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Hair Loss Test

Hair loss has four common types that look different up close, start differently and are treated differently. This test asks what you have actually seen on your scalp, in the drain and in old photos, then sorts the pattern into pattern loss, shedding, patchy loss or traction, and flags the scalp signs that need a dermatologist first.

  • Fit quiz
  • About 4 min
  • Original items on pattern, onset, shedding, scalp signs and family history
  • Runs in your browser, nothing is sent
  • Medical review: Medical review pending
Start the test

Four types, and one group that comes first

Most hair loss quizzes ask how worried you are and sell a product. The type matters more than the worry, because telogen effluvium recovers on its own, pattern loss responds to specific medicines, alopecia areata is autoimmune, and traction loss stops when the pulling stops. The test keeps the types apart so the next step is the right one.

  1. 4

    The common types, sorted

    Androgenetic (pattern) hair loss, telogen effluvium (diffuse shedding), alopecia areata (patchy, autoimmune) and traction alopecia (from pulling styles). Each has its own group of four questions about where the loss sits, how it started, what the hairs look like and who else in the family has it.

  2. 1

    Scalp signs that need a dermatologist first

    Redness, scaling, pain, burning, pustules, smooth shiny skin without follicle openings, loss that spreads over weeks, or hair loss alongside other symptoms. Any one of these overrides the type result, because scarring alopecias and systemic causes are treated differently and early.

  3. +

    The PRP fit, honestly

    Platelet-rich plasma injections are marketed for every kind of hair loss. The evidence that exists is for pattern loss, as an add-on to standard treatment, and it is modest. The result says where PRP has a case and where it has none, so you know what to ask a clinic.

How this compares with a typical online quiz

FeatureTypical free quizRegenerated.com
Sorts by type rather than by worryRarelyYes, four types scored apart
Asks what you have actually observedNoYes, drain, pillow, photos, hair ends, family
Flags scarring and systemic signs firstNoYes, and it overrides the type result
States the PRP evidence plainlyNoYes, pattern loss only, as an add-on, modest effect
Sells a product at the endUsuallyNever
Answers sent to a serverOftenNever; scored in your browser, counts-only events

How the four types differ up close

Androgenetic alopecia, the pattern type, is the most common cause of hair loss in both sexes. Hairs in the affected zone shrink over successive cycles, growing finer and shorter until they barely show, a process called miniaturization. In men it follows the temples and crown, the pattern charted by the Hamilton-Norwood scale; in women it widens the central part while sparing the front hairline, the pattern charted by the Ludwig scale. It runs in families, starts gradually, and the hairs at the back and sides are spared. Minoxidil and, in men, finasteride are the treatments with the strongest evidence; low-level laser devices and platelet-rich plasma have smaller trials.

Telogen effluvium is shedding, not thinning in a pattern. A shock to the body, such as high fever, surgery, childbirth, rapid weight loss, a new medicine, iron deficiency or thyroid change, pushes a large share of hairs into the resting phase at once, and two to four months later they fall together. The scalp looks uniformly thinner, hairs come away with a small white bulb, and no area goes bald. It usually recovers over six to twelve months once the trigger has passed, which is why treatment is aimed at the trigger rather than the hair.

Alopecia areata is autoimmune. The immune system targets hair follicles, producing smooth round or oval patches of complete loss with normal skin, sometimes short stubby hairs at the margin that are narrower at the base, and sometimes nail pitting, eyebrow or beard involvement. It often appears suddenly and can regrow on its own, recur, or progress. Injected or topical corticosteroids and, for extensive disease, JAK inhibitors approved since 2022 are the main treatments. Traction alopecia is mechanical: tight braids, weaves, extensions, buns, ponytails or tightly pinned headwear pull on the hairline and part lines for months or years, producing thinning along the lines of tension with a fringe of fine hairs at the edge. Caught early it reverses when the tension stops; left long enough the follicles scar and it does not.

The PRP fit, in plain terms

Platelet-rich plasma is the reader's own blood spun to concentrate platelets and injected into the scalp. The published trials are almost all in androgenetic alopecia, small, and mixed in method; a 2020 systematic review found that about half reported a statistically significant improvement on objective measures, with hair density and thickness the usual gains and milder, earlier pattern loss responding more than advanced loss. That makes PRP a reasonable add-on to minoxidil or finasteride for pattern loss in a patient who understands it is modest, repeated and out of pocket, not a replacement for them. For telogen effluvium it has no clear role, because the hair recovers once the trigger is addressed. For alopecia areata the evidence is a handful of small studies and the standard treatments are different. For traction alopecia the first step is stopping the tension, and for any scarring process PRP has no place until a dermatologist has made the diagnosis and the inflammation is controlled.

What a clinician will look for

A dermatologist or a clinician who treats hair loss will usually examine the scalp with a dermatoscope, which shows miniaturized hairs, the narrow-based hairs of alopecia areata, loss of follicle openings in scarring conditions, and the inflammation that marks them apart. A gentle pull test estimates active shedding. Blood tests commonly cover ferritin, thyroid function, vitamin D and, where the pattern suggests it, androgens; in women with pattern loss and irregular periods, polycystic ovary syndrome is often checked. A scalp biopsy is reserved for scarring or unclear cases. Bringing photographs of the scalp from two or three different years, a list of medicines started in the past six months, and a note of any illness, surgery or pregnancy in that window shortens the first appointment considerably.

