Norwood Scale: Every Stage From 1 to 7 Explained

The Norwood scale sorts male pattern hair loss into seven stages, from an adult hairline with little or no recession (Norwood 1) to a horseshoe of hair at the sides and back (Norwood 7). Stage 3 is the first stage counted as clinical hair loss, and a separate "vertex" type covers men who lose hair at the crown first.

Seen from above, this man has bare patches at both temples and a separate thin area at the crown, with a band of hair still running across the top between them. That layout resembles the Norwood 4 pattern described further down, although only an examination can place someone on the scale.

Doctors use the scale to describe how far hair loss has gone, to follow it over time and to plan treatment, including how many grafts a transplant would need. Below you will find every stage as its own section, the in-between "Norwood 1.5" that people ask about, and what each stage usually means for treatment. If you would rather place your own pattern first, our Norwood stage test walks you through it.

What Is the Norwood Scale?

The Norwood scale is a chart of the usual ways male pattern hair loss moves, and a "Norwood hairline" is simply a hairline described by its stage on it. The system has two authors, which is why it is also called the Hamilton-Norwood scale. James Hamilton published the first version in 1951. In 1975 O'Tar Norwood revised it after examining 1,000 adult men, added the stage 3 vertex and the "type A" variants, and gave surgeons a shared vocabulary for planning.

Fifty years on, it is still the reference most clinics, studies and online tools use. Its limits are covered further down; for a quick, common language between you and a doctor, Norwood is the one to know.

Norwood 1

At Norwood 1 there is minimal or no recession of the hairline. The front sits low and fairly straight, close to where it was in your late teens. A Norwood 1 hairline example is the hairline most boys have before their twenties: no temple corners worth measuring and no thinning at the crown. A V-shaped point at the centre, a widow's peak, is a natural hairline shape, not a stage.

Norwood 1 vs 2 comes down to the temples. At stage 2 small, usually symmetrical triangles appear where the hairline meets the temples. At stage 1 they are absent or barely there. Norwood 1 examples in photos can mislead, because a fringe or a forward style hides the temples completely. The rumours about Justin Bieber's hairline also began with close-up photos.

Is Norwood Scale 1 Normal?

Yes. Stage 1 means no pattern hair loss. Many men do not stay at stage 1 for life, because a mild move to stage 2 is the normal change from a teenage to an adult hairline.

So What Do You Actually Do About Norwood 1?

Nothing needs treating. Norwood 1 treatment questions usually come from men with a strong family history. The practical step is to take dated photos once or twice a year, so that any change is measured rather than guessed.

Norwood 1.5

Norwood 1.5 is not a stage in Norwood's 1975 paper. It is an informal label for a hairline that has started to soften at the temples but has not formed the clear triangles of stage 2. A Norwood 1.5 hairline often shows as a slightly higher corner on one side, or a temple that looks thinner in harsh light than in daylight.

People also write "Norwood 1.5 to 2" for the same in-between look. Treat these half stages as rough. In one reliability study, dermatologists and dermatology residents rating photos of 43 men agreed only moderately on the whole stages, and when a second group rated 56 photos again three months later their repeat scores were poor. Half stages are even harder to agree on.

What the label is good for: noticing that the hairline is starting to move. Compare a photo from a few years ago taken at the same angle and in similar light.

Norwood 2

At Norwood 2 there are triangular, usually symmetrical areas of recession at the frontotemporal hairline. In Hamilton's original description these corners reach no farther back than a point 3 cm in front of a line drawn across the head between the ear canals. For many men, Norwood scale 2 is the mature adult hairline and it may stay that way.

A Norwood 2 hairline example looks like a slightly higher forehead with soft corners, and the front edge stays dense. Online lists of "Norwood 2 celebrities" are guesses from styled photos; our LeBron James hairline analysis shows the limits of judging that way.

Is Norwood 2 Balding?

Not by Norwood's own definition. He counted stage 3 and above as baldness, so stage 2 is a mature hairline rather than clinical hair loss. What matters more than the label is whether the corners keep moving back in photos taken a year or two apart.

Norwood 2 vs 3

The difference is depth and density. Stage 3 temple recessions are deep and bare or only sparsely covered. Stage 2 corners are shallow and still have hair.

How Long Does It Take to Go From Norwood 2 to 3?

No study gives a duration for each stage. Some men stay at stage 2 for decades, while others move on within a few years, often those whose loss started early. In five years of placebo data from men with mostly crown loss, 75% were rated visibly worse, which also means a quarter were not.

Norwood 3

Norwood 3 is the minimal extent of hair loss that Norwood counted as baldness. The temple recessions are deep and symmetrical, and they are bare or only sparsely covered by hair. Norwood 3 hair often still looks full from the front when it is styled forward, which is why this is the stage many men first notice in a photo. For cuts that suit it, see hairstyles for a receding or balding hairline.

A Norwood 3 hairline forms a clear M or V shape. A transplant at this stage usually rebuilds the hairline and the temple corners. Our page on Norwood 3 hair transplant covers graft numbers and timing.

Can Balding Stop at Norwood 3?

It can slow or stay put for years, but nothing predicts that in advance. Untreated pattern loss tends to progress: over five years men on placebo lost 239 hairs in the measured area, a 26.3% fall in density. In two five-year trials with 1,553 men, finasteride 1 mg cut the likelihood of further visible loss by 93% compared with placebo. Finasteride is a prescription medicine with possible side effects, so it should be started and followed by a doctor.

Norwood 4

At Norwood 4 the frontal recession is deeper than at stage 3, and the crown has sparse hair or none. The two areas are still separated by a band of moderately dense hair that runs across the top and connects with the sides. As long as that band is there, the head still reads as having hair from the front.

