What is a hairline test?
A hairline test looks at three things a front photo shows well: the shape of your hairline, how high it sits on your forehead, and whether your temples sit further back than the middle. Those three answer most of the questions people actually have, such as whether a hairline is mature or receding, whether a forehead is big or the hairline is high, and what kind of hairline someone has.
This one runs in your browser. Your photo is read on your device and never uploaded, and the result is a cosmetic estimate from one photo.
How the hairline test reads your photo
When you start, two small models download to your browser. A face landmark model finds your brow line, the point between your brows and the base of your nose. A hair model marks which parts of the photo are hair. The test then walks up your forehead in 45 columns, from just past one outer eye corner to just past the other, and records where hair starts in each. Those points are your traced hairline.
Everything is measured in mid-face units: the distance from the point between your brows to the base of your nose. Classical facial proportions put the forehead at about the same height, so 1.0 is the textbook proportion. Because the unit comes from your own face, the size of your head and of the photo do not change the result.
The test reads your photo three times, from slightly different crops, and combines them, so one lucky or unlucky frame cannot decide the result. The models behind it were made by Google’s MediaPipe team for photo effects and augmented reality, not for medical use, so treat what they find as a cosmetic estimate.
Hairline types: the five shapes
| Shape | What it looks like | How the test decides, in mid-face units |
|---|---|---|
| Straight | A fairly level line across the forehead | Temples within a small distance of the middle |
| Rounded | A soft curve down at the sides | Temples sit lower than the middle |
| M-shaped | Temples further back than the middle | Temples 0.15 or more higher than the middle |
| Widow’s peak | A point dipping down in the middle | Middle 0.08 or more lower than the area around it |
| Uneven | One side higher than the other | The two temples differ by 0.2 or more |
These rules are ours, written for this test, and plenty of hairlines sit between two shapes. Our guide to hairline types has more on each one.
Mature hairline vs receding hairline
This is the question behind most hairline searches, and the honest answer is that one photo cannot settle it.
A mature hairline sits a little higher at the temples than it did in your teens, about evenly on both sides, and then stays where it is. It often shows up as a shallow M-shape. A receding hairline keeps moving back, often unevenly, and may come with thinning on top.
What separates them is movement over time. Take the same photo, in the same light, with your hair pushed back, every few months. If the M is no deeper after a year, the hairline is holding. Our guide to mature and receding hairlines goes through the signs, and when to see a dermatologist.
How high should a hairline be?
Classical proportions divide the face into three roughly equal parts: hairline to brows, brows to the base of the nose, and nose to chin. By that rule, a forehead about as tall as the middle of your face is the textbook proportion. Real faces vary widely around it.
The test describes your hairline height like this:
| Hairline height, in mid-face units | How we describe it |
|---|---|
| Under 0.9 | Sitting low |
| 0.9 to 1.15 | About average height |
| Over 1.15 | Sitting high |
A high hairline is not hair loss on its own. It is a proportion, and many people are born with one.
Big forehead or receding hairline?
A big forehead and a receding hairline can look alike in a photo, but they are different things. A tall forehead with an even hairline means the temples sit level with the middle and the line is smooth. Recession is about the temples moving back, so the M deepens.
The test keeps the two apart by reporting height and temple recession separately. If your hairline sits high but your temples are even, that is proportion. If your temples sit well back from the middle, that is the shape worth watching over time.
Widow’s peak: what it is
A widow’s peak is a natural V-shaped point in the middle of the hairline. It is a shape some people are born with, not a sign of hair loss. It can look more pronounced when the temples move back on either side of it, which is why it is often mixed up with recession. The test only calls a widow’s peak when the middle of your hairline clearly dips below the area around it.
Hairline test for women
The test works on any front photo with the hairline in view. For women, pattern hair loss usually shows on top rather than at the front: the American Academy of Dermatology notes that a widening part is often the first sign. A hairline test can describe the shape and height of the front hairline, but it is not the right tool for thinning on top.
How to take the photo
- Push your hair straight back or tie it back, so the hairline shows from temple to temple. Take off hats and headbands.
- Face the camera straight on, with it at eye level and about an arm’s length away.
- Keep your eyebrows relaxed: raising them changes how high your hairline looks.
- Use bright, even light from the front.
- Take the photo or upload one, and wait a few seconds.
If the test cannot read your photo, it tells you why: a fringe, a turned head, glare, a dark or blurry photo, or hair too short or covered to find.
What one photo cannot tell you
A photo shows shape and proportion today. It cannot show whether your hairline is moving, what is causing a change, or what is happening at your crown. It is not a diagnosis. If your hairline is changing quickly, unevenly or with itching, redness or soreness, talk to a doctor or dermatologist.
Watch it over time in the HairLens app
The HairLens app keeps every scan, lines them up month to month and shows where coverage is changing first, from the hairline to the crown.