Who we are

About StrandScout

A quiet instrument for the question everyone asks the bathroom mirror and nobody can answer from memory: is it actually moving?

StrandScout started with a search most people make at some point, usually late at night: is my hairline receding? The answer is online somewhere, scattered across pharmacy funnels, forums and clinic pages, most of it either selling something or alarming. None of it can answer the real question, because the real question is about time. A hairline that moved a little and stopped is normal. One that keeps moving is not. Only photos taken the same way, months apart, can tell those apart. We wanted one place that answers it the way a good dermatologist would: here is the stage, here is what to watch, here is when to come in.

What StrandScout is

• The app (iPhone first): four guided photos a month, front, left temple, right temple and crown, with a faint ghost of last month's photo so the angle matches. The read gives a stage on the Norwood scale (men) or the Ludwig scale (women) as a range with a confidence level, a coverage score from 0 to 100 for each of five zones, the findings the AI can actually see, a comparison with your earlier check-ins, and one of four verdicts: Looks stable, Keep watching, Changing, or See a dermatologist. Every check-in stays on your phone, and Pro can turn the last 3, 6 or 12 months into a one-page PDF for a dermatologist.
• This site: the same scales, zones and verdicts as free tools you can use by eye, plus plain-language guides to the questions people search most, each written from named medical sources and each ending with when to see a dermatologist.

What StrandScout is not

StrandScout is not a doctor. StrandScout gives an AI estimate from photos, not a diagnosis. It cannot confirm a cause, it cannot see miniaturized hairs the way a dermatologist's magnifier can, it cannot tell shedding from pattern loss on one photo, and it cannot see a thyroid or iron problem. It never recommends a medicine, a product or a dose. A dermatologist can confirm what it suggests. If you notice sudden heavy shedding, round bald patches, or a red, painful or itchy scalp, see a dermatologist this week.

How we write the guides

• Every health fact comes from a source we name on the page: the American Academy of Dermatology, the NIH National Library of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, the NHS, the British Association of Dermatologists, the American Hair Loss Association, and peer-reviewed studies in dermatology journals.
• We describe medicines by their generic names only, never by brand, and we never print a strength, an amount or a schedule. Those are a dermatologist's calls.
• We never invent ratings, review counts or user numbers, and we never use before-and-after photos that are not our own consented, anonymized ones or plain illustrations.
• We use the app's own four verdicts on every page, so the site and the app always say the same thing.
• A dermatologist reviewer is a goal, not something we claim. Until a named reviewer appears on a page, no page has been medically reviewed.

Who makes it

StrandScout is made by Viral Tandel, who publishes apps as Viral Labs. It is an independent project, not affiliated with any clinic, dermatology association, university, pharmacy, telehealth service or other app, and not affiliated with the organizations it cites. Questions, corrections and ideas: viral.b.tandel@gmail.com. Corrections from dermatologists and trichologists are especially welcome.