Do Hair Restoration Surgeons Consider Hairstyle When Designing a Hair Transplant?

This question, from a member of our hair loss social community anddiscussion forums, was answered by Coalition hair transplant surgeon Dr. Robert Bernstein:

Dr. Bernstein, for patients who intend to keep their hair groomed with a side part which goes from the left to the right, do you follow any rule of making the left side denser than the right by a marginal difference or is it distributed evenly?

Great question! On a first hair transplant procedure, I generally place the sites/grafts symmetrically, even if a patient combs his hair to one side. The reason is that the person may change his styling after the procedure and I like to have the first hair transplant symmetrical for maximum flexibility. An exception would be a person with limited donor reserves.

Once the first hair restoration surgery grows in and the person decides how he wants to wear his hair long-term, a second transplant can be weighted to accommodate this. Weighting can be done in two ways; either by placing the sites closer together on the part side or by placing slightly larger follicular units on the part side – or both.

If a person decides to comb his hair back, then forward weighting is used. For greater details on this, please see some “old” publications:

Bernstein RM, Rassman WR: The Aesthetics of Follicular Transplantation. Dermatol Surg 1997; 23: 785-99.

Bernstein RM, Rassman WR: Follicular Transplantation: Patient Evaluation and Surgical Planning. Dermatol Surg 1997; 23: 771-84.

You can find them on my website.

Dr. Robert Bernstein
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David (TakingThePlunge)
Editorial Assistant and Forum Co-Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q & A Blog.
To share ideas with other hair loss sufferers visit the hair loss forum and social community

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