Natural Hairline Simulations From Real Photos for Hair Transplant Consultations
An AI-powered iOS app that generates natural-looking,
"Shipped a clinic-ready hairline simulation app with reliable"
Frontend
Backend
AI Models
Infrastructure
Lowest
Cost per AI generation
Per-image inference cost using Replicate-hosted model
2 min
High-reliability generation time
Switched to a more stable model variant that "never fails" for
15%
Reduced platform fee target
Prepared Apple Small Business Program eligibility to lower fees vs.
The Challenge
Problem Statement
The client needed an AI tool that could enhance existing hair
The Solution
Our Approach
We engineered an iOS workflow for patient photo capture/upload,
AI Implementation
Photo-Real Hairline Enhancement via Targeted Inpainting
Technical Details
Implemented an AI generation pipeline using a
Business Value
Clinics can demonstrate realistic, professional "after
Technical Deep Dives
Challenges We Solved
Unpredictable Generation Wait Times from Server Cold Starts
Users experienced 2–10 minute waits and a progress bar that repeatedly
Redesigned the loading UI into explicit multi-step stages (iterated
Replicate APIiOS (Swift/SwiftUI)UX progress state machine
Pixelated Saves vs. Clean Screenshots (Output Quality Mismatch)
Generated images appeared acceptable on-screen and via screenshots, but
Adjusted the image export pipeline to persist the original generation
iOS Photo Library APIsImage processing/export pipeline
Generation Looping, Duplicate Saves, and Temporary Provider Ban
A flow using in-app camera capture caused very long generations, then
Mitigated client-side looping/duplicate-save behavior by stabilizing
Firebase Cloud FunctionsiOS state managementReplicate API
White-Background Failure Cases in Inpainting
The model produced poor or failing results when subject photos had
Reproduced the issue from shared sample images, added operator
Replicate model iterationImage pre-processing (cropping guidance)QA via TestFlight
Securing AI Credentials and Enforcing Subscriptions
Direct mobile-to-AI-provider calls risked API key exposure and made it
Moved sensitive requests behind Firebase Cloud Functions, enabling
FirebaseCloud FunctionsApp Store Connect In-App Purchases
Process
Project Timeline
1
Discovery
Defined core use case: realistic hairline modification on real photos
2
Build
Iterated through TestFlight releases, added external testers, improved
3
Launch
Completed App Store readiness (subscriptions, compliance prerequisites
Project Gallery
Screenshots & Visuals
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