What Are the Different Types of Hairlines?

Included in the many different types of hairlines is the straight hairline, the receding hairline and the widow’s peak. Other types include the high hairline, low hairline and the abnormal hairline which may include irregular hairlines such as those containing a cowlick. Different styles of hairlines can be found at the front hairline as well as the back hairline.

A straight hairline is often seen as a normal hairline. Such are hairlines that are not high or low and do not contain irregularities. As the name of these types of hairlines suggests, straight hairlines are positioned at the top of the forehead and extend the width of the face and usually are not recognized as being abnormal in any way. Individuals intent on fixing a hairline often strive to acquire this type of hairline in the process.

The receding hairline is one of the most common abnormalities detected in hairlines. While some develop a receding hairline in their youth, this type most commonly begins to affect men and women at a certain age. A receding hairline is formed as hair begins to thin or bald at the hairline and continues to do so until a new, noticeably different, hairline results.

Most types of hairlines are inherited from a person’s birth parents. Some people, therefore, have a naturally high hairline while others may have a very low hairline. Those who have a high hairline are often characterized as having large foreheads since the space where a hairline normally begins is left bare. Those who have a low hairline are often characterized as having small foreheads in that the hairline extends into the normal forehead area.

Some hairlines may begin in what are considered to be normal locations on the scalp, yet are still considered to be abnormal hairlines. Most often, such is characterized by the presence of a widow’s peak or a cowlick. A widow’s peak is when the hairline forms a pointed shape at the center of the forehead. A cowlick, on the other hand, is when hair grows in several different patterns or directions in a particular area. A cowlick may occur in any area of the scalp, but when it occurs near the hairline, the result often causes a noticeable irregularity.

People often try to correct abnormal types of hairlines in an effort to change their physical appearance. Receding hairlines, for example, can sometimes be fixed by stimulating hair regrowth in that area. The positioning of high or low types of hairlines may also be corrected in certain cases, as well.