Ludwig and Sinclair scales
Two scales for female pattern hair loss: Ludwig's three grades (1977) and the five-grade Sinclair scale, which assesses hair loss along the centre part.
Pick the closest grade
Schematic diagrams of the top of the head with the hair parted in the centre.
Choose the diagram closest to the hair seen from above.
Ludwig grades
- Grade I
- Perceptible thinning of the hair on the crown, limited in the front by a line situated 1 to 3 cm behind the frontal hair line.
- Grade II
- Pronounced rarefaction of the hair on the crown within the area seen in Grade I.
- Grade III
- Full baldness (total denudation) within the area seen in Grades I and II.
Sinclair grades
- Grade 1
- Normal. This pattern is found in all girls prior to puberty but in only 45% of women aged 80 or over.
- Grade 2
- Shows a widening of the central part.
- Grade 3
- Shows a widening of the central part and thinning of the hair on either side of the central part.
- Grade 4
- Reveals the emergence of a diffuse hair loss over the top of the scalp.
- Grade 5
- Indicates advanced hair loss.