Once the grafts have been processed, Dr. Elliott will carefully review and design a hairline pattern of the recipient sites using a custom-cut blade. They will lay out the design precisely so that it will match the original pattern, will blend exactly on the sides of the head with the direction that the hairs currently grow, and will form a beautiful, irregular, and natural looking hairline. The hairline can be designed to suit the patient’s wishes. It can be a hairline with high, receding corners, youthful corners, or virtually any other shape. Of course, it must fit the patient’s head shape, facial features, and other factors.

The doctor will review all these aspects with the patient and recommend a design for the most flattering look. For example, prominent frontal bones can be hidden under new hair, or the temples brought forward if a forehead appears too wide. In the back of the head, the design will recreate the whorl pattern exactly as it grew originally. Dr. Elliott strives to mimic the hairline that nature created. Upon observing a number of hairlines, the patient will see that the majority of them are noticeably asymmetrical (shaped differently on one side than the other) and have an irregularity to the hairline itself. One of the clues that a hairline has been artificially created is that it looks too symmetrical, like it was traced around a bowl.