Uneven Hairline? Here Are Your Treatment Options

If you’ve noticed that changes to your hair growth mean your hairline is thinner, higher or lower on one side than the other, or you have long been unhappy with your hairline, you are far from alone. Asymmetrical hairlines can simply be the way your hair naturally grows or can be linked to thinning and hair loss.

The talented hair restoration experts at KSL Clinic can offer bespoke advice about the right way forward, but there are several options, ranging from laser and PRP therapies to reactivate dormant follicles on one side to custom hair transplantations.

Our advice, as always, is to book a cost-free, no-obligation consultation for an opportunity to chat with our experienced teams – rest assured that an uneven hairline can often be permanently corrected.

Common Reasons for an Uneven Hairline

Our hair, skin and follicles change over time, and whether you’ve always had an uneven hairline or have recently started noticing differences in the levels of your hair growth, there may be several underlying causes or factors at play.

For most, their hairline is associated with genetics, and it is normal to have some variations in, for example, your hairline, facial features, the shape of your lips, nose, and ears, and the way you smile, frown, or laugh.

In other scenarios, the two most frequent causes of an uneven hairline are both types of alopecia, but with very contrasting reasons.

Uneven Hairlines Caused by Male Pattern Baldness

Male pattern baldness is incredibly common and impacts as many as 6.5 million men in the UK. [3] We refer to men because, while female pattern baldness is certainly common, it typically impacts the crown and back of the head and normally doesn’t affect your hairline.

This type of genetic hair loss becomes more exaggerated with time. Normally, it begins with a slightly receding hairline, which develops as you age and can become M-shaped or form a widow’s peak.

If you’ve either seen your hairline become more uneven over time or have seen receding hair that is more pronounced on one side, often combined with slight overall thinning, this is a strong indication that your uneven hairline is associated with pattern hair loss.

Traction Alopecia and Uneven Hairlines

Traction alopecia is, as the name suggests, caused by traction, which could be stress, friction, pressure, weight, or tugging on the roots of the follicles. Over time, this can cause progressive hair loss and scarring, which means the hair stops growing in the affected areas.

Most people with traction alopecia have an easily identifiable cause, such as wearing heavy braids, extensions or weaves, using intense chemical treatments like hair relaxers, or wearing their hair in extremely right and restrictive hairstyles.

The Various Options for Correcting an Uneven Hairline

Getting to the root cause of your hairline concerns is important since this can influence the procedures, therapies or treatments we think are best suited to you. 

For example, early male pattern baldness is very likely to progress, and a transplant at this point could mean you will almost inevitably need further procedures in the future.

Instead, a hair restoration therapy to preserve your hairline and prevent unnecessary hair loss having a greater impact on your hairline could be advisable, often with a hair transplant scheduled at the optimal time.

Addressing an Uneven Hairline Caused by Traction Alopecia

If we believe that traction alopecia is responsible for your uneven hairline, you may be able to make some straightforward changes to your lifestyle that can either give the follicles time to heal and recover or prevent additional hair loss.

That could involve changing your hairstyle to put less pressure on the follicles at the front of the hair and switching to gentler, clinical-grade medicated shampoos, conditioners, and hair masks to augment your hair’s general condition, with better hydration known to reduce friction.

Taking steps to remove the cause of traction alopecia is also essential, whether you need to replace your pillowcase with softer silk or satin, avoid tight and restrictive hairstyles and headgear, or remove heavy braids and extensions.

Resolving an Uneven Hairline Without a Hair Transplant

Whether you are keen to avoid a transplant, we do not think this would be suitable, or you’re interested in preserving your hairline as it currently is without further changes that make your hair more uneven, we can provide recommendations.

Generally, hair restoration medications are best at preventing additional hair loss in clients with male pattern baldness or augmenting the thickness of your hair to help with healing and recovery following traction alopecia – noting that medications cannot replace lost follicles but can prevent ongoing loss.

Depending on your hair loss pattern, timelines and concerns, we could recommend:

• A topical medication called finasteride [4] which is technically known as a 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor. In everyday terms, that means the medication stops your body from converting testosterone into another hormone called dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which is a cause of pattern hair loss. This medication is only appropriate for male clients and only if your uneven hairline is due to androgenetic alopecia.
• Minoxidil [5] is an alternative suited to all genders sold in the UK under the Regaine brand. Another topical medication, it is applied to the scalp and is thought to increase the size of your blood vessels to support better oxygen and nutrient delivery to the scalp.
• Laser light therapies [6] are well established and use clinical-grade LEDs to stimulate cellular activity within hair follicles. These therapies can activate currently dormant follicles on the side of your hairline where growth is more sparse or uneven.
• Platelet-rich plasma therapy, or PRP, [7] works very differently from laser therapy but with a similar focus. It uses biodynamic compound concentrates extracted from your own blood sample. Injecting those powerful compounds into the areas of hair loss is known to stimulate cellular healing, recovery, and thicker hair growth.

During your consultation, we can discuss each of these potential treatment options in greater detail and provide more information about which may be suitable to deliver the hairline corrections you are hoping for.

Scheduling a Private Hair Transplant to Correct an Uneven Hairline

Hair transplants remain a minimally invasive, safe, and permanent way to restore hair that has been lost along one side of your hairline or to fix an uneven hairline.

Dr Matee, KSL Clinic’s Director of Surgical Services, advises, ‘ We only use the advanced, proven FUE hair transplant process in the interests of client safety, comfort, satisfaction and upholding the exceptional reputation we are delighted to have.

FUE hair transplants are an excellent way to create a bespoke hairline according to your exact requirements, using your own healthy donor follicles to ensure the healed transplant is impossible to spot, entirely natural, and features thick, youthful hairline growth that is consistent and seamless with the rest of your hair.’

As hair transplantation techniques have evolved over the years, FUE has emerged as the highest-demand procedure for all kinds of hair loss. It is performed in one appointment, under local anaesthetic, and on a walk-in/walk-out basis.

After an initial two weeks of healing and recovery, clients can return to their normal routines, following the comprehensive aftercare guidance provided. In the coming weeks, they will start to see new follicle growth that straightens or corrects their hairline, with the full outcomes seen within a few months.

Prospective hair transplant clients interested in how a transplant can fix an uneven hairline are welcome to book a consultation at their KSL Clinic location of choice or can browse our extensive galleries of before and afters to see the results we have achieved for other clients with similar hair growth concerns.