For creating an impressive outer appearance, men generally put in efforts in maintaining the condition of their hair. For men, the medical term male pattern baldness is the topic of much stress and anxiety as it signifies the early onset of aging. This is the general misunderstanding among men as this condition might happen to anybody regardless of age. There are seven stages of male pattern baldness to help men identify their conditions at initial stages.
The successful identification of each stage would make it easy for a medical professional to initiate the proper course of treatment for reducing the rate of hair loss. The various stages of male pattern baldness follow something known as the Hamilton–Norwood, which was first developed by Dr. James Hamilton in the 1950s and later updated by Dr. O’Tar Norwood.
1. Stage I and Stage II
These are the initial two stages in the Hamilton-Norwood scale for measuring the degree of hair loss in men. At this stage, you would find the presence of hairline, which is on the upper brow crease. In the second stage, you would find that your hairline is receding and would show a gradual loss of hair. During stage two, the hairline would take the shape of M, which is common in most middle-aged men.
2. Stage III
At this stage, most men would show the deep and symmetrical recession of hairlines at temples, which is the sign of baldness. The hair on the top of your head would become noticeably thinner and balding spots would begin forming on your head.
3. Stage IV
In this stage, you would notice a prominent balding spot on your head and the density of hair would further reduce on this stage. The hair present on the crown of your head would start to thin and large patches would begin to form due to hair loss from the vertex of the head.
4. Stage V
In this stage, you would notice the horseshoe pattern hairline on your head. While there might be some separation between the hair loss at the crown region and the hairline of your head, the density gets narrower and thinner. Loss of hair at the temporal region and the crown region becomes more prominent and distinct at this stage.
5. Stage VI
At this stage, horseshoe pattern hairline becomes completely clear as both the crown and temporal regions have completely lost hair. There might be some presence of hair but that would not be enough for covering your head. The sides of your head would be covered with hair; the density of hair might reduce during this stage.
6. Stage VII
This is the last stage on the Hamilton-Norwood Scale for male pattern baldness where the density of your hair would fall to zero. This stage is considered to be the full-scale baldness and the chance of recovery is very slim.
By understanding the Hamilton-Norwood scale, you can identify the stage of baldness you might have reached. This would help you to start the medical procedure for male pattern baldness before it is too late. Make sure you consult a trichologist for immediate treatment.