Mature Hairline: Causes & Treatment Options

It’s totally normal for your hairline to shift as you get older. Known as a mature hairline, a slight M-shape at your forehead’s edge can be an early sign of hair loss. But don’t worry — there are effective ways to treat it. .

When people mention a “mature hairline,” they’re often talking about a hairline that’s receded. In most cases, a receding hairline is the beginning of male pattern baldness, or androgenetic alopecia.  

Without treatment, your mature hairline may keep inching back, leading to further hair loss. The sooner you act, the better your chances of preventing more serious thinning or complete baldness.

Below, we’ll break down what a mature hairline really is, how it differs from a receding hairline, and the steps you can take  as well as the difference between a mature hairline and a receding hairline, and the steps you can take to stop hair loss in its tracks.

The term “mature hairline” usually refers to a receding hairline — a hairline with some degree of hair loss around the temples. Many men start to develop a more mature, M-shaped hairline as they enter their 20s or 30s.

If you’re starting to develop a mature hairline, you may notice that the corners of your hairline sit higher on your forehead than previously, or that your hairline has a more visible “M” shape than it once did.

These hairline changes are a symptom of male pattern baldness — a common type of hair loss that can affect as much as half of all men by age 50. 

Contrary to popular hair loss myths, male pattern baldness isn’t caused by wearing a hat.

Instead, male pattern baldness is caused by a combination of genetic factors and the effects of an androgen (male sex hormone) called dihydrotestosterone (DHT).

Your body produces DHT as a byproduct of testosterone. During childhood and adolescence, DHT plays a key role in your physical development, including the growth of your penis, body hair, and prostate.

However, when you become an adult, DHT can have some less-than-helpful effects on your body. For example, some people experience male pattern baldness, which occurs when DHT binds to androgen receptors in your scalp. The DHT causes your hair follicles to undergo a process called follicular miniaturization. 

As your hair follicles begin to miniaturize, the growth phase of your hair growth cycle can shorten, resulting in smaller, weaker hairs that eventually fail to penetrate through the outer layer of your skin.  

This type of hair loss usually affects the hair follicles around your hairline and vertex scalp first, resulting in a mature hairline or a hair thinning at the crown (the area near the top of the head).

Not everyone is equally sensitive to DHT. Some men develop a mature hairline and noticeable baldness early in life, while others may experience minimal hair loss even as they get older. If you have a family history of male pattern hair loss, you’re likely to experience hair loss yourself. 

Our guide to DHT and male pattern hair loss goes into more detail about this process, as well as the role that hormones and genetics play in hair loss.

Because the term “mature hairline” normally isn’t used clinically, there’s no diagnostic criteria for this type of hair pattern. By this, we mean that a dermatologist or primary care physician usually isn’t going to fill in a checklist, then diagnose you with a “maturing” hair pattern. 

However, as your hairline matures, you might notice the following:

• Mild hair loss around the temples 

• A slight V or M-shape 

• A relatively high hairline 

• Little or no hair loss elsewhere on your scalp 

If you have diffuse hair loss — meaning hair loss all over your scalp — you’re probably not experiencing male pattern baldness, but another type of hair loss. 

Diffuse hair loss could be a symptom of severe stress, a side effect of medication, or the result of a recent illness.

What’s the difference between a mature hairline and a receding hairline? It depends on who you ask. 

A mature hairline is a type of receding hairline, although the two terms are generally used in slightly different ways. A mature hairline can be an early sign of a receding hairline. 

But also, a mature hairline doesn’t necessarily mean you will develop male pattern baldness. Minor hairline changes are a normal part of the aging process — it’s common for your hairline to change from adolescence to adulthood!

The term “mature hairline” is generally used to refer to a mildly receded hairline that retains lots of definition. A mature hairline will typically show some signs of recession near the temples, but it won’t have the strong M or V shape of an obvious receding hairline.

Think of Don Draper in Mad Men — he has a hairline that clearly belongs to a grown man, not a juvenile hairline like you might have had in your teenage years. But it’s also not a strongly receded or balding hairline. 

Another characteristic of a mature hairline is that while it might be receding, it isn’t receding very quickly. Put simply, a mature hairline moves back fairly evenly, and at a slower pace that’s closer to “getting older” than “rapidly losing hair.” 

But still, it’s important to keep an eye on your hairline. For most men, the process of losing hair around the hairline is gradual. Put simply, it’s very rare to suddenly develop a receding hairline in a few months. Instead, although it may be something you notice suddenly, the process of losing hair takes time — typically, several years.

The good news is that if you start treating a mature hairline early, you can slow down hair loss, promote hair regrowth, and keep your hair looking fuller and thicker for longer. 

If you’ve noticed some minor hairline changes since your teen years, don’t panic — it doesn’t mean you’ll definitely go bald. It can be a natural part of the aging process, and not a sign of baldness.

However, it’s important to pay attention to your hairline, especially if it’s starting to change quite rapidly. 

Use the following techniques to check for signs of maturation in your hairline:

• Check your hairline in the mirror. One simple way to check for a maturing hairline is to take a quick look at your hairline in the mirror. Pull your hair back and look at the temples and general shape of your hairline, as these will often show signs of recession.

• Compare your hairline to old photos. If you don’t spot any changes by looking at your hairline in the mirror, try comparing the shape of your hairline to photos of yourself taken two to three years ago. Make sure to use photos taken in similar lighting conditions.  

• Look for excessive hair shedding. You typically shed 50 to 100 hairs per day — a normal part of your hair’s natural growth cycle. However, noticing an excessive amount of hairs on your pillow or hairbrush could be a sign of hair loss.  

