Diffuse vs Receding
Visible thinning tends to show up in one of two shapes. Diffuse thinning softens coverage fairly evenly across the whole head, so no single spot looks dramatic — which is exactly why it's easy to miss. A receding pattern is the opposite: it concentrates at the temples and crown, leaving the sides full. The two can be hard to separate from a single mirror glance — but four fixed angles, compared over time, make the shape and direction obvious.
How it works
Same four angles, every time — so each new scan compares fairly to your very first.
Top · Crown
Side · Temple
Back
Front · Hairline
Same four angles, every time — illustrative example
Front · crown · temple · back
Four guided angles in about 30 seconds — the same views every time.
Hairline · density · scalp
AI reads each angle for hairline shape, crown density, and scalp surface.
Usable · limited · low-light
Every reading shows its confidence — limited views are flagged, not guessed.
Your baseline, revisited
Save it, rescan later, and see exactly what moved.
Two shapes, side by side
Neither column is a verdict — they're visible patterns to check your own photos against over time.
Appearance-based patterns for comparison — not a diagnosis either way.
Read the shape over time
A single glance blurs even and patterned change. Four fixed angles, compared over months, don't.
Four guided angles capture the hairline, temples, crown, and overall coverage at once — so an even, all-over change and a zone-specific one are both on record from day one.
Coverage comes back as stable qualitative tiers per zone, with confidence on each — even softening reads across every zone, a pattern concentrates in a few.
Identical framing means a difference between two scans is a difference on your head, not in the camera — which is what makes the shape, not just the amount, reliable.
If anything is moving, a qualified professional is the right next step — and dated photos showing whether it's even or patterned make that conversation far more useful.
Questions
Diffuse thinning softens coverage fairly evenly across the whole top of the head, so no single area stands out. A receding pattern is zone-specific — it concentrates at the temple corners and the crown while the sides and back stay full. The clearest way to tell them apart is the shape across all four angles, read over time rather than from one photo.
Because it spreads evenly, there's no obvious bald spot or sharp hairline change to catch your eye — coverage just softens gradually everywhere at once. That's exactly why a baseline helps: reading every zone as a tier and comparing months apart surfaces an even, all-over change a mirror glance glosses over.
It can read the visible shape — whether show-through is even across the top or concentrated at the temples and crown — and report each zone as a tier with its confidence. It describes appearance, not a cause: it won't tell you why a pattern is there, and it doesn't diagnose. Comparison over time is what makes the shape reliable.
All four matter here, because the whole point is comparing zones: the front for the hairline and temples, the top and back for the crown, and overall coverage across every angle for the even, diffuse kind. Reading them together is what separates an all-over softening from a patterned one — and one selfie can't.
No. Both columns describe visible, appearance-based patterns to compare your own photos against — not a verdict, and not a cause. A qualified professional is the right call for anything medical; this page just helps you tell an even change from a patterned one with better evidence.
A note on transparency
ScalpAnalysis AI reads appearance-based signals and tracks visible change over time. It does not diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any condition.
If you have pain, sudden shedding, or signs of infection, a qualified professional is the right next step.
The report it produces
This is the exact report format a scan unlocks — qualitative tiers, your visible features, and a confidence level on every reading. Saved as a baseline you compare against on every rescan.
Your Hair Profile
Even crown coverage with a soft cowlick
Density
High
Type
Wavy
Texture
Medium
Shine
Medium
Risk of Recession
Low
Hair Loss
Minimal
Illustrative example · sample data
Related guides
Your first 4-angle scan is free to preview — no account required to see your result.
