Temple hair transplant: rebuilding the corners and the temporal points

Temples, corners and frontal hairline: which areas are we talking about?

The frontal hairline is the front edge of the hair, centred on the anterior frontal point, also called the mid-frontal point. In the review by Marwah and Mysore (2018), this point usually sits 7 to 10 cm above the glabella, the smooth area between the eyebrows, depending on the degree of hair loss. At each side the hairline ends at the frontotemporal angle, which the authors place higher than the anterior frontal point, in line with the outer corner of the eye.

The temporal region begins below and behind this angle. The same authors describe the temporal triangle as the projection of hair that extends beyond a line continuing the front border of the sideburn, and Park (2015) calls the most forward point of this area the temporal point. The frontotemporal angle mainly shapes the face seen from the front, whereas the temporal triangle sets its outline from the side.

Area	What defines it
Frontal hairline	Front edge of the hair
Frontotemporal angle	Corner of forehead and temple
Temporal triangle	Hair triangle ahead of the sideburn
Temporal point	Front tip of the temporal triangle
Sideburn	Hair running down to the cheek

The phrase “receding temples” generally refers to the frontotemporal angles moving back, which gives the hairline its M shape. The hormonal causes and the stages of that change are covered in our article on the receding hairline. The temporal point can also thin or recede, and a classification reported by Soni and Dodia (2018) records its state with a letter added to the stage on the Norwood scale, for example “4 T” or “6 P”.

Who is a candidate for a temple hair transplant?

This classification describes the temporal point with four letters. It helps decide whether surgery should stop at the corners or extend into the temporal triangle.

Grade	What is seen
N	Temporal point intact
T	Point thinned or slightly receded
P	Recession level with the sideburn
R	Angle reversed, now concave

Under this classification, grades N and T usually need no reinforcement, whereas grades P and R call for surgical reconstruction. Practice guidelines published in India in 2021, based on expert opinion, regard rebuilding the temporal triangle as important for framing the side of the face, provided the donor supply allows it; where temporal recession is severe, they advise planning reconstruction of the temporal fringe as well, to improve the profile (Mysore et al., 2021).

Age and the stability of hair loss

Androgenetic alopecia keeps progressing after surgery, so the timing of a transplant has to take that progression into account. The same guidelines prefer patients to wait until they are at least 23 to 25 years old, and they do not recommend surgery before 21, because a hairline rebuilt too early can end up stranded in front of an area that continues to thin. They also stress continuing medical treatment for hair loss after the operation: topical minoxidil and finasteride are listed as the approved medicines, and a doctor should advise on their use.

Ruling out another cause

According to the NHS, which does not offer hair transplants because they count as cosmetic surgery, the procedure suits permanent baldness of the type that runs in families and is not usually suitable for other kinds of hair loss. At the temples, one diagnosis in particular needs ruling out: frontal fibrosing alopecia, a scarring form of hair loss that mainly affects women after the menopause and moves the frontal and temporoparietal hairline back, leaving smooth, shiny skin. The eyebrows are affected in 63 to 83% of patients across the series cited by Verma et al. (2025), who add that a transplant is only considered once the disease is stable and that many patients have later lost the transplanted follicles.

How are natural-looking temples designed?

Temple design is built outwards from the frontal hairline. The Indian guidelines of 2021, which here reflect expert consensus, place the frontotemporal point level with or higher than the mid-frontal point, set the angle on the vertical line through the corner of the eye, and ask for the recession at the mid-frontal point and at the angle to stay in proportion (Mysore et al., 2021). That balance leaves the corners with a slight recess that suits an adult face.

Most patients ask for the hairline they had as teenagers, and many want the corners closed with a low, obtuse angle. The same guidelines point out that a rounded or obtuse frontotemporal angle is a feature of the female hairline and can look unnatural on a man. A very low hairline also uses more grafts and does not follow the way the face changes with age, while a hairline placed slightly higher can always be lowered in a later session, which cannot be done in reverse.

Placing the temporal point

For the temporal point, the method used worldwide places it where two imaginary lines cross. The first runs from the most forward part of the frontal hairline to the tip of the earlobe, and the second starts at the tip of the nose and passes through the centre of the pupil. In their Indian patients, whose faces the authors describe as slightly rounder and shorter than those of Western patients, Soni and Dodia (2018) replace the earlobe with the tragus, the small cartilage projection in front of the ear canal, which raises the point slightly and makes the lower border of the triangle easier to draw. Their series covers 126 young men operated on between 2014 and 2017, with results presented as photographs.

