An analysis of shapes and location of anterior hairline in Asian men.

ABSTRACT

An individual's first impression can be influenced by a number of esthetic factors, one of which is a natural hairline. The anterior hairline can be affected by various factors, such as race, age, forehead shape, and hair loss progression, similar to androgenetic alopecia. Information on the shape, hairline location on the forehead, and race are required to classify the anterior hairline. According to previous studies, the shape of the anterior hairline can be classified as round, M-shaped, rectangular, bell-shaped, or triangular. This study aimed to analyze the type of anterior hairline in Asian males without androgenetic alopecia. The subjects consisted of 461 males in China, Japan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, the Philippines, South Korea, and Taiwan. We classified the shape of the anterior hairline into four types M-shaped (M), rectangular (R), round (O), and wave-shaped (W). We classified the location of the anterior hairline into three types high (H), middle (M) and low (L), according to the subjects' forehead ratio. Finally, we combined the shape and location types to devise a novel classification system for the anterior hairline type. The most common hairline types in our newly developed classification were MM (23.94%), RM (18.00%) and ML (11.04%). The least common types were OL (0.58%), OH (2.34%) and WH (2.74%). Our results will set standards for hairline shapes and locations, which will be helpful for evaluating hair loss treatment, establishing criteria and designs for reconstructive surgery, and developing camouflage makeups for the forehead hairline.