Would you treat heart surgery with the same methods you would kidney surgery? Would you treat joint pain with the same methods you treat back pain? Certainly not. In the exact same specialized way, believe it or not, restoring hair on the crown requires a different surgical approach to temple or other hair restoration.

A highly skilled surgeon must take a vastly different approach in restoring follicular density to crown hair than to hair on the front temple or sides. 

Unlike the rest of the scalp, hair grows in a circular pattern in the crown, commonly referred to as the whirl or swirl. Many average doctors can transplant hair, but finely and sensitively creating incisions in order for hair to appear both dense and natural is an art form that only a handful of outstanding surgeons possess. 

The hair transplant surgeon must create tiny incisions placed strategically at varying angles that mimic the natural whorl. Only a specialist – not a technician or general cosmetic surgeon – can achieve masterful results.

Simply creating random incisions, even if they are placed closely together, might grow hair, but it often may not look natural, can result in styling restrictions and is often blatantly clear to observers that those sprouting and uneven hairs are not your natural hairs.

Moreover, implanting the actual follicular units into the incisions aesthetically and precisely can be challenging. A surgeon without the requisite specialty and experience may inadvertently damage the grafts or harm the surrounding ones in the implantation process.

No matter where on the scalp the hair is placed, the hair transplant growth chart is essentially the same. It is said that hair placed in crown might take a little longer to grow, it typically takes a full year and, in some cases, up to 18 months for the hair to fully mature.  

After a crown procedure, the recipient area will take about a week or two to appear well healed. Four to six weeks later, most if not all of the transplanted hair in the crown will shed in most cases. After about three to four months, tiny hairs lacking full pigment will begin to sprout although they won’t all grow at the same time. 

Dr. Amir Yazdan, MD, is an internationally renowned hair transplant surgeon, expert guest on Dr. Phil and The Doctors, creator of the GroMD hair restoration product line, ISHRS member, accredited member of the IAHRS and a visceral advocate for patient care. Learn more about Dr. Yazdan or read rave reviews from his patients.