and make it more natural with added density. It is definitely worth building off what you already have and refresh the temple points. The scalp to hair color contrast works in your favor as well.

That first example you gave with a more conservative approach would be the way to go. I would agree that you especially don't want that part to get messed up so definitely do not get aggressive in that area.  A hairline is on top of your head, a temple point is pretty much directly on your face and if it's not done just right, that is all people will see unfortunately.

I, like you, found it extremely tough to find a clinic that excels with repointing temporal peaks with consistently good results, which quite honestly was a big selling point for me when deciding to go with Eugenix. I'm scheduled for March 2022 or sooner if travel to India permits. 

[rob7331]

Thank you for your words! That's fantastic to hear about your March 2022 surgery. I'm looking at November of this year - just getting everything organized now.

You're bang on about temple points being more directly visible - I think that's what concerns me so much about getting them done. If they come out even a little pluggy or misdirected it's much more noticeable than on your head. My hair is curly anyway so if my hairline gets more "frazzled" it doesn't change much. On the temples though? Different story.

If I do it, I'll probably go for something conservative like this, and even that gets me a little worried. I'll try and get Dr. Arika's thoughts on it.

[Melvin- Admin]

I was getting ready to make a video about temple points highlighting Dr. Sethis results this is the best temple points I’ve ever seen.

[MazAB]

That's perfect! Just enough to give you balance after you get the frontal region reworked. Temple peaks are the biggest catch 22 in my opinion. If you don't do them, and successfully rework the frontal, more times than not it looks unbalanced and/or unnatural because the average man that has a great hairline, typically does not have receding temple points. However, getting them done to create the balance many times can backfire and look worse than not getting them done at all. Your approach, I believe, would give that balance while also helping to mitigate the risks of something unnatural. I would show that design to Dr Arika for sure and get her input. You will be in great hands, and should not get that wire look at all. Eugenix always uses the single fine hairs on the nap of the neck, and with Dr Arika doing the slits at the right angle, you should be more than OK. Worst possible scenario in your case is some graft don't take, but since you're not rebuilding temple peaks from scratch, that won't do you ugly since your native hair can blend into it. 

By the way, what country are your traveling from to India?

Edited July 9, 2021 by MazAB

[rob7331]

Those look fantastic @Melvin- Moderator.

I'm a Canadian @MazAB, just hoping our international travel opens up for when I'm looking to go for surgery - November is the goal. Agreed with all your points big time. I'll show the design to Dr. Arika and see if I can get her feedback.

[gillenator]

There is lots of diffusion going on in the frontal zone so if it were me, I would strengthen it by having grafts added there as well.

[rob7331]

Yes @gillenator, the temple points would be part of a larger surgery. I've started this thread specifically to discuss them.

[gillenator]

I was not referring to your temple points...I was implying to strengthen your entire frontal zone.

[rob7331]

I understand you @gillenator, I'm informing you that the temple points are part of a larger surgery (involving my entire head). You can refer to my previous thread here.

 

[gillenator]

Gotcha…now I understand…😉

[EvoXOhio]

I see many more bad temple point restorations than I see good ones. As you said, it seems to be the trickiest area to get to look natural. In my case, my hairline restoration is still that of a receded/age appropriate hairline, so in my case I think having thinned temples make my results look more natural. Now, if you had your hairline restored to that of an 18 year old, having no temple points would look odd. So it all depends on what you’re getting done. But the worst thing you could do is get a bad temple point restoration, as that screams HT to anyone who sees you.