Stages of Baldness
- Male baldness begins with a receding hairline, according to the Norwood Chart for Male Pattern Baldness. A receding hairline is the thinning of the hair along the sides of the forehead, gradually forming an "M" shape as it continues throughout all stages of baldness to recede back toward the crown. Whether you experience a receding hairline mostly depends on genetics. Most receding hairlines begin to form after men turn 25 years old, although you may notice the hair thinning in that section when you are in your teens. With women, the front of the head usually experiences very little hair loss; therefore, women often do not encounter a receding hairline.
- For men, after a receding hairline has formed, the hair at the very top of the head (crown) starts to thin. As all of the hairs on the crown begin to fall out, the receding hairline should continue to spread to the back of the head, until it is connected with the bald spot at the crown. A small patch of thin hair should remain at the front of the head, but those strands of hair will continue to thin. Women typically start to lose their hair in their 40s, with hair loss being equally dispersed along the entire top of the scalp. Women experience more thinning of the hair as they age, though they typically do not experience full balding at the top of the head like their male counterparts.
- The final stage of baldness is when the entire top of the head is bald, with hair only left at the sides, circling around the bottom of the head near the neck. Men will continue to experience thinner hair at the sides and back of the head as they age. Because women are not usually affected with receding hairlines, the front of the head will still be maintained as well as the sides of the head, leaving only a bald patch of hair at the top. Again, however, women do not typically develop bald spots to the extent that men do. The time it takes for people to become bald varies from person to person, though full baldness usually sets in during a person's 60s.