These landmarks give a starting point that the surgeon adjusts to the shape of your face and to your remaining hair. Marwah and Mysore (2018) describe a first drawing at consultation, to estimate the number of grafts, followed by a fresh drawing on the day of surgery that marks where single-hair and multi-hair grafts will go. They recommend photographing the hairline and recording in the consent form that you have seen and approved it.

Angle, direction and grafts: what changes compared with the frontal hairline

Temple hair leaves the skin almost flat. Marwah and Mysore (2018) recommend an implantation angle of 45 degrees or less, and more acute still in the temporal triangles, because a steeper angle makes the hair stand up and difficult to comb. In women treated to correct the side hairline, Park (2015) placed grafts almost horizontally at the temporal point, then gradually changed their direction towards the sideburn, where it becomes almost vertical.

Graft selection follows the same preference for fine hair. Only single-hair grafts are used in the transition zone, the 0.5 to 1 cm band that forms the edge, and they go into small incisions; grafts with more hairs are kept for the central tuft and the parting (Marwah and Mysore, 2018). Park (2015) applied the same rule along the frontal and side hairlines, with two-hair and then three-hair grafts further back, and kept the finest hairs for the front of the temporal point. He even advised against moving that point forwards when the hair is very thick and coarse, because such hairs are a poor match for the fine hairs already present.

What sets the temples apart from the frontal hairline

In the centre of the forehead, the frontal hairline carries the highest density just behind a deliberately irregular edge. At the temples, density drops, the angle becomes flatter and the direction changes over a short distance, from almost horizontal at the temporal point to almost vertical along the sideburn. Rebuilding a receded corner therefore extends the frontal hairline out to the angle, whereas rebuilding the temporal triangle recreates a separate area with its own lower border above the sideburn.

FUE, sapphire FUE and DHI are all available at our partner clinic in Istanbul. With sapphire FUE, the incisions are prepared with a blade before the grafts are placed, while with DHI an implanter places each graft and sets its angle and depth at the moment of implantation. Our article on DHI vs FUE compares the two approaches, and the complete hair transplant guide follows the procedure from consultation through to regrowth.

What density and how many grafts do the temples need?

The number of grafts is calculated by multiplying the area to be covered by the density planned for each zone. In the method described by Marwah and Mysore (2018), the transition zone and side areas are planned at about 25 grafts per cm², compared with 40 to 45 in the central tuft just behind the hairline. The authors advise against exceeding 60 grafts per cm², a density that can compromise the blood supply to the scalp and the survival of the grafts.

In Park’s (2015) series of 310 Korean women, density also fell towards the sideburn: about 35 to 55 follicular units per cm² along the hairline of the corners, compared with 15 to 30 in the infratemple and sideburn areas. Each patient received between 608 and 1,944 grafts, with an average of 1,252, covering both the corners and the side hairline. In men, the total depends mainly on the scope of the plan, whether it stops at the corners or includes the temporal points and the frontal hairline.

The Body Expert package sets no maximum number of grafts: what limits the plan is the supply in your donor area at the back of the head, which needs protecting in case another session becomes useful later. How that supply is assessed and divided between zones is the subject of our guide to the hair transplant donor area.

When hair loss is extensive

At advanced stages, the donor supply has to cover a far larger area, and the guidelines only foresee rebuilding the temporal triangle if enough grafts remain available (Mysore et al., 2021). Marwah and Mysore (2018) then describe a hairline lifted above the ears, which keeps an acute frontotemporal angle while reducing the number of grafts needed. The NHS notes that treating a large area may require two or more sessions on different days.

Temple hair transplants for women: a different design

The female hairline sits lower on the forehead, with an obtuse, rounded frontotemporal angle and, usually, a peak or cowlick in the centre (Mysore et al., 2021). The same guidelines list the frontotemporal recesses among the areas treated in women, after examining the scalp for diffuse thinning and carrying out a general assessment for medical conditions or deficiencies that might explain it.

