The Mature Hairline Phenomenon

[Captain Hook]

I'm just thinking out loud here but I'd love some input and good discussion on this topic.

"Mature hairlines", do you guys think they are a real phenomenon or not?

I personally think a few examples must exist, we all know of people, family or celebrities (certain ones at least, apparently even Johnny Depp and Charlie Sheen had hair transplants, actors I previously thought only had mature hairlines) who recede to a certain point at 18-29 ish and then remain there until their 50s where they begin to recede further or they may never recede further. I also think the phenomenon is poorly understood and therefore doesn't have a solid grounding in my own belief of it either, it's up in the air.

What are your thoughts on this? If you guys think the mature hairline isn't a real thing, how do we explain specific actors like Orson Welles and Ewan McGregor? (to the best of my knowledge they never had hair transplants nor were on any treatments)

 

[abcdefg]

I dont believe in such a thing. Do some men bald a little and stay like that for a long time? Sure but its all baldness.

 

[DoctorHouse]

I think "mature" is the key word versus "juvenile". There a very small percentage of men who retain their "juvenile" hairline for most of their life but I think by the time they reach their 50's or 60's they may eventually lose it. If you look at most men in their early 20's, they show some temple recession. That is what most tend to refer to as the "mature" hairline giving you that transition from looking like a young teen to a young adult male. I do think a "mature" hairline could also transition into balding but I don't think they are exactly the same thing. I would say a NW1 to NW2 is what one would consider a mature hairline and as it transitions into a NW3 you are considered balding with a more mature looking hairline than the less NWs. Even Brad Pitt has a mature hairline at his age. I don't know about Joel Olsteen he looks like he got "blessed" with unbelievable hair that looks almost juvenile. He is "blessed" with perfect hair.

 

[Koga]

I have lots of people in my family who are in their 50's and have full heads of crazy thick hair. None has NW1, more like NW1,5 or NW2. That's what I call a mature hairline. If you'd like to call it 'just balding a little', that's fine too. What's in a name...

 

[TD500]

I think "mature" is the key word versus "juvenile"

agreed

 

[oye_rg]

However, I also think hair growth rate makes a HUGE difference. My manager is seven years older than me. He is between 2.5 - 3, but his hair grows extremely fast, so he is not as bald as younger men are. And people who have hair that grows very fast will bald slower than people whose hair grows very slowly.

Sorry I lost you there. Can you elaborate and explain this point as it seems very interesting.

 

[SayifDoit]

My brother appears to have experienced zero recession over these past 5 years since he totally lost his temples, no thinning either. Me thinks he has a mature hairline, not sure.

I'm basically ****ed, my hairline has only gotten worst and I have obvious thinning around my hairline. Load of BS.

 

[dusty]

My Grandfather has absolutely no hair loss in his late 70's, not even a little temple recession...but my Uncle definitely has a mature hair line because he lost his temples in his 30's and has experienced zero hair loss since and is now in his 50's(based on old pictures)...my other uncle lost his hair line in his early 20's then went 25 years without experiencing any hair loss and now is losing hair in an A pattern...but yea mature hair lines definitely exist considering that almost half of all men stay between a NW0 and NW3 their entire lives...of course the other half usually surpass NW4 straight into 5,6 or 7

 

[abcdefg]

I dont see the point in trying to distinguish between different types of baldness. To me hair loss is hair loss whatever term you attach to whichever stage. If there is some temple recession that is hair loss even if its more common than say Norwood 5 guy with more hair loss. Its just arguing semantics really.

 

[TransientHair]

A mature hairline is a real thing, but I don't think that its any different to any other final hair loss pattern. That is to say, some men will stop at NW2 while others will stop at NW4. Nobody refers to a NW4 as a mature hairline, but they would a NW2.

 

[abcdefg]

A mature hairline is a real thing, but I don't think that its any different to any other final hair loss pattern. That is to say, some men will stop at NW2 while others will stop at NW4. Nobody refers to a NW4 as a mature hairline, but they would a NW2.

What causes a Norwood 1 to go to a Norwood 2 though? Its not magic its the very same male pattern baldness process that takes someone from Norwood 2 to Norwood 4. So to me its a bit odd to use one term for one like "mature hairline" and male pattern baldness for something past that like Norwood 4. Norwood 2 might be more common but that seems irrelevant if we are talking about hair loss.
To me its like breaking off a small piece of a stick and saying its no longer a stick its now a twig. If you have the whole thing then you call it a stick again when really its all the same thing under different names. An odd example but oh well

 

[xetudor]

A mature hairline is hair loss where the vast majority of people don't even think of baldness when looking at it. Arnold has a mature hairline for example and although he slowly receded over the years, people don't call him balding.

