How can I fix my uneven hairline?
January 15, 2011 9:34 AM Subscribe
How can I fix my uneven hairline?
I'm a twenty-some-year-old male who has an uneven hairline. I was wondering how I should go about covering it up/fixing it.
I think my hairline is uneven due to my hair receding more on one side than the other, though I can remember people bugging me about this problem since I was in my mid-teens which was a time when I don't think my hair had started receding yet. Perhaps it could be attributed to my large widow's peak? My widow's peak is one of the biggest I've seen.
My hair is currently really short and I'm not sure if I should just grow it out and comb my hair downward on the side that has less hair on it. Unfortunately, I'm self-conscious about growing my hair out because my hair is starting to thin on top. However, it might be worth it to grow it out as I absolutely despise seeing my uneven hairline.
How common is it to have an uneven hairline? Someone told me that it's common, but I haven't noticed many people with uneven hairlines before.
*Note - I chose to make this anonymous since I find this to be a very embarrassing problem.
I'm a twenty-some-year-old male who has an uneven hairline. I was wondering how I should go about covering it up/fixing it.
I think my hairline is uneven due to my hair receding more on one side than the other, though I can remember people bugging me about this problem since I was in my mid-teens which was a time when I don't think my hair had started receding yet. Perhaps it could be attributed to my large widow's peak? My widow's peak is one of the biggest I've seen.
My hair is currently really short and I'm not sure if I should just grow it out and comb my hair downward on the side that has less hair on it. Unfortunately, I'm self-conscious about growing my hair out because my hair is starting to thin on top. However, it might be worth it to grow it out as I absolutely despise seeing my uneven hairline.
How common is it to have an uneven hairline? Someone told me that it's common, but I haven't noticed many people with uneven hairlines before.
*Note - I chose to make this anonymous since I find this to be a very embarrassing problem.
Would not recommend shaving to even it out. If you really want to "fix" it, instead of hiding it, laser treatments are the way to go. (But if you're already thinning, spending lots of money to make your hair fall out faster is a little silly.) Stubble from shaving would be much more noticeable than asymmetry in your hairline.
Shave it. All of it. Or just assume that people won't notice-- unless it's crazy asymmetric, I'm sure they won't. And if you're looking for the silver lining in going bald, it's really just a temporary problem, isn't it?
posted by supercres at 9:54 AM on January 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
Shave it. All of it. Or just assume that people won't notice-- unless it's crazy asymmetric, I'm sure they won't. And if you're looking for the silver lining in going bald, it's really just a temporary problem, isn't it?
posted by supercres at 9:54 AM on January 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
Just a note on the embarrassingness of the problem. I have no eyebrows; they fell out in the last year or two. A lot of women seem to lose their eyebrows in their 60's, but I'm in my early 30's. I've been pretty bummed about it, and self-conscious. And every time I mention it to someone, they say "You know, I really would never have noticed if you hadn't pointed it out."
I had this idea that maybe I was more attuned to eyebrows than other people were, because I often notice other people's eyebrows. And then someone told me that Whoopi Goldberg has no eyebrows, and I found some pictures of her, and it's true. And I never noticed (even though I occasionally watch The View). All of this is to say that probably no one else thinks this is as big a deal as you think it is.
As far as your actual question, it's easier to cover up things like this if you have curly hair or if you add some gel/mousse and wear your hair in a messy, bed head style. Do you think this is something your barber/hairstylist can help with? If not, maybe consider going to a funkier hair salon than you usually go, and ask the stylist's advice. A good hairstylist will be able to help.
posted by pompelmo at 10:02 AM on January 15, 2011
I had this idea that maybe I was more attuned to eyebrows than other people were, because I often notice other people's eyebrows. And then someone told me that Whoopi Goldberg has no eyebrows, and I found some pictures of her, and it's true. And I never noticed (even though I occasionally watch The View). All of this is to say that probably no one else thinks this is as big a deal as you think it is.
