Men with male pattern baldness often worry about the progression of their condition. Will hair loss stop at a relatively early stage, or will it progress further on the Norwood Scale?
Norwood 4 is a relatively advanced stage of hair loss, though your hair is still thicker than at Norwood stage 5. With a deepening receding hairline and a growing bald spot on your crown, it can be concerning to reach stage 4 on the Norwood scale.
But at Norwood stage 4, you still have plenty of options for disguising and (better yet) treating your male pattern hair loss. In this article, you’ll learn:
- What a Norwood 4 hairline looks like
- How to style your Norwood 4 hair
- How hair transplants work for Norwood 4 patients.
Famous Norwood 4 hairlines
Wondering what Norwood 4 hairlines look like? Both Elon Musk and Jude Law have reached this stage of the Norwood Scale.
Elon Musk’s hair transplant has since addressed his receding hairline, giving him a straighter hairline and vastly increased hair density. But Jude Law, as well as many other celebrities, has embraced his thinning hair.
So is it better to hide your thinning hair with good styling, or opt for a hair loss treatment?
How to style Norwood 4 hair
At this stage, you still have enough hair to experiment with styling techniques to disguise your male pattern baldness. Here are three options for switching up your Norwood 4 hairstyle.
1. Slick it back
Hair loss on the crown can be disguised with a slicked-back hairstyle. The trick is to grow your hair longer on the top while keeping it neat and trimmed on the back and sides.
This video shows an amazing hair transformation for a man experiencing Norwood stage 3-4 hair loss:
2. Use hair fibres
Hair fibres — also known as hair thickening spray — cling to the hair to create the illusion of hair density. They’re only temporary, so you’ll need to use them daily if you want to reduce the appearance of your hair loss. However, they can work well if you’re losing hair across your scalp.
Wayne Rooney’s hair journey has included the use of hair fibres over the years:
3. Shave it off
Feeling brave? Go full Bruce Willis and buzz your hair. If you’re done with worrying about how noticeable your hair loss is and trying to cover it up, shaving your head can be really empowering.
Scalp micropigmentation creates the illusion of hair density even on a shaved head.
Treating Norwood stage 4 hair loss
If restyling your hair isn’t working for you, or you want to take proactive steps to address your male pattern hair loss, you need to find the right treatment.
Early-stage hair loss treatments (like Minoxidil and topical caffeine shampoo) are less likely to be effective as hair loss progresses. So which treatments work for more advanced hair loss?
Finasteride & Dutasteride
Other options to treat male hair loss include Finasteride and Dutasteride. These hair loss medications work by blocking the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, or DHT. DHT is a major contributor to androgenetic alopecia, so by preventing this, you can stop and even reverse hair loss.
Both treatments are effective, but Dutasteride appears to be more powerful than Finasteride [1]. Most men start with Finasteride and progress to Dutasteride if Finasteride doesn’t produce the required results.
Hair transplants
As your hair loss progresses to more advanced stages in the Norwood hair loss scale (i.e. stage 4 onwards), a hair transplant may be the most effective and appropriate treatment choice for those with significant hair loss.
Choosing hair transplant surgery may seem like a drastic step, but many men find it dramatically improves their mental health as well as their hairline.
So if you’re considering a hair transplant for your Norwood 4 hair loss, here’s what you need to know.
How many grafts are needed at Norwood stage 4?
Men at this stage in the Norwood scale typically see hair loss around the temples and on the crown. This is the most significant difference from Norwood stage 3/3A, in which hair can be lost from either area, but not necessarily both.
For a Norwood 4 hair transplant, you’re likely to need:
- 1,200-2,500 grafts on the hairline
- 800-1,100 grafts on the crown.
Getting a Norwood 4 hair transplant
Getting a hair transplant is a safe, popular procedure. At this stage, you’ll still have healthy hair follicles in your remaining hair. Therefore, it should be easy for a skilled hair transplant surgeon to extract these hair follicles and transplant them into areas of hair loss, giving you a fantastic new hairline in the process.
You’ll need to decide whether you choose FUT vs FUE for your procedure. Both options yield excellent results, but there are differences around cost, hair transplant procedure duration, scarring, and recovery time.
You should also consider using Finasteride (or a similar treatment) alongside your hair transplant. Finasteride is safe for most male patients and stops further hair loss from compromising your look post-procedure.
Norwood 4 hair transplant results
So what results can you expect from a Norwood 4 hair transplant? Here are some before and after hair transplant photos of Wimpole Clinic patients who needed between 1,600 and 1,800 hair grafts.
Grafts: 1,600
Procedure: FUT
Grafts: 1,600
Procedure: FUE
Grafts: 1,800
Procedure: FUE
Norwood 4 hair transplants at the Wimpole Clinic
We have more than 50 years of experience providing cutting-edge hair restoration services. From FUE to strip surgery, we can halt and reverse your hair loss using the most up-to-date hair transplant techniques.
Our friendly trichology team is on-hand to answer any questions you have about starting your hair restoration journey. Book a free consultation to get a free hair loss assessment, and a graft quote for your hair loss.
Talk to a specialist ☎ 020 7935 1861.
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