 

[Wolf Pack]

I have lots of people in my family who are in their 50's and have full heads of crazy thick hair. None has NW1, more like NW1,5 or NW2. That's what I call a mature hairline. If you'd like to call it 'just balding a little', that's fine too. What's in a name...

This basically. Retaining the juvenile hairline is common in certain ethnicities and families, overall it's rare. A mature hairline may be minor balding perhaps, speaking in terms of the hair loss process. But in reality, it's a normal and great hairline, not balding.

 

[FBaldy]

Still recall the time I told myself its just a mature hair line..... now I resemble an egg which no chick wants to crack

 

[abcdefg]

Still recall the time I told myself its just a mature hair line..... now I resemble an egg which no chick wants to crack

Yeah thats another thing. There is no way to ever know what it is. Just treat a mature hairline as if your going bald because you very well might. No way to know and you cant regrow anything you have to prevent even if it means taking a drug you never needed for many years

 

[youngtrep31]

Im a believer that some men are pee-disposed to have a bit of maturing in the hairline. Obviously a lot of men thin all over the head and others go completely bald. But i think minor recession at the hairline isn't really full hair loss, rather just a natural part of aging. Either way its something that is genenteic for the most part

 

[Captain Hook]

Yeah thats another thing. There is no way to ever know what it is. Just treat a mature hairline as if your going bald because you very well might. No way to know and you cant regrow anything you have to prevent even if it means taking a drug you never needed for many years

This is exactly what I've been doing. Just assuming I have a mature hairline is a fool's game. Very good response.

Thanks everyone else for the stimulating discussion by the way!

 

[abcdefg]

Im a believer that some men are pee-disposed to have a bit of maturing in the hairline. Obviously a lot of men thin all over the head and others go completely bald. But i think minor recession at the hairline isn't really full hair loss, rather just a natural part of aging. Either way its something that is genenteic for the most part

Maybe but how do you ever know either way? There is no crystal ball telling you it might stop at whatever point. So minor loss could be the beginning of the end you never know. I dont think hair loss is part of aging because some men dont lose any even at older ages. Whether its rare or not aging doesnt skip certain people so one man with no hair loss at 50 means its not aging. Yet to be understood processes? Sure but it cant be aging. Aging happens at cellular level is largely impossible to stop or be immune from
Castrated men with no androgens never get mature hairlines or go bald. Its all androgens and timing and we dont have a perfect AA to replicate castration to see what happens so something like propecia or dutasteride are not perfect examples. Castrated men have much lower T levels on top of just DHT being lower

 

[Gabriel Bacci]

I think it does exist. It's perfectly normal. You're not going to find many men older than 20 with a woman's hairline (aka juvenile hairline). In fact, this temporal recession is a natural part of adulthood and it's also part of the male sexual pattern (like deeper voice and beard). If you start checking every men's hairline, you're gonna notice it:

Jon Hamm
Nikolaj Coster Waldau
Chris Evans
David Tennant
Tom Holland (yeah, he just became an adult, actually).
Leo DiCaprio
Ewan McGregor
Viggo Mortensen (he's kinda balding, but he has had recession since the LOTR movies, at least)
Kimi Raikkonen
Chris Hemsworth
Chris Pine
Hugh Jackman
Downey Jr.
Johnny Depp
David Bowie
Ben Affleck
Jake Gyllenhaal

And basically 90% of men when they leave puberty. I might have overdone it, but I wanna make sure that you guys understand how common and natural this is, and it's not necessarily a form of baldness (unless there's thinning, of course). The mature hairline might be bigger in some men than others (Nikolaj Waldau has a much bigger recession than john hamm), but still, it just happens to most men, so, if you're matuing, welcome to the club.

PS: Of course, some guys might say it doesn't exist, but honestly? Deep down I think it's a bit of jealousy. Anyway...

 

[BaldBearded]

I dont see the point in trying to distinguish between different types of baldness. To me hair loss is hair loss whatever term you attach to whichever stage. If there is some temple recession that is hair loss even if its more common than say Norwood 5 guy with more hair loss. Its just arguing semantics really.

I agree... it's just another number on the Norwood chart... if you say, "oh, I am not receding, it's just a mature hairline, it's still, hair loss. Do with it what you like. If you are an N1, and happy, fine, N2, and happy, fine. If you think you need to do something about it, then you do.

I know of a friend who is an N3, and to be honest, he looks amazing... even with the noticeable thinning. It's part of his adorable charm, he also rocks an amazing beard. It is possible that the fact that he has blond curls, makes the thinning less noticeable, not sure.