As far as your actual question, it's easier to cover up things like this if you have curly hair or if you add some gel/mousse and wear your hair in a messy, bed head style. Do you think this is something your barber/hairstylist can help with? If not, maybe consider going to a funkier hair salon than you usually go, and ask the stylist's advice. A good hairstylist will be able to help.
posted by pompelmo at 10:02 AM on January 15, 2011
I would rock this particular problem - keep your hair short and own it. Idiosyncratic physical attributes - a crooked nose, prominent cowlick, etc. - can be very appealing if sported by a confident person.
posted by analog at 10:09 AM on January 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by analog at 10:09 AM on January 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
Super-common. I don't really know any men who DON'T have an uneven hairline due to a widow's peak, some more prominent than others. Most of the men I know well enough to pay any attention to their hair work in law or similarly conservative professions where they all have 50s banker hair, and they just have it cut and parted so that it works with the unevenness. I know a few guys clearly going bald along the widow's peak so that it goes waaaaaay far back, more than half their head, but 50s banker hair is pretty forgiving and it doesn't really stand out to me. (I only started noticing man-hair and all its variations when I had to get my male toddler's hair cut and realized I know nothing about managing man-hair.)
So yeah, super-common. Most people probably aren't noticing that much. And some haircuts work with it better than others. I wouldn't even say "disguise" it, just work with it.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 10:18 AM on January 15, 2011
So yeah, super-common. Most people probably aren't noticing that much. And some haircuts work with it better than others. I wouldn't even say "disguise" it, just work with it.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 10:18 AM on January 15, 2011
Well, there is such a thing as a "hairline lift", but agreed that you should rock it out like an endearing quirk.
posted by availablelight at 10:20 AM on January 15, 2011
posted by availablelight at 10:20 AM on January 15, 2011
Don't all people have uneven hairlines? I wouldn't even think twice about it if I noticed I guy had an uneven hairline, because it's perfectly normal. However, if you want to do something about it, you can grab a pair of tweezers and pluck the side with more hair. This is how all the goth kids I knew in high school gave themselves widow's peaks.
posted by oneirodynia at 11:01 AM on January 15, 2011
posted by oneirodynia at 11:01 AM on January 15, 2011
Uneven hairlines are extremely common, regardless of balding. You just tend not to notice until you notice your own (uneven hairline and receding hair).
A combover isn't going to hide it. Neither is shaving to even it off, unless you're willing to take action daily to avoid stubble. You could pull an Andre Agassi, but if you don't want to go that far, you best bet is, unfortunately, to just own it.
posted by J. Wilson at 1:01 PM on January 15, 2011
A combover isn't going to hide it. Neither is shaving to even it off, unless you're willing to take action daily to avoid stubble. You could pull an Andre Agassi, but if you don't want to go that far, you best bet is, unfortunately, to just own it.
posted by J. Wilson at 1:01 PM on January 15, 2011
Most flattering hairstyles, male and female alike, are asymmetrical anyway (helps disguise the natural asymmetry of one's face), so why not just go with the classic side-part, sideways-combed hairstyle? Doesn't have to be all that long to cover your temples, and a choppier cut plus a bit of messing-up with a styling product should help disguise thinness and avoid the limp/retro/helmet look.
Frankly, though, the thinning on top sounds like a much more clear and present danger to your pilar aesthetics. Have you been to a dermatologist to see about the possibility of getting some Rogaine or Propecia up in that?
posted by Bardolph at 1:04 PM on January 15, 2011
Frankly, though, the thinning on top sounds like a much more clear and present danger to your pilar aesthetics. Have you been to a dermatologist to see about the possibility of getting some Rogaine or Propecia up in that?
posted by Bardolph at 1:04 PM on January 15, 2011
I can't help you change your hairline, but I can add a data point that I find widow's peaks (even prominent, uneven ones!) on men to be unspeakably sexy. I guarantee that I am not alone in this!
