Free tool
Norwood scale checker
Pick the diagram that matches your corners and your crown. Each one gives the stage, what you see, and what to watch. Switch to the Ludwig scale for the usual female pattern.
What the scale is
The Norwood scale (also called the Hamilton-Norwood scale) is a set of drawings that describe how male pattern hair loss usually spreads. Dr. James Hamilton published the first version in 1951 and Dr. O'Tar Norwood revised it in 1975. It is still the most common scale used in clinics and in research, and it is the scale the StrandScout app reads your front, temple and crown photos against.
The stages run from 1 (a full, low hairline and a full crown) to 7 (only a horseshoe of hair around the sides and back). Stage 2 overlaps with the normal mature hairline most men settle into after their teens, and on its own it is not pattern hair loss. Stage 3 is the first stage dermatologists usually call pattern hair loss. The A variants (2A to 5A) describe loss that marches straight back from the front as one even band, with no separate crown spot; 3V adds a thinning crown (the V is for vertex) to stage 2 or 3 temples.
Women rarely lose hair in the M shape and crown spot that men do. Hair thins across the top while the front hairline keeps its shape, and the Ludwig scale describes that in three grades. The part line is the clue. Use the Ludwig switch above.
How to use the diagrams
- Look from above, not in the mirror. The diagrams are top-down, with the front of the head at the top. A phone photo of your crown, or a second mirror, shows the view the scale is drawn from.
- Match the corners first, then the crown. The corners decide between 2, 3, 4 and 5; the crown decides between 3 and 3V, and between 4 and 5.
- If two diagrams both look like you, that is normal. Studies that asked dermatologists to stage the same photographs found only moderate agreement even among experts. Pick the closer one and compare the same photo in 3 months.
- Note the date. A stage describes where you are today, not how far you will go or how fast. Many men sit at stage 2 or 3 for decades.
Try it
Not sure whether yours is a mature hairline or early recession? The mature or receding check asks about the corners, the edge hairs, the crown and whether it is still moving.
When a stage becomes a dermatologist visit
- Stages 1, 2 and 2A: Looks stable. Keep taking monthly photos so you have a baseline.
- Stages 3 and 3V: Keep watching. Compare across 3 months, not 1. If the corners are still deepening at 3 months, or the crown patch is clearly larger, book a dermatologist in the next few weeks.
- Stage 4 and up: a dermatologist visit in the next few weeks is worth it whether or not the stage has moved, because options work best when started earlier.
- Ludwig I: Keep watching. Compare the part across 3 months; this grade can look like the end of a shedding episode.
- Ludwig II and III: Book a dermatologist in the next few weeks. Ask about blood tests for iron and thyroid, which are usually checked.
- Any stage with sudden, patchy, painful or itchy loss: See a dermatologist this week. Those are not pattern hair loss and they are not things to wait 3 months on.
A dermatologist can confirm the pattern with a magnifier in one visit and go through options. StrandScout does not recommend any medicine, product or dose.
For the stages in detail, read the Norwood scale, all 7 stages, Norwood 2, Norwood 3 and the balding crown. For women, start with receding hairlines in women and the Ludwig scale.
Sources
The stage descriptions follow Norwood's 1975 classification and Ludwig's 1977 classification, the StatPearls review of androgenetic alopecia (NIH National Library of Medicine), the American Hair Loss Association's description of the scale, and Guarrera and colleagues' 2009 study of how reliably the Norwood scale is applied. The "what to watch" lines follow the American Academy of Dermatology and the British Association of Dermatologists patient leaflets. Each linked guide names its sources in full.
Questions
What Norwood stage is a mature hairline?
Norwood 2. The whole hairline sits a little higher than a child's, with gently rounded or slightly notched corners that match each other, the hairs along the edge are the same thickness as the rest, and the crown is full. Most men move to it between about 17 and 30 and then stay there.
What is the difference between Norwood 3 and 3V?
Both have clear temple recession. 3V adds a thinning patch at the crown (the vertex), which you usually only notice in a crown photo or when someone else points it out. The crown is the one zone you cannot see in a mirror.
Can the stage go down?
A read that flips between two neighboring stages from one month to the next is normal noise: lighting, a haircut, wet hair and head tilt each shift how much scalp shows. Real change is the same direction for 3 months, or a full stage up against your baseline in photos that line up.
Is there a Norwood scale for women?
The Ludwig scale is the usual one. It has three grades of thinning over the top of the head while the front hairline keeps its shape, and the part line is the clue. A few women do follow the male pattern, and a dermatologist can tell which scale fits.
Is the stage from StrandScout a diagnosis?
No. StrandScout gives an AI estimate from photos, not a diagnosis. The checker is a set of diagrams you match by eye; the app reads your photos against the same scale and gives a range with a confidence level. A dermatologist can confirm the stage and the cause.