FRONTAL HAIR TRANSPLANT
The hairline creeping higher in every photograph. Temples that have quietly emptied. A widow's peak losing its shape. The frontal hairline frames your face, so recession there is noticed first.
Most people arrive with the same three questions. Will a hairline transplant look natural? Will it still suit me at 50? And who will actually be holding the instruments?
At our Glasgow clinic, Dr Bonaros designs your new hairline and performs every stage of the procedure himself. At your consultation, you meet the surgeon, not a salesperson.
The basics
A hairline transplant, also called a frontal hair transplant, restores the front edge of your hair. That means the hairline itself, the temples and, where needed, the frontal zone behind them. Recession here is usually driven by androgenetic alopecia, the pattern form of hair loss. Using follicular unit excision (FUE), individual follicles are taken from the permanent donor zone at the back and sides of the scalp. They are placed one by one along a newly designed line. Unlike the older strip technique (FUT, follicular unit transplantation), FUE leaves no linear scar, only tiny dot marks that fade into the donor hair. No surgery is truly scarless. We would rather tell you that plainly.
Donor follicles resist DHT (dihydrotestosterone), the hormone behind pattern loss. That is why transplanted hair usually keeps growing for decades, although no clinic can honestly promise a fixed result. Good candidates are men and women with settling frontal recession and an adequate donor supply. Dr Bonaros also performs hairline feminisation for transgender patients. Very young men with rapidly progressing loss are usually advised to stabilise first, and sometimes the right advice is to wait.
OUR APPROACH
Natural hairlines are irregular. Dr Bonaros designs yours with soft, uneven edges and a leading row of single-hair grafts. He sets the angle, depth and direction of every follicle so growth lies naturally. The line is positioned to your facial proportions rather than a template, and drawn to look right at 60 as well as this year. The person who plans that design is the person who builds it: Dr Bonaros performs every stage himself.
Your donor area is finite, so he protects it. For younger patients, he plans conservatively, allowing for loss that may progress. Often, the stronger result is thickening a hairline where it sits rather than dragging it lower. You are quoted for the grafts your plan needs, not the most that can be billed, and he also repairs hairline work done elsewhere.
WHY PATIENTS CHOOSE FUE
Performed under local anaesthetic as a day case, so you walk out the same afternoon. There are no stitches or linear scars, leaving you free to wear your hair short.
Donor dots typically heal within seven to 10 days, and most patients are back at desk work in under a week. Redness along the new hairline usually settles over the following fortnight.
Because donor follicles resist DHT, a well-planned hairline usually keeps growing for decades. Each graft is placed individually for a soft, undetectable front edge. Individual results vary.
Dr Bonaros performs every stage at 154 Clyde Street, Glasgow, and reviews your progress there in person. Aftercare is a short trip, not a flight abroad.
THE PROCEDURE
Your consultation starts with a scalp examination and an honest assessment of your donor supply. Dr Bonaros draws the proposed hairline on your skin, agrees it with you in the mirror and provides a realistic graft estimate. You then receive a fixed written quote listing exactly what it includes, so nothing changes later. Preparation is simple: avoid alcohol for a few days beforehand, and never stop prescribed medicines without your prescriber's advice.
1. The agreed hairline is re-drawn and photographed, and the donor area is trimmed.
2. Local anaesthetic is placed: a brief sting, then numbness for the rest of the session.
3. Dr Bonaros extracts individual follicular units from the donor zone.
4. He creates each recipient site, setting the angle and direction of every graft.
5. Grafts are placed one by one, with single hairs leading the new line.
6. A typical frontal case takes between four and eight hours, including breaks, depending on graft numbers.
Small crusts form around each graft and lift within seven to 10 days. Between weeks two and eight, most transplanted hairs shed. This shock loss is the stage patients panic about, and it is normal, expected and temporary.
New growth appears from months three to four, thickens through months six to nine and matures at 12 to 18 months. Our hair transplant timeline explains each phase. Swelling, numbness and itching settle within days to weeks. Serious problems are uncommon, and every risk is discussed with you before consent. You are reviewed at the clinic at set intervals through the first year.
1. Redness, swelling or discharge around the grafts or donor area is increasing.
2. You develop a fever or pain that worsens rather than eases.
3. Bleeding does not settle with gentle pressure.
General information only: advice becomes personal at your consultation.
Patient stories
Results
Frequently Asked Questions
The only routinely uncomfortable moment is the local anaesthetic itself, a brief sting before the scalp goes numb. The extraction and placement that follow are usually painless, and most patients manage any post-operative tenderness with simple pain relief for a day or two.
A typical frontal case takes between four and eight hours in a single day, including breaks, depending on how many grafts your design needs. You go home the same afternoon.
The transplanted follicles come from the donor zone at the back and sides of the scalp, where hair is naturally resistant to DHT. So they usually keep growing for decades. Surrounding native hair can still thin with age, which is why Dr Bonaros designs your hairline with future loss in mind. Individual results vary.
FUE avoids the linear scar left by the older strip (FUT) technique. Each follicle is removed through a tiny punch, leaving dot marks that fade into the surrounding donor hair, and no procedure is completely scarless. Most patients can wear their hair short without the donor area being noticeable. You can read more in our guide to FUE scarring.
Cost depends on the size of the area and the number of grafts your design needs, typically around £4 per graft, though case complexity can vary this figure. So it can only be set honestly after an examination. Following your consultation, you receive a fixed written quote stating exactly what it includes, and that figure does not change afterwards.
Dr Epameinondas Bonaros plans your hairline and performs every stage of the procedure himself, from extraction to placement. He is a GMC-registered doctor (GMC number 7566786) and a Diplomate of the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery (ABHRS). He is also a full member of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS).
Most hairline and temple cases use somewhere between 800 and 1,800 grafts, while restoring the wider frontal zone behind the hairline may require more. The honest number depends on your recession, your hair calibre and your donor supply. That is why Dr Bonaros gives a specific estimate only after examining you.
There is no single right age. Stability matters more than the number. Many patients are in their 30s to 50s when the pattern of loss has declared itself. Men in their early 20s with rapidly progressing loss are usually advised to stabilise first. A hairline placed too low too early can look out of place decades later.
Yes. Women commonly have frontal transplants to lower a naturally high hairline or rebuild thinning temples. Others restore density lost to female pattern hair loss or traction from tight styling. Dr Bonaros also performs hairline feminisation for transgender patients, reshaping the line to a softer, rounder contour.
Between roughly weeks two and eight, most transplanted hairs shed while their follicles remain safely in place beneath the skin. This shock loss is a normal part of the cycle, not a sign of failure, and new growth follows from around month three. Our article on shedding after a hair transplant explains it in full.
Surgery restores the hairline, but it does not stop native hair behind it from thinning. Depending on your assessment, Dr Bonaros may discuss minoxidil or, where appropriate, prescription treatment to lower DHT. That helps protect the surrounding hair and the overall result.
Wherever you go, apply the same checks. Confirm the operating doctor on the GMC register or their national equivalent, and ask who performs each stage. Ask to see 12-month results for cases like yours. In Scotland, independent clinics are regulated by Healthcare Improvement Scotland. Remember that aftercare and any revision are far simpler when your surgeon is a short trip away.
About the Medical Reviewer
Dr Bonaros is a GMC-registered doctor, an ABHRS Diplomate and a full member of the ISHRS. He has dedicated his career to surgical hair restoration and personally performs every stage of each procedure, from hairline design to graft placement. This page has been written and reviewed to ensure it is accurate, balanced and patient-focused.
