Woman spent £6,500 on hairline transformation surgery after she was plagued with insecurities

A woman has spent £6,500 on surgery to have her hairline surgically lowered after 20 years of feeling insecure and being called ‘slaphead’ as a teenager.

Carla-Marie Norton, from Andover, Hants, forever hid her forehead behind her fringe, was scared of the wind and never went swimming. 

As a child, Carla loved wearing her hair in a tight ponytail. But her choice of style, triggered a condition known as ‘traction alopecia’ – where repeated strain on hair follicles can trigger irreversible hair loss.

Children at school would cruelly taunt her with ‘slap head comments’, and her insecurities spilling into her adult life as she always avoided having photos taken with her two children – for fear of looking silly in the photos.

But now Carla loves having her photo taken – having had her hairline surgically lowered by around 3cm – in a procedure costing £6,500 at UK clinic London Bridge Plastic Surgery. 

Before: Carla -Marie Norton, from Andover, Hants, forever hid behind her fringe, was scared of the wind and never went swimming

After: She had her hairline surgically 'lowered' by around 3cm in a procedure costing £6,500 at UK clinic London Bridge Plastic Surgery

After: She had her hairline surgically ‘lowered’ by around 3cm in a procedure costing £6,500 at UK clinic London Bridge Plastic Surgery

Carla, who works in HR for international makeup brand HUDA Beauty, said: ‘It’s made such a huge difference to my life.

‘And it’s the little things that stand out. A few weeks ago, I went on a rollercoaster with my kids at Peppa Pig World.

‘That’s something I would never have done before the operation, because it would have risked exposing my forehead.

‘The ride was going fast, the wind was blowing back my hair back, and I literally did not have a care in the world.

Before: Children at school would cruelly taunt her with slap head comments and her insecurities stayed with her for around 20 years

Before: Children at school would cruelly taunt her with slap head comments and her insecurities stayed with her for around 20 years 

Now: Carla loves her new hairline after having surgery which cost over £6,000 with a surgeon

Now: Carla loves her new hairline after having surgery which cost over £6,000 with a surgeon 

‘I didn’t realise how much that feeling would mean to me. Looking back, one result of my body hang-up was that I never took photos with my children.

‘I actually have very few photos with my son. He’s five now, and yet there’s hardly any shots of us both together. It’s not a nice feeling for me. But since the operation, I’m making up for lost time.’

Born with naturally afro-textured hair, Carla would scrape it back into a ponytail during her school years.

The insecurities extended to her wedding day (pictured) in 2016 when she was scared that she would

The insecurities extended to her wedding day (pictured) in 2016 when she was scared that she would 

She says that triggered a phenomena known as ‘traction alopecia’ – which is common among those with heavy dreadlocks, hair extensions and cornrows, but also can be caused by excessively tight ponytails, too.

Carla recalls the precise moment she realised she had an issue. ‘There was one picture that I had taken at the swimming pool in our school.

‘It was a summer’s day and the sun was literally reflecting off my forehead to the point that it looked like a solar panel.

‘I got called ‘slaphead’ and ‘fivehead’. It’s just kids being kids, but their words stung.

Carla would style her hair into a big side fringe and wouldn't let anyone stroke her head out of fear her forehead would be exposed

Carla would style her hair into a big side fringe and wouldn’t let anyone stroke her head out of fear her forehead would be exposed

‘And by the time I was 15 or 16, I began to feel really self-conscious.’

From then on Carla would style her hair into a big side fringe and wouldn’t let anyone stroke her head out of fear her forehead would be exposed.

She adds: ‘I was very conscious that all the other girls didn’t have big foreheads.

‘I thought that was why boys were not attracted to me as much as my friends. I basically blamed my forehead for everything.’

The insecurities extended to her wedding day in 2016. She recalls: ‘I specifically remember saying to the hairdresser, my hair has to be styled into a big side fringe.

Carla, pictured as she came out of surgery, when she had had her hairline transformation surgery

Carla, pictured as she came out of surgery, when she had had her hairline transformation surgery

‘It was windy on my wedding day as well, so I was paranoid. Thankfully they put so much hairspray on it didn’t shift!’

Carla researched her options and stumbled upon hairline lowering surgery, performed by renowned surgeon Christopher Inglefield at the London Bridge Plastic Surgery.

A portion of the forehead skin is removed before the scalp is brought forward by around 3cm and reattached.

The incisions, cut in a delicate, slight zig-zag, are placed in the natural hairline so they’re as hidden as possible.

Why are so many people having hairline transformation surgery? 

Carla’s surgeon Christopher Inglefield says demand for hairline lowering ops have skyrocketed since he first began performing them in 2013. 

He said: ‘It’s very difficult to disguise this area of the body in everyday life.

‘And another huge driver behind forehead unhappiness is that people assume, wrongly, that there’s no remedy.

‘We often hear from patients who say, ‘I never knew this surgery existed – and I’m so relieved it does’.

‘As in Carla’s case, we hear stories of past bullying at school, the struggles to form meaningful relationships and the general erosion of any sort of self-esteem.

‘We first began performing hairline lowering surgery in 2013 and it’s been increasing in popularity ever since.

‘It’s also a popular procedure for trans patients, particularly male to female transitioning patients who are undergoing facial feminization surgery.’

Carla added: ‘I literally googled ‘I hate my forehead’, and an article appeared about another lady who’d had the same surgery at the clinic.

‘It was literally a lightbulb moment. I didn’t even know hairline lowering surgery existed. There was no question whether I was having it. It was happening.’

Carla had the surgery – which lasted around two hours and involved general anaesthetic – in August this year. And her confidence has been instantly boosted.

She adds: ‘The scar is so well hidden and if you put makeup on it then you can’t even see it. I couldn’t be happier with the results.’

 

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