Receding Hairline: Stages, Causes, and Treatments

As you get older, you will notice that your hairline is moving slightly higher above your forehead, Men usually suffer from receding hairline between the age of 17 and 29. After that, your hairline will reach the mature hairline, which means it won’t get any higher. However, you could suffer from hair thinning known as pattern balding through the next years. 

We will try to explain the causes and stages of receding hairline, and what you can do to stop it or even reverse the effects.

Causes 

Many things can cause a receding hairline, such as:

• Age: We know that hair loss is a natural aspect of the aging process; some of your hair follicles will fall out definitely and will be replaced by new ones. However, if you have damaged hair follicles as a result of aging, you will get a receding hairline indeed.
• Hormonal changes: They are considered the main reason for hair loss cases in both men and women. For example, DHT hormone changes can cause male pattern baldness, which will make your hair follicles shrink preventing your hair from growing again.
• Family history: We can see that men and women with a family history of baldness are more likely to lose their hair. 
• Medications or treatments: Chemotherapy is one of the main causes of hair loss.
• Illness or stress: They may lead to a sudden hair loss called telogen effluvium, which usually reverses itself when the illness or the stress fade.
• Lifestyle choices: We know that people who smoke or do not get enough protein in their diets could experience hair loss faster, so, yes unhealthy lifestyle can increase your chance of receding your hairline.

Stages of Hairline Receding

Receding hairline happens to both men and women of different ages, however, the progression of hair loss can be different in each person. 

Stages of receding hairline in men

Doctors consider receding hairline as an early sign of male pattern baldness, which is also called androgenetic alopecia or AGA.

Usually, you would notice a pattern or progressive steps at your hairline receding, which may include: 

• Uneven receding hairline.
• A noticeable “M” shape at the hairline.
• Bald spot on the top of the back of the head.
• Receding the hairline will meet the bald spot resulting in even larger hair loss areas.
• Complete balding on top, you may have remaining hair around the sides and back of the head only.

Stages of receding hairline in Women

Hair loss in women can be very different than in men. Women can get a receding hairline, but it is not associated with female-pattern baldness in most cases. Receding hairline stages can vary due to the reason behind it:

• Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia: You will notice a slow hair loss and scarring of the scalp near the forehead.
• Traction Alopecia: This type of hair loss happens as a result of hair being pulled back into a ponytail, pigtails, or braids; if you suffer from Traction Alopecia, you will first notice that your ponytail is smaller as a sign of hair loss.

Treatment

Doctors say that there are some medications that can slow receding hairline down and help your hair to regrow, these medications are:

• Applying Finasteride: We know that testosterone can be converted into DHT, which can cause hair loss from a man’s head.  Finasteride is designed to help males who suffer from hair loss to slows down the rate that testosterone turns into DHT, reducing DHT in your body as a result, and increasing your hair growth in the result.
• Using Dutasteride:  Treating an enlarged prostate encourages hair growth and restoration for men, however, the great effects will disappear when your stop using those drugs.
• Minoxidil: It is an FDA-approved treatment, which will help to slow down hair loss progress, Minoxidil effects will last as long as you use it, however, baldness will return once you stop using it.
• Anthralin: A topical psoriasis medication that encourages new hair growth for some people. 
• Corticosteroids: This medication helps to reduce the inflammation around the hair follicles, allowing them to open back up and grow new hairs. However, it has some serious side effects, that is why you should not take it before the approval of your doctor.
• Natural oils: Some people argue that applying peppermint oil or lavender oil can help to reduce your hair loss, although there are not enough researches to verify these claims.

Hair transplants for receding hairline

Getting a Hair transplant for the front hairline could be the best solution for your hair loss, thinning in the temples area, and a receding hairline. Especially since it has permanent and natural results.

You can do a hair transplant limited to temples and hairline areas to fix your receding hairline problem; however, you should know that not everybody can do a hair transplant procedure, you need to consult your surgeon about the right way to get the best possible results even before surgery.

Analyzing the temples area to ensure that your hair loss is not momentary and passing and knowing the causes behind hairline receding and whether your hair loss is stable or still progressing is very important too.

In addition, you need to know that hair transplant for a receding hairline contains extracting hair from the donor area (usually the side or the back of your head) and implanting them to the temple and hairline areas. After few months, you can notice that the implanted hair is growing in a natural way solving your hair loss problems and increasing hair density forever. Doctors use either a follicular unit extraction (FUE) or a follicular unit transplantation (FUT) procedure, based on your existing hair loss and your desired results.

Fortunately, the hair transplant procedure is now being performed by experienced surgeons to restore your natural hair look within few months. 

In conclusion, people who suffer from receding hairline must be carefully examined by professional doctors before starting any medication or treatment; especially since a hair loss remedy plan should take your age, facial structure, existing hairline, quality of hair, and desired long-term goals under consideration to give you the best possible results for your case.