Category: Hairlines

Snippet from the article:

He’s long been accused of being follicularly challenged – and Jude Law’s hair line definitely appeared to be all at sea on a beach break in Cannes yesterday.

The 38-year-old Sherlock Holmes star is having some time off on a well-earned break after being a judge at the city’s legendary film festival – but it appears that his hair has done a bunk too.

It appears his locks have receded all the way back to his crown with just a small tufty island marooned on the front half of his scalp.

Read the rest — Jude Law reveals dramatic bald patch on the beach at Cannes

We’ve written before about Jude Law’s forelock, but I have no way to really know if his hair has continued to recede or someone just happened to take a photo of him when his hair wasn’t styled to hide the existing loss.

How common is it for men to have obvious asymmetrical hairloss at the start of balding?

My hairline was deadly straight, however now I have just one side that is minaturising about 2cm behind at the corner for about a year now, and getting gradually worse. The other side is still fine and the hair is still thick all the way to the edge. This is painfully obvious if I brush my hair back, so I have to brush forward and slightly to the side to cover it. How often do you see something like this?

I’m thinking about going on finasteride but wondering whether you usually wait for both sides to begin minaturisation, as at the moment this doesnt look likely any time soon.

Thank you

It is very common to have asymmetry of the hairline, which often gets more pronounced as the balding increases. But don’t be too concerned about things being uneven… the other side usually catches up!

You’ll need to talk to your doctor about whether you should be on finasteride. Generally for hair transplant surgery, we don’t necessarily need to wait until both side are equal.

Hi there.

If someone was born with receded corners does it mean his hairline will not mature?

The hairline you have at birth isn’t an indicator of where your hairline will go as you age.

We are all born looking different — rounded corners (Bill Clinton), low hairlines (Sean Penn), etc. These can be changed with a good hair transplant doctor if you do not like it. Receded hairlines generally refer to maturing hairlines in many men or early frontal balding in others, but I generally do not like changing these in very young men (under 26 years old) as you may continue to lose hair as you get older.

do asians get a mature hairline? If yes. How does it then look like?

Everybody goes through some form of maturation of their hairline. It is not limited to race or ethnicity. It looks like any maturing hairline. In general, the hairline may recede about one fingerbreadth back, but the Asian hairline is flatter than the Caucasian hairline.

The patient photos shown here are of an Asian man in his 30s.

I know the subject of celebrity hairlines is somewhat like beating a dead horse, but I have a new one.

Would you say that actor Christopher Pine has a normal mature hairline? (The actor who played Captain Kirk in the new Star Trek Movie). My hairline looks a lot like his and so I am curious.

Based on the photos I’ve seen (the image to the right and a couple from Google Image Search — here and here), I’d say that Chris Pine is not balding, nor does he have a mature hairline. I suspect this is probably the same hairline he had when he was 12 years old.

Hi Doc, I have a question about the hairline maturation process. I’ve heard mixed things and I’m a little bit confused. Does the (non-balding) maturation process occur with or without miniaturization? Or can it be either/or? You have suggested that the hairs just fall out, but I’ve also read from you that they miniaturize. Can you please shed some light on this for me?

When you age from the teenage years to your twenties, your hair can recede a bit. This does not mean you are balding and you probably do not go through the miniaturization process. How this happens is not an exact science.

I would say your very front hairs will thin out over time as it miniaturizes and falls out if you have the balding process. In many of the young men who have come to see me and who appear to be developing a mature hairline let’s say half way up to the mature position, I rarely see miniaturization… while those men who eventually develop male pattern baldness will show miniaturization in the leading edge of the hairline.

The location of the mature hairline can be seen here.

I wonder how persistent the forelock is. My father – 55 now, has a receded hairline (V) shaped. It has thinned in the frontal region in recent years, but no real crown thinning.

My question: I’m 24, and already have a deep V shaped hairline, but I wonder how permanent it will remain? Or, whether the forelock can be expected to disappear as well.

Also, what extend does baldness proceed? Who makes it to a norwood 7 pattern?

You need a good diagnosis, including miniaturization mapping and a solid measurement of the hair bulk in the top and crown of your head. The same can be done for the forelock to let you know if you are actually losing hair in the forelock now. As a generality, if the forelock remains strong by the time you are 30 years old, then you may keep it into the years to come. As for percentages of men that make it to the advanced balding stages, see here.

At 24 years old, you need good metrics that should be repeated every year, and with what you report (your deep V hairline) you should consider finasteride. Talk to your doctor, as it is a prescription medication.

First off, I would like to say that I have learned so much from your wonderful blog-thank you. I am a 22 year old male with a receding hairline but there doesn’t appear to be miniaturization behind where the hairline currently is. I don’t see any crown thinning either. What do you think about this? Unfortunately, I had a high hairline to start with. I first noticed this in late 2009 so it has probably been occurring for over two years. Should I get on propecia? I do have mpb, right? I am severely depressed by this situation and I appreciate your help-I want to be proactive and treat it. (I will send pictures in a few minutes with my name as the subject. You may use them on your site)

Genetic history: Early cases of mpb have almost no precedent in my genetic history. My dad, his brother, and their father all had/have sharp but intact hairlines with crown thinning that didn’t start until their late 30s and stopped after about ten years leaving them with a nearly bald crown area. My mom has no brothers neither does my maternal grandfather but he and his father both kept full heads of hair their whole lives.

I have no way to know if you have MPB (particularly since you said you had a high hairline to start with, the hairline could just be maturing from the high starting point). I looked at the photos and your hairline appears strong. The key is that I don’t have any older photos or measurements to compare to your current hairline.

I couldn’t tell you to get on Propecia, as that is a prescription medication and I’m not your doctor. You should take photos with your eyebrows lifted high so that the forehead creases heavily. That will help me tell if this is a change in the maturing of your hairline or just recession.

I wouldn’t suggest being proactive when it comes to treating hair loss, as you could end up using medication that you don’t need. I’d see a physician in your area (you can check ISHRS.org to find a hair transplant surgeon — they know hair, just don’t rush yourself into surgery at 22 years old).

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Update March 10, 2011: Photos from reader added. Click to enlarge.