Forehead and hairline
The widow's peak, the high forehead and the receding hairline. 2 face guides on EveryFaceShape so far.
The forehead runs from the eyebrows to the hairline. It may be high or low, broad or narrow, and its upper edge, the hairline, may be straight, rounded, M-shaped or pointed as a widow's peak. Hairlines often rise with age. The forehead is also the place many traditions mark: the bindi, the tilak and the ash lines of the tripundra are all worn here.
Hairlines
A widow's peak is a V-shaped point at the centre of the hairline; the name comes from the pointed hoods once worn by widows. A receding hairline, which moves back, often first at the temples, is very common in men and largely inherited. Because face length is measured from the hairline, its shape changes how a face shape is read, and barbers and stylists work with it.
The marked forehead
In Hindu tradition the forehead carries marks of faith and family: the bindi, the Vaishnava urdhva pundra, the Shaiva tripundra and the red kumkum dot. In fifteenth-century Europe, women plucked their hairlines to make the forehead look higher. The brow ridge, the bone above the eyes, is part of the forehead's lower edge and is usually more prominent in men.
Famous hairline face guides
Further reading
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Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Bindi: Vinay Sahay, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tilaka: Robert Vane Russell (1873-1915), Public domain, source
- Brow ridge: Falbygdens museum, CC BY-SA 1.0, source
- Widow's peak: Kuebi = Armin Kübelbeck, CC BY-SA 3.0, source