diff --git a/demo/markdownlint-browser.js b/demo/markdownlint-browser.js
index 1333667c..de7bad92 100644
--- a/demo/markdownlint-browser.js
+++ b/demo/markdownlint-browser.js
@@ -2979,7 +2979,7 @@ module.exports = {
         var trailingPunctuationRe = new RegExp("\\s*[" + escapeForRegExp(punctuation) + "]+$");
         forEachHeading(params, function (heading) {
             var line = heading.line, lineNumber = heading.lineNumber;
-            var trimmedLine = line.replace(/[\s#]*$/, "");
+            var trimmedLine = line.replace(/([^\s#])[\s#]+$/, "$1");
             var match = trailingPunctuationRe.exec(trimmedLine);
             if (match && !endOfLineHtmlEntityRe.test(trimmedLine)) {
                 var fullMatch = match[0];
diff --git a/lib/md026.js b/lib/md026.js
index d9bb0c26..0a517d79 100644
--- a/lib/md026.js
+++ b/lib/md026.js
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ module.exports = {
       new RegExp("\\s*[" + escapeForRegExp(punctuation) + "]+$");
     forEachHeading(params, (heading) => {
       const { line, lineNumber } = heading;
-      const trimmedLine = line.replace(/[\s#]*$/, "");
+      const trimmedLine = line.replace(/([^\s#])[\s#]+$/, "$1");
       const match = trailingPunctuationRe.exec(trimmedLine);
       if (match && !endOfLineHtmlEntityRe.test(trimmedLine)) {
         const fullMatch = match[0];