Some requests have nothing to do with hair loss. Park’s (2015) patients, aged 19 to 58, wanted their faces to look narrower, and the surgeon adapted the design of the side hairline to the shape of their cheekbones. Apart from four mild cases of folliculitis that cleared on their own, no noticeable side effects were reported, and 14 patients had a minor touch-up for density ten months after surgery.

Temple recession in a woman calls above all for a confirmed cause, because traction alopecia, female pattern hair loss and frontal fibrosing alopecia can all affect the same area without sharing the same treatment. The steps specific to women are set out in our female hair transplant guide, and our article on having a big forehead looks at the options when the forehead has always been high.

Recovery and risks specific to the temples

Recovery resembles that of any hair transplant. For the first few days, the NHS says the scalp commonly feels tight, sore and puffy, with short-lived scabs over the implanted area, and the grafts need great care for the first two weeks. Marwah and Mysore (2018) also report swelling of the forehead and eyelids in the days after surgery; how long it lasts and how to ease it are covered in our article on swelling after a hair transplant.

Head position also deserves attention, because the temple rests directly on the pillow when you sleep on your side. The medical team will tell you which position to use during the first nights while the grafts settle. The NHS explains that the implanted hairs often shed after a few weeks, that fresh growth tends to appear from around 4 months, and that the final outcome is visible at 10 to 18 months.

The NHS regards the operation as generally safe, while listing bleeding, infection and an allergy to the anaesthetic as small risks, alongside an equally small chance that the grafts fail to take or leave a noticeable scar. At the temples, a design fault shows even when the grafts grow well: hairs implanted too upright stand away from the skin (Marwah and Mysore, 2018), and a hairline set too low may look unnatural with age (Mysore et al., 2021). Native hair may also keep thinning around the transplanted area, which is why the design has to remain coherent over time.

Severe pain or any unexpected symptom, such as redness that spreads, discharge or a fever, should prompt you to contact the clinic straight away. Seeing transplanted hairs fall out in the weeks after surgery, by contrast, belongs to the normal regrowth cycle.

Planning your temple hair transplant in Istanbul with Body Expert

For temple work, profile photographs matter as much as front views. Send our team pictures of your forehead, both profiles, three-quarter views, the top of your head and the back of your scalp, and mention any medicines you take and any loss of eyebrow hair. Our team and the surgeon review them, and you then receive a free quote within 24 hours, with no obligation.

In Istanbul, the surgeon marks the planned corners and temporal points with a skin marker and adjusts the drawing with you before harvesting begins. Needle-free pre-anaesthesia comes before the local anaesthetic for the donor area and the temples.

While you are in Istanbul, you stay in a 5-star hotel with breakfast included, travel by VIP transfer between airport, hotel and clinic, and can rely on your own English-speaking patient coordinator from start to finish; the package does not include your flights. Once back home, you keep the 12-month post-operative follow-up, carried out remotely. Our partner clinic and the arrangements for your visit are presented on our page about hair transplant in Istanbul.

Sources

Marwah, M. K., & Mysore, V. (2018). Recipient area. Journal of Cutaneous and Aesthetic Surgery, 11(4), 202-210. https://doi.org/10.4103/JCAS.JCAS_124_18

Mysore, V., Kumaresan, M., Garg, A., Dua, A., Venkatram, A., Dua, K., Singh, M., Madura, C., Chandran, R., Rajput, R. S., Sattur, S., & Singh, S. (2021). Hair transplant practice guidelines. Journal of Cutaneous and Aesthetic Surgery, 14(3), 265-284. https://doi.org/10.4103/jcas.jcas_104_20

NHS. (2023). Hair transplant. https://www.nhs.uk/tests-and-treatments/cosmetic-procedures/cosmetic-surgery/hair-transplant/

Park, J. H. (2015). Side-hairline correction in Korean female patients. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Global Open, 3(3), e336. https://doi.org/10.1097/GOX.0000000000000304

Soni, S., & Dodia, H. (2018). Marking of temporal point and lower border of temporal triangle in planning hair transplantation for male-pattern baldness. Indian Journal of Plastic Surgery, 51(3), 316-320. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijps.IJPS_135_18

Verma, S., Marak, A., & Paul, D. (2025). Frontal fibrosing alopecia: A comprehensive review with recent updates. Indian Journal of Dermatology, 70(2), 115. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijd.ijd_419_24