Mature or receding hairline?

How this check decides

A boy's hairline sits low and straight across the forehead. Between roughly 17 and 30, most men's hairlines move up a small amount, about half an inch, and the corners round off. That is a mature hairline, and it is normal. Male pattern hair loss can start in the same years, which is why the two get confused.

The check looks for the four things that separate them: whether the move is even or mostly at the corners, whether the hairs along the edge are as thick as the rest, whether the crown is thinning too, and whether the line is still moving when you compare photos 3 months apart. Family history and a lopsided hairline add a point each. The result is one of the app's own verdicts, with the reasons listed.

Signs of a mature hairline

• The whole line has moved up a small amount, about half an inch (1 to 1.5 cm).
• The corners are rounded or slightly notched, and symmetrical.
• The hairs along the new edge are the same thickness as the rest.
• The crown is full.
• It moves once and then stays put for years.

Signs of recession

• The corners keep pulling back into deeper triangles, giving an M shape.
• The hairs at the edge are finer, shorter and lighter than hair further back.
• The crown is also thinning in the crown photo.
• The line is still moving when you compare 3-month-old photos.
• A parent, grandparent or sibling lost hair early.

What to do with the result

1. Take the four photos today, whatever the result said, in the same light you can find again next month. The photo guide shows the angles.
2. In 3 months, line the new front photo up on the eyebrows and compare the gap between brow and hairline at the corners. A mature hairline keeps the same gap. A receding one opens it at the corners first.
3. If the corners are deepening at 3 months, the edge hairs are finer, or the crown is thinning, book a dermatologist in the next few weeks. A dermatologist can confirm whether the edge hairs are miniaturizing by looking at them with a magnifier, and earlier conversations give you more options.
4. If you are under 25 with a family history and can already see the corners going, do not wait for the 3-month photo to book.

StrandScout does not try to split a mature hairline from Norwood stage 2, because on a photo they look the same. Both read as Looks stable. What the app watches is movement.

For the long version, read is my hairline receding?, Norwood 2: receding or just mature? and big forehead or receding hairline?.

Sources

The maturing-hairline description follows Rassman, Pak and Kim (2013) on the phenotype of normal hairline maturation and the StatPearls review of androgenetic alopecia (NIH National Library of Medicine). The "earlier is better" and family-history lines follow the American Academy of Dermatology and the American Hair Loss Association. Each linked guide names its sources in full.