Dispelling the Myth of the Required High Hairline in Follicular Unit Hair Transplantation

In 2000, Dominic A. Brandy, MD, conducted a study on 20 men aged 20-46 with type III-V male pattern baldness to challenge the conventional high hairline placement in hair restoration surgery. The study measured facial proportions and found that the mean distance from the eyebrows to the hairline was 6.8 cm, which is about 33.4% of the total distance from the chin to the hairline (20.3 cm). This finding supports the use of Leonardo da Vinci's rule of thirds for ideal facial proportions. The paper argues that due to improvements in follicular unit transplantation and donor hair harvesting, surgeons can now place the hairline at the one-third facial division, rather than higher as previously necessitated by older techniques. The conclusion suggests that the face should be divided into thirds for developing the hairline in men undergoing this type of hair transplantation.