• Ask your friends, family, or partner. If you’re worried about hair loss but can’t see it yourself, try asking a trusted friend, family member or partner for their opinion.

Our guide to identifying a receding hairline shares other techniques that you can use to see if you’re losing hair. 

If you have multiple photos of your hairline over the course of several years, you can compare them to the Norwood scale to assess the severity of your hair loss.

If your hair loss exceeds a Norwood 2 or Norwood 2a, you might want to consider looking into your options for treating hair loss.

Hair loss can have a serious impact on your wellbeing, including your psychological health. It’s far from uncommon to experience a significant drop in confidence when you notice your entire hairline is starting to mature, or that your hair is beginning to thin. 

These mental effects are sometimes trivialized by people not suffering from hair loss. For them, it’s just “not a big deal.” But you know differently. In reality, mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety often go hand-in-hand with androgenetic alopecia. 

The good news is that if you’re not interested in going bald, proven options are available to help you stop the process.

A few decades ago, a receding hairline almost always meant that you would lose almost all of your hair. Back then, the only options you had were accepting the hair loss or turning to wigs to hide your thinning hair from others.

Today, male pattern baldness is no longer an untreatable condition. In fact, several medications, as well as surgical procedures, are available to either slow down the effects of hair loss, prevent it from getting worse or, in some cases, even help you regrow hair you’ve lost.

If you’re not keen to rock the bald look, take action as soon as you can. Seriously. The faster you get treatment, the more likely you are to maintain a full head of hair for longer.

Medications for Hair Loss

Currently, the most effective way to deal with a maturing hairline is to use an FDA-approved hair loss medication such as finasteride or minoxidil.  

Also known by the brand name Propecia, finasteride is an oral medication that slows down male pattern baldness. It prevents your body from converting testosterone into DHT — the androgen hormone that damages your hair follicles.

If you’re starting to lose hair, taking finasteride can help to prevent your hair loss from becoming worse. In some cases, it can even stimulate regrowth in areas of your scalp with noticeable hair loss. 

In a series of two one-year trials, researchers found that men who used finasteride experienced a significant increase in hair count in areas of balding scalp, indicating new hair growth.

We offer finasteride online, following an online consultation with a physician who will determine if a prescription is appropriate.

Also known by the brand name Rogaine, minoxidil is a topical, over-the-counter medication that works by stimulating blood circulation in your scalp and moving inactive hair follicles into the anagen, or active growth, phase of the hair growth cycle.

Although minoxidil doesn’t block DHT, it often helps to reduce hair loss and stimulate the growth of new hair. 

Interestingly, the same study found that minoxidil is particularly effective as a hair loss treatment when it’s used with finasteride, with 94.1 percent of men who used both medications displaying improvements. 

We offer minoxidil solution and minoxidil foam online. And if you’d like to hit your hair loss with a strong combination, you can try our topical finasteride and minoxidil spray. 

Hair Transplant Surgery

If you have significant hair loss that you’d like to treat, you may want to consider getting a hair transplant — a type of hair restoration surgery.

A hair transplant is a cosmetic procedure that involves carefully removing hair follicles from the back and sides of your scalp — areas that are resistant to the effects of DHT. These hair follicles are then relocated to bald spots and areas with thinning hair, such as your hairline or crown. 

Unlike the artificial-looking hair plugs of the 80s and 90s, modern hair transplant surgery creates natural-looking results, particularly when it’s performed by an experienced dermatologist or plastic surgeon. 

However, it isn’t cheap. Hair transplant surgery can vary in price from a few thousand dollars to tens of thousands, depending on your location, the severity of your hair loss and the number of hair follicles that need to be relocated to balding areas of your scalp.

Still, it’s an option that’s certainly worth considering if you’re starting to develop noticeable hair loss around your hairline and want to do something about it for good.  

Learn more about FUT vs FUE hair transplants and what to expect when recovering from a hair transplant.

Other Hair Loss Treatments

There are a few other hair loss treatments you can try, such as:

• Plasma-rich platelet (PRP) treatment, which involves injecting your own blood plasma into your scalp

• DHT-blocking shampoos, including our thickening shampoo contains saw palmetto, a natural extract that blocks DHT in the scalp

• Hair growth vitamins, like our biotin gummies, although these typically only work if your hair loss is caused by a nutritional deficiency

Just a word of wisdom, here: Although rough hair styling techniques don’t cause male pattern hair loss, they certainly can cause hair breakage and make your hair look even thinner.

So, keep your hair and scalp clean and healthy. Try to avoid tight hairstyles (like super-tight ponytails or cornrows), as these can put strain on your hair follicles, leading to further hair loss. Also, don’t use harsh chemicals to style your hair. 

Not sure where to start with treating your mature hairline? Talking with a medical professional about hair loss solutions is the quickest way to cut through all the noise and take real action to slow or reverse your hair loss.

Bodily changes are a natural part of the aging process. For many men, this means watching as a minor widow’s peak turns into a more pronounced mature hairline, often complete with visible hair thinning and other signs of male pattern baldness.

Here’s what you need to know about a mature hairline:

• It’s normal for your hairline to change as you age. Your hair won’t look the same as it did when you were a teenager, and that’s ok. 

• But a mature hairline could suggest your hairline is receding. This is the result of male pattern hair loss, and it can be an early sign of balding. 

• Fortunately, there are treatments available. Medications like finasteride and minoxidil can slow down hair loss. 

Provided you act in the early stages, you can slow down hair loss and even stop a maturing hairline from developing into severe balding. 

Your first step is to speak with a healthcare provider. They can assess your hairline and direct you to the right hair loss treatments for your type of hair loss. You can get started by filling in our hair loss assessment online.