Whether it’s due to thinning hair or you’ve dealt with it lifelong…a too high forehead can affect your self-esteem and make you feel self-conscious. If that sounds familiar, than a forehead reduction surgery may be the solution you’ve been seeking.
A prominent or usually high forehead is a common affliction that affects the appearance of many people. When the forehead recedes or appears too high, the facial features appear in odd proportion to the rest of the face. This is true for both men and women.
A forehead reduction, also known as scalp advancement or hairline lowering, is a surgical procedure that shortens the distance between the hairline and eyebrows by moving the scalp forward, and thus positioning the hairline lower on the forehead.
Besides creating a more balanced appearance in facial proportions, but also can make for a much denser hairline, resulting in fuller looking hair. Results are immediate and permanent.
A high forehead can elongate the appearance of the face and the proportions of the entire elongated face look out of balance. When a lady has a high forehead it tends to make the face appear more masculine. It makes a man look older as the forehead recedes and the hair becomes thinner foretelling of balding.
“The Golden Rule of Facial Proportions tells us that the distance from the top of the eyebrow to the frontal hairline should be roughly one-third of the total length of one’s face,” said Michael Kanosky, MD, FACS, a board-certified plastic surgeon specializing in hair restoration for both men and women at Mississippi Hair Restoration, located in Ridgeland, MS.

“One’s hairline, that is the height distance from the eyebrow to the anterior or frontal hairline, should be roughly equal one-third of the length of the face from hairline to chin,” Kanosky continues. “The forehead then is usually less than 2.4 inches for ladies or 2.8 inches for men. This distance increases when the hairline begins to recede or the hair begins to thin.”
Forehead reduction surgery brings the hairline down closer to balance the proportions of the face. Performed by a board certified plastic surgeon, forehead reduction surgery can be combined with other facial surgeries to achieve the symmetry and the youthful, rested appearance you desire.
Kanosky performs this procedure and other cosmetic surgeries, including reconstructive procedures such as scalp cancer surgery and scalp reconstructions after injury, at The Face & Body Center in Flowood, MS.
To schedule an appointment with Dr. Kanosky and see if a Forehead Reduction would be right for you, contact Mississippi Hair Restoration at 769-823-4247.

Oh, The Things We Do For Fashion & Beauty…
The higher the hair, the closer to heaven? That was the thought behind beauty standards during the Renaissance (around the 15th and 16th centuries,) which implied that women with high or wide foreheads were more spiritually pure and sought after.
It’s the reason why many portraits of women painted during this time all seem to display receding hairlines. Women were known to shave, pluck, even use mixtures of vinegar and alkaline substances like quicklime…which could also remove skin right along with the hair. Ouch!
Even in England, it became big thanks to the Virgin Queen herself, Elizabeth I (who reigned from 1558 – 1603, AD.) She had an unusually high forehead caused both by bone structure and excessive hair loss. As Queen she also drove the trends of the time. High fashion meant that men shaved into their hairline to purposely create an extremely high forehead; women plucked out the first inch of their hair and their eyebrows, (which were then drawn on below the brow ridge). We’re certainly glad all THAT is no longer in style!
NOTE: Speaking of old trends… in the Renaissance, fashion required a small bosom. To achieve this, ladies wore a ”stomacher” to flatten the breast and force the flesh out to the sides.
* In case of a life threatening emergency, immediately call 911.
** For any medical procedure, patients respond to treatment differently, hence each patient’s results may vary.
*** By using this website and sending us your information, you are giving us permission to contact you by electronic and non-electronic means. We also track the conversions and collect user data to improve marketing. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy.