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This may become a slightly long post. Initially it was stickied but better to keep it open for others to add their input or queries. I'll try to keep it brief as possible. I know these questions have popped up a lot over PM for me over the years and then you consider the number of posts on it as well on the forum. People are confused if their hairline is receding essentially and receive mixed advice which directly impacts on whether to commence treatment or not. Hopefully this post can clear up some misconceptions and provide guidance to newer male members. Most the information is obtained from reputable online sources over the years but also through direct contact with hair transplant surgeons. By addressing these questions, it will also give clarity over whether the surgical designed hairline is truly mature or in some cases, juvenile. This also comes up a lot too and whether the surgeon did a good job with the all vital frame. It's important to remember that in some advanced balding cases the surgeon will simply created a recessed hairline beyond the mature one because he has no choice in the matter and it's not a human error on his part.
First point I would make is that there is no exact mathematics or science that determines the hairline, there are only guides. Everyone has a unique hairline and the various guides surgeons use try to take that into account. Some doctors may adamantly prefer using one guide over another while in my opinion the best doctors will use all the guides while asking the patient for old photos to determine how the hairline was. Then they can offer to design a customised hairline based on all the facts in discussion with the patient. Most people who are not balding will get some hairline maturation between 17-29. The guides used are:
1)Four finger guide
2)Rule of thirds
3)6-7cm rule
4)Superior edge of the frontalis muscle
5)Scalp/Forehead planes
Four finger guide
Well, it is a forehead
This method is the least useful one and only offers a rough indication of where a hairline should be. Everyone has different sized fingers and this method doesn't take into account face and skull shapes. So if one was only to rely on this approach, a hairline could be placed too low or high on a patient.
Rule of thirds
Da Vinci's "rule of thirds" still holds a lot of value today when it comes to hairline design. It's a very fast method but the drawback is that it's for the perfect facial proportions and not everyone neatly fits into dividing their face like this. Also it's usually set for a juvenile hairline in ideal cases and of course a surgery is usually about giving a mature hairline.
6-7 cm rule
An ideal mature male forehead should be around 6-7cm from the centre of the hairline to the glabella. Not applicable to everyone but again, it offers some value in knowing where you stand. As for the corners, they will be similar distance to the eyebrows as the centre give or take 5mm.
Superior edge of the frontalis muscle
If I was to pick one method that is totally about naturalness rather than aesthetic, I would suggest this is the one in terms of making either a juvenile or mature hairline. When you wrinkle your forehead, the upper creases tell you where your frontalis muscle ends. This is where your true juvenile hairline is/was and it's what is known as "Norwood 0" and similar to a female shaped hairline. From this point, you can easily work out where your mature hairline should be. It's 1/2-3/4 inch higher in the centre and 1-1.5 inches higher in the corners with respect to the juvenile hairline. The two lines denote the juvenile and mature line respectively.
Scalp and Forehead planes
Perhaps this is the most technical customised one and thus offers optimum cosmetic benefit. Where the horizonal plane of the scalp meets the vertical plane of the forehead truly marks the hairline centre point and hopefully it's 6-7cm. From that point the hairline should gradually take on a subtle curve with relatively open fronto-temporal angles.
A line drawn from the lateral epicanthus provides the "end point" for the corners.
Finally I will add a quick sketch which will show the difference between juvenile, mature and recession concerning the hairline. The key really is the transition from a concave shape (juvenile) to convex/gentle V (mature) to the dreaded M shape (balding). If it's still mature, the distance from the centre to the glabella and the corners to the eyebrows will be equal - give or take 5mm. Of course this doesn't take into account general thinning. There should be total symmetry with the hairline on both sides but irregularly regular, if that makes sense.
First point I would make is that there is no exact mathematics or science that determines the hairline, there are only guides. Everyone has a unique hairline and the various guides surgeons use try to take that into account. Some doctors may adamantly prefer using one guide over another while in my opinion the best doctors will use all the guides while asking the patient for old photos to determine how the hairline was. Then they can offer to design a customised hairline based on all the facts in discussion with the patient. Most people who are not balding will get some hairline maturation between 17-29. The guides used are:
1)Four finger guide
2)Rule of thirds
3)6-7cm rule
4)Superior edge of the frontalis muscle
5)Scalp/Forehead planes
Four finger guide
Well, it is a forehead
This method is the least useful one and only offers a rough indication of where a hairline should be. Everyone has different sized fingers and this method doesn't take into account face and skull shapes. So if one was only to rely on this approach, a hairline could be placed too low or high on a patient.Rule of thirds
Da Vinci's "rule of thirds" still holds a lot of value today when it comes to hairline design. It's a very fast method but the drawback is that it's for the perfect facial proportions and not everyone neatly fits into dividing their face like this. Also it's usually set for a juvenile hairline in ideal cases and of course a surgery is usually about giving a mature hairline.
6-7 cm rule
An ideal mature male forehead should be around 6-7cm from the centre of the hairline to the glabella. Not applicable to everyone but again, it offers some value in knowing where you stand. As for the corners, they will be similar distance to the eyebrows as the centre give or take 5mm.
Superior edge of the frontalis muscle
If I was to pick one method that is totally about naturalness rather than aesthetic, I would suggest this is the one in terms of making either a juvenile or mature hairline. When you wrinkle your forehead, the upper creases tell you where your frontalis muscle ends. This is where your true juvenile hairline is/was and it's what is known as "Norwood 0" and similar to a female shaped hairline. From this point, you can easily work out where your mature hairline should be. It's 1/2-3/4 inch higher in the centre and 1-1.5 inches higher in the corners with respect to the juvenile hairline. The two lines denote the juvenile and mature line respectively.
Scalp and Forehead planes
Perhaps this is the most technical customised one and thus offers optimum cosmetic benefit. Where the horizonal plane of the scalp meets the vertical plane of the forehead truly marks the hairline centre point and hopefully it's 6-7cm. From that point the hairline should gradually take on a subtle curve with relatively open fronto-temporal angles.
A line drawn from the lateral epicanthus provides the "end point" for the corners.
Finally I will add a quick sketch which will show the difference between juvenile, mature and recession concerning the hairline. The key really is the transition from a concave shape (juvenile) to convex/gentle V (mature) to the dreaded M shape (balding). If it's still mature, the distance from the centre to the glabella and the corners to the eyebrows will be equal - give or take 5mm. Of course this doesn't take into account general thinning. There should be total symmetry with the hairline on both sides but irregularly regular, if that makes sense.