Why this woman paid $9,000 to surgically lower her hairline

By Helen Le Caplain via SWNS

A woman with a disproportionately large forehead has paid $9,000 to surgically lower her hairline by 0.8 inches.

Lisa Mckay spent years self-conscious about her 'big' forehead and her hairline that 'peaked' back at the sides.

The 25-year-old was teased by bullies who claimed she 'looked like an alien' because of the size of her head.

She resorted to getting floral tattoos inked just below her hair in 2020 to try and disguise what she believed to be her 'disproportionately-sized' forehead.

After spending years heavily contouring around her hairline to try and make it look smaller, last summer Lisa decided to get a mullet and bangs in another bid to hide her forehead.

But this was to no avail as Lisa said she also suffered from a cowlick, meaning her bangs didn't sit right and left her 'equally frustrated.'

After learning about forehead reduction surgery while browsing through TikTok Lisa booked into a clinic in Harley Street, London, and went under the knife for the $9,462 (£8,150) procedure on Tuesday [July 5th].

Looking into the mirror after having the operation, Lisa was thrilled with the results of her 'cute little rounded' forehead that she says makes her feel 'like a Disney princess.'

Lisa, a tooth technician from Paisley, Scotland, said: "I honestly can't put into words how happy I am.

"It's so incredible I feel like a Disney princess, I love looking at my appearance now [I have] a cute little rounded forehead.

"I just can't believe that's my forehead looking back at me in the mirror."

Lisa said she first became self-conscious about her forehead when she was a young teen and was mercilessly bullied over it.

She said: "Ever since I was about 13/14 I became aware that the proportions of my forehead were a bit off compared to the rest of my face.

"I've never liked how big it was and I've never been happy with the actual shape of my hairline itself, not even just my forehead.

"My hair peaked back a lot at the edges, I always wanted quite a wee rounded head.

"It was one of those things I just ignored but I did get quite bullied as a teenager for it.

"I used to have people making Photoshop edits of me and my forehead.

"People used to always say 'you've got a fivehead, look how big your head is' or 'you could land an airplane on that thing'. At the time it was really hurtful.

"I was heavily bullied most of my high school life unfortunately and the forehead thing was one of many things I was bullied over.

"It wasn't very nice at all, I eventually had to move schools."

Lisa would contour her hairline and even had tattoos to detract from what she deemed to be her larger forehead and 'peaked' hairlines, but still wasn't happy with how she looked.

After trying out a fringe and mullet hairstyle that didn't achieve her desired look, Lisa considered undergoing a hair transplant.

But after learning about hairline-lowering surgery at the beginning of June, Lisa researched clinics in the UK where she could get it done.

Lisa said: "Before I realized that the surgery I got was a thing, I got the tattoos right in that 'peak' bit to try and disguise or take away from it.

"I think it did work, everyone used to compliment them and I think that it took your eyes off my hairline, but I don't think I was ever going to be fully satisfied with that.

"I could still see that my hairline and my head weren't the way that I wanted them.

"I used to heavily contour my forehead a lot, especially in those bits.

"During the summer last year I got a mullet and a fringe (bangs) to try and hide it.

"I really loved that but I have a bit of a cowlick with my hair so the fringe never sat right and that made me equally frustrated.

"I just thought 'I can't win here.' I just started to accept that I was going to have to put up with it and that there was nothing I could do.

"I saw a comment on a girl's TikTok where she'd got a hair transplant that said 'how come you got a hair transplant and you didn't get hairline lowering surgery?'

"I gave it a Google and I was absolutely mind blown. I couldn't believe that was a thing.

"Then I started researching surgeons and found the guy I was going to go with."

Lisa plumped to have the 90-minute operation done on Harley Street after undergoing an online and in-person consultation.

The surgeon measured and assessed her face and scalp laxity, then drew the markings for where the new hairline would be.

During surgery Lisa's skin was sliced open, her scalp was peeled back off her skull and then stretched over the skull towards the new hairline.

The excess skin, approximately 2cm, was cut away before her scalp was reattached to her skull using microscopic hooks before her new hairline was stitched together.

Lisa said: "My hairline's moved by at least a couple of centimeters, especially the bits at the side they moved quite significantly.

"I was in surgery for an hour-and-a-half, the pain wasn't too bad.

"A doctor came around to see me [after the op] to make sure I was ok before I was discharged.

"They gave me all my medication and an after-care kit that will help my scar, I was then pretty much good to go.

"Now I have to keep suntan lotion on it to help with scarring.

"I'm not allowed to tie my hair up for three weeks because of the pressure and I'm not allowed to dye my hair or wear hair extensions for eight weeks

"I'm allowed to get laser tattoo removal on the tattoo that's left on my forehead as of four weeks from my surgery, which is quite good.

"I'm planning to do that, I just thought 'I might as well start fresh with a blank forehead to show off how small and cute it is.'

"I'm just looking forward to having my hair tied back and not having to worry about my forehead.

"I'm really excited to wear make-up for the first time, I won't have to contour as heavily."