What the Norwood scale is
The Norwood scale is a commonly used staging framework for male pattern baldness. It is most helpful as a communication tool: it gives people and clinicians a shared way to describe recession, crown involvement, and broader progression.
Why it matters
Hair loss is easy to misread when you see yourself every day. A staging framework can help create a more objective baseline, especially when paired with repeatable photos.
The stages at a glance
Stage I to II
Little or mild recession.
Stage III
More obvious recession, sometimes with growing concern around the hairline or crown.
Stage IV to V
Greater recession and crown involvement, with more visible thinning across the top of the scalp.
Stage VI to VII
Advanced loss patterns with less connecting hair across the top.
What the scale does not do
The Norwood scale does not diagnose the root cause of hair loss, and it does not tell you which treatment is automatically right. It is one descriptive tool, not the whole picture.
How Track Hair helps
Track Hair helps you capture repeatable photos and review them over time. That makes any stage estimate more useful because it sits alongside a real visual record instead of memory alone.