How to take hair loss progress photos you can actually compare

By Muhammad Hammad · 23 October 2026 · All guides

Hair changes slowly. Most treatments take months before anything is visible, so photos are the only honest record you have. The problem is that most progress photos can't be compared: the light is different, the angle is different, and one month looks worse just because you stood under a different lamp.

Here's a setup that works. None of it needs special equipment.

Why most progress photos don't work

Five things change between photos, and any one of them can make your hair look thinner or fuller than it is:

Light. Light from directly above shines through thinning hair and shows more scalp. Soft light from a window shows less.
Angle. Tilting your head a few degrees changes how much of the hairline or crown is visible.
Distance. Closer photos exaggerate the scalp; further ones hide it.
Hair state. Wet, freshly washed or styled hair looks very different from dry, unstyled hair.
Camera. The selfie camera, the ultra-wide lens and beauty filters all distort what you see.

The fix is to keep all five the same, every time.

The setup

Pick one spot and one light, and never change them. A spot facing a window in daylight is easiest. If you use a lamp, use the same lamp in the same position.
Take photos at the same time of day. Daylight changes a lot between morning and evening.
Keep your hair in the same state. Dry and unstyled, the same number of days after washing. No products.
Use the same camera, at 1x. The back camera is sharper; the front camera is easier on your own. Pick one and stick to it, and turn off filters and portrait effects.
Fix the distance. Mark a spot on the floor with tape, or line each photo up against the last one.

The five angles

Take the same five photos every session:

Front. Face the camera with your head tipped slightly forward so the hairline is clear.
Left temple. Turn your head so the left side of your hairline faces the camera.
Right temple. The same on the right.
Top. Bow your head and photograph straight down onto the top of your scalp.
Crown. The back of the top of your head, where the hair swirls. You can't see it yourself, so ask someone to help, use a second mirror, or use the camera's timer.

How often to take them

Take a baseline before you start treatment, or as soon as you can. Everything else is compared against it.
Then once a month is plenty, or every two or three months if that's easier to keep up.
Avoid daily photos. Day to day, you mostly see changes in light and styling, not in your hair.

How to compare them

Compare against your baseline, not last week. Hair grows about a centimetre a month, so short gaps tell you very little.
Compare the same angle with the same angle. Front with front, crown with crown.
Look at them side by side, or overlay them. Sliding between two aligned photos makes small changes much easier to see.
Don't judge the first few months. Talk to your doctor about what to expect from your treatment and when.

Keep them private

Progress photos are personal. Keep them somewhere you control, and think twice before uploading them to apps or websites that store them on their own servers.

How Hairbook helps

I built Hairbook for myself because my own photos never matched. It shows your last photo faintly over the camera so every angle lines up, keeps all five angles together as a session, and lets you compare any two sessions with a slider. Your photos stay on your iPhone and are never uploaded.

Hairbook is a tracker. It does not diagnose, treat or recommend treatment. Talk to your doctor about your treatment.