Methodology and sources

The four type groups follow the clinical descriptions of androgenetic alopecia, telogen effluvium, alopecia areata and traction alopecia in the dermatology literature cited below. Every item is original. Rather than asking the reader to rate worry or self-classify, each question asks about something observable in a stated time window: what the drain and pillow looked like in the past six months, what happened two to four months before shedding began, what an individual hair from the thinning area looks like next to one from the back, what old photographs show, what a hairdresser noticed, and who in the family has the same pattern. The safety group lists the features that dermatologists use to distinguish scarring alopecias and systemic causes from the four common types: inflammation, loss of follicle openings, pustules and crusting, rapid spread, and hair loss accompanied by other symptoms.

The test scores each group as the share of its questions you answered yes to, and the group with the largest share leads the result. A single yes in the scalp-signs group replaces the leading type, because a scarring or systemic process needs a dermatologist before any discussion of type or treatment. The result is educational. Hair loss types overlap, two can coexist, and only an examination with a dermatoscope, a pull test and often blood tests can settle it. Nothing here is a diagnosis, and nothing here is a treatment recommendation; the PRP note describes the published evidence so that a conversation with a clinic starts from the right place.

Medical review: Medical review pending. Last updated .

References

  1. Olsen EA, Messenger AG, Shapiro J, et al. Evaluation and treatment of male and female pattern hair loss. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2005;52(2):301-311. doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2004.04.008
  2. Malkud S. Telogen effluvium: a review. J Clin Diagn Res. 2015;9(9):WE01-WE03. doi:10.7860/JCDR/2015/15219.6492
  3. Pratt CH, King LE Jr, Messenger AG, Christiano AM, Sundberg JP. Alopecia areata. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2017;3:17011. doi:10.1038/nrdp.2017.11
  4. Billero V, Miteva M. Traction alopecia: the root of the problem. Clin Cosmet Investig Dermatol. 2018;11:149-159. doi:10.2147/CCID.S137296
  5. Gentile P, Garcovich S. Systematic review of platelet-rich plasma use in androgenetic alopecia compared with minoxidil, finasteride, and adult stem cell-based therapy. Int J Mol Sci. 2020;21(8):2702. doi:10.3390/ijms21082702

Hair Loss Test FAQ

It can sort what you have observed into the pattern that fits best, which is useful for knowing what to ask. It cannot see your scalp. A dermatoscope, a pull test and sometimes blood tests are how a clinician settles the type, and two types often coexist, for example shedding on top of pattern loss.

If your answers point to pattern loss with a family history, gradual onset and sparing of the back and sides, the process is progressive but slow, and the medicines with the strongest evidence work best when started early. If they point to shedding, the answer is usually no: telogen effluvium recovers once the trigger has passed.

Losing 50 to 100 hairs a day is normal turnover. Shedding that startles you, clumps in the drain, a pillow covered in hairs, or several hairs with each gentle pull for weeks is more than that and usually means telogen effluvium, which is worth tracing to a trigger two to four months earlier.

For androgenetic alopecia, modestly, as an add-on to minoxidil or finasteride, in small and mixed trials; milder cases respond more. For shedding it has no clear role, for alopecia areata the evidence is thin and standard treatments differ, and for scarring conditions it is not used until a dermatologist has controlled the inflammation.

Redness, scaling, pain, burning or pustules in the thinning area; smooth shiny skin without visible follicle openings; loss spreading over weeks; and hair loss alongside fatigue, weight change, joint pain, a facial rash or a change in periods. These point to scarring or systemic causes where early treatment matters most.

Yes. Your answers and the numbers you enter are scored in your browser and are never sent to us. They stay in this browser tab so you can return to your result, and closing the tab clears them. The only thing the page sends us is a counts-only event: which test was started or completed, the result band and the headline number, with no answers, no entered values and no account. There is nothing to sign up for.

Find clinics offering platelet-rich plasma therapy

Browse US clinics offering platelet-rich plasma therapy. PRP is the regenerative scalp injection with published trials behind it, and those trials are in pattern thinning, where they put it alongside standard treatment rather than in place of it; for shedding, patchy loss and traction it has no established role, so your result above decides whether it is worth asking about at all. Whichever type you got, the same checks apply: look for a physician or dermatologist named on the profile, a dermatoscope examination and blood tests before any injection, and standardized photographs at baseline and at follow-up. A listing is not an endorsement.

Browse PRP clinics

A listing is not a treatment endorsement. Read each clinic's published checks and talk to your clinician before starting any treatment.

Important: This test is an educational sorting tool, not a diagnosis of any hair or scalp condition and not a treatment recommendation. Hair loss types overlap, and only an examination by a clinician can establish which applies to you. If your symptoms are severe or sudden, seek urgent medical care.