Whorl

The whorl is the spiral at the crown where scalp hair radiates outward from a central point. Its geometry is why the crown is the hardest area to transplant convincingly.

Where you'll meet it

In any discussion of crown transplants, and in the reason surgeons give for discouraging them.

Why it is difficult

Everywhere else on the scalp, hair lies broadly in one direction, so it covers the skin next to it and a moderate density looks convincing. At the whorl, hair radiates in every direction from a centre point, so there is no dominant lie and the scalp shows through unless density is high.

Recreating it means making recipient sites in a spiral, with the direction changing progressively around the centre. Done badly, the result looks like a patch of hair that was applied rather than grown.

What it means in practice

A crown can absorb 2,000 to 3,500 grafts and still look thin under overhead light. That is the same budget as an entire hairline and frontal third, which would return far more visible change.

It is the main reason surgeons say front before crown, and the main reason scalp micropigmentation is often the better answer there.

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