Male Pattern Baldness Stages

Losing hair has been a constant scare for all men and it’s usually influenced by either genetics or health conditions. However, you can cause hair loss by using too many nasty chemical products on your hair or using harsh treatments. 

Today we will like to see what the genius Hamilton and Norwood has to say about the pattern of hair loss in men. The Norwood scale was initially introduced by Hamilton but significantly improved by the efforts of Dr.Norwood.

The scale was actually introduced in the 1950s by James Hamilton and got its final shape in the 1970s by O'Tar Norwood. This scale is used to describe the pattern of hair loss from 1 to 7. 

Is Male Pattern Baldness Common?

Yes, studies concluded that over 50 million people in tohe USA are suffering from hair loss or baldness to some extent. It is rather a very common phenomenon. 

To our surprise, we found there has been a connection between looking more intellectual, accomplished, and suitable that can get you higher status. 

Here are some quick facts you should know about male pattern baldness:

• Androgenetic alopecia or male pattern baldness is usually caused in the late 30s due to a sharp change in hormonal levels.
• Hair loss and baldness have been shown to be emotionally straining for men that led them to seek various medical treatments for the same. 
• Diseases and infections can speed up the process of hair loss. 
• Nutritional or vitamin deficiency can cause your baldness to reach an advanced stage or at least speed up faster than ever. 
• Medications or harsh medical treatments can also cause frequent hair loss or hair loosening. 

Norwood Scale 

The Norwood scale distinguishes the stages of male pattern baldness in seven stages and one class A baldness pattern. Class A balding has a pattern where the hairline starts diminishing from front to back. 

Stage 1

Often known as the control stage. The people in stage 1 have very few signs of hair loss or receding hairline is not prominent yet. Making changes to reduce hair loss or controlling it effectively can reverse the process without too many efforts. 

Stage 2

The receding hairline is noticeable in this stage and it usually starts around the temples region of the head. It is also known as the mature hairline and putting serious efforts into controlling hair loss can reverse the process but it won’t be as easy as stage 1. 

Stage 3

Now, this is the stage where people usually notice your hair loss in a flash and we understand how troubling this stage is. The hairline goes further away from the temples and there are visible dips in the hairline. If you view your hairline from above, you’ll notice an M shape in the hairline. 

Stage3 vertex

The stage 3 vertex is the less noticeable version of stage 3 but the baldness still occurs in the regions of the crown of the head. The dips in the hairline are less noticeable than at this stage. 

Stage 4

This is where you can visibly point out all the bald spots developing in the crown of your head. There is a “U-shaped” hairline in this stage and the person at stage 4 will have a strip of hair between the bald spot and the receding hairline. 

There is also a stage 4A where the person won’t have a bald spot but the hairlines recede further making the u-shape even deeper than before. 

Stage 5

A much severe hair loss version than stage 4 and it has a much-advanced progression in the receding hairline. At this point, there is a only strip of hair between the bald spot and hairline but this strip is much more defined than the previous stage. 

Stage 6

This stage is where the person is almost bald and only has two strips of hair on the sides of the head. There is no strip of hair between bald spots and receding hairlines as both have joined and the person is bald on the top of their head. Most people in their mid-40s are suffering from stage 4 baldness instead of complete baldness. 

Stage 7

At this last stage, there is only weak and thin hair left on your head. You might have thin hair encircling your head in the ring. The strips of hair at sides become very defined and there is no potential hair growth in the bald regions. 

Are there any other scales to measure the baldness level? 

Yes, there have been other defined scales or distinguishing levels for telling the stage of male baldness but so far, the Norwood scale has been the most accepted scale amongst all of them. 

Another such classification which is less simple yet equally good was given by Blanchard in 1984. It described the male hair loss in six evolutionary stages that were determined by certain factors. These factors included glabello-frontal, superciliary frontal, interparietal, front-vertical, helicon-vertical, and nucho-vertical distances. 

There is also a scale to measure female pattern baldness and this classification system was given by Ludwig. It has in total three stages of hair loss that are evolutionary in nature and these stages are drawn based on the study conducted on 468 women. The hair loss pattern observed or classified under this system includes rapid hair loss and hair loosening in the crown part of your head. 

Is there any cure for hair loss or baldness?

So far, the future looks promising but there is no active medicine that can stop or reverse hair loss yet. There are definitely different surgical procedures that you can undergo in order to ensure better hair growth. You can also introduce lifestyle changes that can help reduce hair loss or re-stimulate the old hair follicles. 

The path to getting healthier and denser hair once you start facing hair loss due to any age or disease is very difficult but the results are sweet. We encourage you to check out our medicated products designed by our dermatologist which includes Minoxidil, Finasteride, Biotin and many more at Mars by GHC website.