What stage is my hair loss?
Pick the schematic that looks most like your scalp today. The tool stages it on the Norwood–Hamilton or Ludwig scale — the two scales dermatologists actually use for pattern hair loss — explains what the stage means in plain language, and keeps a dated history so you can see change over time. Everything stays on this device.
Choose by what you see — this isn't about gender, and you can switch anytime.
Educational self-staging, not a diagnosis. The Norwood–Hamilton and Ludwig scales describe a pattern of hair loss, not its cause — and not all thinning is pattern (androgenetic) hair loss. A dermatologist can distinguish pattern loss from other causes — telogen effluvium, thyroid or iron issues, alopecia areata — that need different treatment.
Pattern loss changes over months, not days — a dated history is what makes change visible, and the trend is what a dermatologist will ask about. If your loss is patchy or circular rather than a receding or widening pattern, that points to alopecia areata — measure it with the SALT calculator instead. And pair each staging with a dated crown or hairline photo in the Photo Tracker, so future comparisons rest on evidence rather than memory.
Norwood–Hamilton scale: Hamilton JB, Ann N Y Acad Sci 1951; Norwood OT, South Med J 1975 — as summarised in Gupta M, Mysore V, J Cutan Aesthet Surg 2016. Ludwig scale: Ludwig E, Br J Dermatol 1977. Stage descriptions are this tool’s plain-language summaries of those patterns; schematics are original illustrations, not clinical photographs.
Saved only on this device — and browsers erase site data. A history clear, a private window, or Safari's automatic deletion after seven days without a visit will take this log with it. The fix is a free DermApproved account: it backs this up automatically and puts it on every device you sign in to — details in how storage works.
- Hair RestorationA Transplant Into Untreated Hair Loss Is a Lawn Planted in a Retreating GardenGrafts are immune to the process that took your hair. Everything around them is not. That single asymmetry is why the unglamorous drugs come first.
- Hair RestorationA Hair Transplant Takes One Day to Perform and One Year to SeeThe industry sells a procedure. The biology delivers a calendar — including a six-week phase where almost everything transplanted falls out, which nobody photographs.
- Hair RestorationPRP for Hair Loss: Real Signal, Chaotic Protocols, and a Price per Milliliter of Your Own BloodThe meta-analyses find an effect. No two clinics make it the same way. Which means the thing the trials tested may not be the thing you are buying.
- Men's GroomingYour Hair Is a UPF 5 Hat: The Case for Treating Your Scalp as SkinMen arrive at scalp care through flaking and stop there, which leaves the two bigger problems — sun dose and misdiagnosed folliculitis — running quietly for years.
How hair-loss staging works
Dermatology stages pattern (androgenetic) hair loss with two standard scales, and this tool implements both. The Norwood–Hamilton scale — first described by Hamilton in 1951 and revised by Norwood in 1975 — covers the receding-hairline and crown patterns in stages I through VII, plus the common variants: III-vertex, where the crown thins before the temples catch up, and the type-A patterns, where the whole front edge moves back evenly without a separate crown spot. The Ludwig scale (1977) covers the other archetype: diffuse thinning over the top of the scalp with a widening part and a preserved frontal hairline, in grades I to III. You pick the schematic that looks most like your scalp; the tool names the stage, explains it in plain language, and shows where it sits on the full scale.
The point of a stage isn't the label — it's the trend. Pattern loss moves slowly, so a dated history staged the same way every few months tells you far more than a worried daily mirror check, and it's exactly the record a dermatologist wants when discussing treatment. Note what staging can't do: these scales describe pattern loss only. Patchy, circular loss is measured differently — that's the SALT score — and sudden diffuse shedding has its own causes worth a clinical work-up. Saved stagings stay on this device, and a dated photo in the Photo Tracker makes every future comparison honest. For what to put on the scalp itself, the DermApproved database now grades shampoos and scalp treatments the same way it grades skincare.
Common questions
What Norwood stage am I?
Match your hairline and crown to the schematics rather than hunting for a number. Temples creeping back a little is stage II; a clear M-shape is stage III, the earliest pattern conventionally called balding; a separate thinning patch at the crown moves you toward the vertex variant and stage IV; once the front and crown join across the top you are at VI, and a horseshoe rim alone is VII. If you sit between two pictures, record the milder one and re-stage in a few months — consistency matters more than precision.
Is Ludwig stage 1 hair loss reversible?
Partly, in many cases — mild diffuse thinning is the stage that responds best to treatment, because the follicles are miniaturized rather than gone. Topical minoxidil is the best-evidenced over-the-counter option, and a clinician can add prescription routes after checking for contributors like iron deficiency or thyroid issues. The realistic goal is thickening and stabilization: some regrowth is common, a full return to original density is not guaranteed, which is why acting at grade I beats waiting for grade II.
Do men use the Norwood scale and women the Ludwig scale?
That is the convention — Norwood was described in men, Ludwig in women — but the honest answer is to pick the scale that matches what you see. Plenty of women recede at the temples and plenty of men thin diffusely over the crown with a preserved hairline. This tool deliberately asks about the pattern, not your sex, and you can switch scales at any time.
How often should I re-stage my hair loss?
Every three to six months is plenty. Pattern hair loss moves over months and years, not weeks, so staging more often mostly measures lighting and haircut. Use the same mirror and light each time, save the dated result, and let the change badges in your history tell you the direction — pairing each staging with a dated crown photo makes the comparison honest.
Where does my staging history go when I save it?
Into your own browser’s local storage on this device — nothing is uploaded to DermApproved or anywhere else. That privacy has a catch: clearing browser data erases the history, and it will not follow you to another device on its own. If you are building a record worth keeping, download a backup from My Library.