Planning now covers two areas. Adding the usual starting ranges our medical team uses for the hairline and the crown gives roughly 2,700 to 5,000 grafts, depending on donor density and how much of the crown is treated.

Norwood 5

At Norwood 5 the crown and the front are still separated, but less clearly. The band across the top has become narrower and sparser, and both bald areas are larger. From most angles the top of the head now looks bald.

At Norwood 5, plans start to be shaped as much by the donor area as by the bald area. The hairline usually comes first, and the crown is covered as far as the donor supply allows.

Norwood 6

At Norwood 6 the bridge of hair across the top has gone, leaving only sparse hairs. The frontal and crown areas have joined into one bald zone, and hair remains on the sides and the back.

Restoring all of Norwood 6 in one session is often not possible. A Norwood 6 hair transplant usually frames the face first, then adds density to the top and crown over one or two sessions if the donor area allows.

Norwood 7

Norwood 7 is the most advanced stage. Only a narrow horseshoe of hair remains on the sides and back, and that band can itself be thinner and lower than at stage 6. Some men keep a shaved head instead, as many famous bald men have.

For a Norwood 7 hair transplant, the gap between what is needed and what the donor area can give is at its widest. A plan normally aims for a natural frame around the face and accepts a lighter crown.

Graft Ranges by Norwood Stage

The table puts the Norwood classification of male pattern baldness on one page, with the graft count a transplant usually starts from at each stage. The graft column shows where our medical team starts planning. For a sense of scale, see how many hairs are on the human head.

The final number depends on the density and width of your donor area, the thickness of your hair, your age and how much loss is still likely to come. Our pages on 2,000 grafts and 4,000 grafts show what each size usually covers. At Turkey Hair Center, procedures take place at partner hospitals and polyclinics, with all-inclusive packages from $2,550 to $4,500.

Why the Donor Area Matters as Much as the Stage

The stage tells you how much area is bald, not how many follicles can be moved there. Grafts come from the back and sides, and that supply is limited, so two men at Norwood 5 can get very different plans. That is why the medical team asks for a photo of the back of the head too. Our guide to how many grafts you need works through both sides: the area to cover and what the donor area can give.

Stage 3 Vertex and Type A

Two patterns sit beside the main line:

• Stage 3 vertex: the loss is mainly at the crown, and the front recession goes no further than stage 3. Men often find out from a photo taken from above. Our crown balding guide covers this pattern.
• Type A: the hairline moves back across the whole front without the M shape, and there is no separate crown patch. In a community study of men aged 18 to 49, 12% had this predominantly frontal pattern.

This top-down photo shows the crown-first pattern: hair thins in a round area at the back of the top of the head, and the scalp shows through, while the hair around it is still dense. From the front, a man with this pattern can look as if nothing has changed.

How Common Each Stage Is by Age

The same 1998 community study rated healthy men rather than clinic patients:

• 16% of men aged 18 to 29 were at stage 3 or higher.
• 53% of men aged 40 to 49 were at stage 3 or higher.
• 42% of all men aged 18 to 49 were at stage 3 or higher.

These figures describe how many men reach a stage, not how fast one man will move.

Following one person shows what population figures cannot. In this 2008 photo the hair at the crown is already thin and the scalp shows through on top of the back of the head. The same angle and similar light can be repeated years later, as below.

Four years and three months later, from a similar angle, the thin area at the crown has widened and more scalp shows through. For this one man the change was gradual, which is why a dated photo every year tells you more than any single look in the mirror.

Treatment by Stage

At stages 2 to 4, medicine has the most to work with, because the follicles are still there even where the hair has become thin. Not every serum contains a tested medicine; see whether hair growth serums work.

• Finasteride 1 mg: reduced further visible loss in the five-year trials above; prescription only. Telehealth services also prescribe it; see does Hims work for hair loss.
• Minoxidil 5%: in a 48-week trial with 393 men, it produced 45% more regrowth than the 2% strength. Our guide to DHT and hair loss explains what these medicines target.
• Transplant: moves follicles from the back and sides to the bald areas. It does not stop loss in the hair you still have, so many plans combine surgery with medicine.

If you are under about 25 and at stage 2 or 3, ask whether medicine first makes sense before surgery. A hairline placed too low too early can look out of place if loss continues behind it.

Checking Your Own Stage

Stages are harder to judge than diagrams suggest. A few habits make a self-check more reliable:

• Use daylight and a dry, unstyled head. Wet hair and bathroom spotlights both make loss look worse.
• Take four photos: front, both temples and the top from above.
• Compare with a photo from a few years ago taken at a similar angle.
• Pull the hair back at the temples, because a fringe hides stage 3 well.

What the Norwood Scale Gets Wrong

The scale measures only one thing: where the hair is gone. Four limits are worth knowing.

• Doctors do not always agree. In the reliability study described under Norwood 1.5, trained raters agreed only moderately on whole stages, and their repeat scores months later were poor. Two honest opinions one stage apart are normal.
• It ignores density. A man with a stage 2 outline can have hair so thin on top that the scalp shows, and the scale has no box for that.
• It says nothing about the donor area. The supply at the back and sides decides how much a transplant can cover.
• It does not fit women. Women usually lose density on top while the front hairline stays in place, which the Ludwig scale describes instead. Our page on hair transplant for women explains how that assessment differs.

The BASP classification, published in 2007, was designed to close some of these gaps: it scores the hairline shape and the density on top separately and works for both sexes. It has not replaced Norwood in everyday use.

Frequently Asked Questions

Find Your Stage

Your stage is a starting point; your donor area, age and the speed of loss decide the plan. Take the Norwood stage test for a quick self-check, or send photos of the front, top and sides for a free hair analysis. The medical team will tell you your stage, the likely graft range and the options that fit. Package details are on our hair transplant cost page.