If it was me, I would do some google image searching to find pictures of some traditionally attractive men who have a similar hair type/pattern as you, then take pictures of the ones you like to a barber to get a more flattering haircut (you may have to grow your hair out for a little while first, depending on the style). Just off the top of my head (heh), I can think of Jude Law, Damon Albarn, Jack Nicholson, Jimmy Stewart, Zenidine Zidane (sp?), Ewan McGregor, young Bill Hicks ... I could go on and on. Almost all of them have had haircuts at one point or another that played up the widow's peak and made it into an asset.
posted by dialetheia at 1:41 PM on January 15, 2011
If it was me, I would do some google image searching to find pictures of some traditionally attractive men who have a similar hair type/pattern as you, then take pictures of the ones you like to a barber to get a more flattering haircut (you may have to grow your hair out for a little while first, depending on the style). Just off the top of my head (heh), I can think of Jude Law, Damon Albarn, Jack Nicholson, Jimmy Stewart, Zenidine Zidane (sp?), Ewan McGregor, young Bill Hicks ... I could go on and on. Almost all of them have had haircuts at one point or another that played up the widow's peak and made it into an asset.
posted by dialetheia at 1:41 PM on January 15, 2011
What about threading? It requires some maintenance, bur far less than shaving and for a hairline, I'd think it would be better than waxing (which could also be a solution). From what I understand, threading is very precise, so it would probably work well for slight adjustments required for evenness of a hairline. (Full confession: the only reason the idea occurred to me to suggest threading is because they used it to raise a girl's hairline during one of the makeover episodes of America's Next Top Model. And if it's good enough for the CW... But, from what I saw, it did seem to work.)
And I don't have stats (just an anecdotal fraction) on how common an uneven hairline is, but I wouldn't call it uncommon. I have two friends out of a circle of seven very close friends (both with moderate to pronounced widow's peaks) who have uneven hairlines. And it isn't that they are glaringly obvious, just that it's one of those endearing little quirks that you notice about your friends or family.
posted by HonoriaGlossop at 3:40 PM on January 15, 2011
And I don't have stats (just an anecdotal fraction) on how common an uneven hairline is, but I wouldn't call it uncommon. I have two friends out of a circle of seven very close friends (both with moderate to pronounced widow's peaks) who have uneven hairlines. And it isn't that they are glaringly obvious, just that it's one of those endearing little quirks that you notice about your friends or family.
posted by HonoriaGlossop at 3:40 PM on January 15, 2011
It wouldn't hurt to talk to a dermatologist and rule out alopecia areata. It's a type of hair loss that happens in spots, and your "spot" just might be at one temple. Alopecia areata isn't typical I'm-getting-older-and-my-hair-is-thinning loss; it's an often-treatable autoimmune condition. The fact that you've had this spot for so long indicates it's unlikely to be AA, but the asymmetry is what raised my suspicion. If you have insurance, or live in country where you don't need insurance, at least you could talk to a doctor and see if it's a possibility. PS: I am not a doctor.
posted by celilo at 7:07 PM on January 15, 2011
posted by celilo at 7:07 PM on January 15, 2011
I've seen a number of people with very closely cropped hair do the shaved edges thing. If you are really careful about it, it can look sharp.
You just want to tighten up the edges, not change the shape of the hairline. It might not work for you, but it could. Give it a shot.
Just don't draw in extra hair, or you will look like this. (On TV, you can actually see the scar from the hair transplant donor area in back...)
posted by gjc at 7:25 PM on January 15, 2011
You just want to tighten up the edges, not change the shape of the hairline. It might not work for you, but it could. Give it a shot.
Just don't draw in extra hair, or you will look like this. (On TV, you can actually see the scar from the hair transplant donor area in back...)
posted by gjc at 7:25 PM on January 15, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by grizzled at 9:44 AM on January 15, 2011