Folik — real hair loss answers backed by 50+ published medical studies

Adults — men and women — experiencing hair thinning, hair loss, or pattern hair loss who want a tracking tool grounded in published evidence rather than marketing language. Common users include men in their 20s through 50s noticing recession or crown thinning, women dealing with diffuse thinning or postpartum recovery, patients already on finasteride or minoxidil tracking results, and post-transplant patients monitoring graft growth. Not for diagnosing alopecia areata, scarring alopecia, or any clinical condition — that requires a dermatologist.

Folik is an educational hair loss companion app. It combines an AI Hair Loss Coach trained on publicly available AAD, ISHRS, FDA, and 50+ peer-reviewed PubMed studies with a calibrated photo journal that uses ghost overlay alignment for repeatable framing and pixel-density measurement for real progress detection. The free Norwood/Ludwig calculator works without signup. Folik does not prescribe medication, diagnose conditions, or replace consultation with a dermatologist.

No. Folik is an educational companion app. It does not prescribe finasteride, dutasteride, minoxidil, or any medication. It does not diagnose hair loss type. It does not replace consultation with a dermatologist. It surfaces publicly available evidence from AAD, ISHRS, FDA, and 50+ peer-reviewed PubMed studies, and tracks treatments you are already using under medical guidance.

Yes. Open the app, take or upload a photo, get your Norwood (for men) or Ludwig (for women) stage in roughly 30 seconds. No account creation, no email, no subscription required. The AI Coach interpretation of your stage requires the Premium subscription, but the staging result itself is permanently free.

Every Coach reply cites the underlying source: AAD (American Academy of Dermatology) publicly available position statements and treatment guidelines for androgenetic alopecia; ISHRS (International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery) publicly available resources on transplant outcomes and standards; FDA prescribing information for finasteride, minoxidil, and related medications, plus FDA public safety communications; and 50+ peer-reviewed PubMed studies including Blume-Peytavi et al. 2011 (minoxidil density), Kaufman et al. 1998 (finasteride DHT mechanism), Dhurat et al. 2013 (microneedling-minoxidil synergy), Avci et al. 2014 (low-level laser therapy).

Five-angle guided capture: hairline, crown, front part, left temple, right temple. Each new scan uses ghost overlay alignment — the previous scan ghosts into your viewfinder so you frame the new photo identically. This is the single most important feature for trustworthy progress tracking because most apparent progress in non-calibrated photos is just lighting or angle change. Pixel-density measurement on the same anatomical region across scans gives a quantitative track. Side-by-side comparison slider between any two scans. All photos stay local on your device.

Most hair loss apps give you a generic hair score (7.2 out of 10) without showing the math. Folik shows the sources. Every AI Coach reply cites the underlying AAD guideline, ISHRS resource, FDA prescribing information document, or peer-reviewed PubMed study. The photo journal uses ghost overlay alignment and pixel-density measurement instead of vague visual scoring. The Norwood calculator is free with no signup, which most competitor apps lock behind subscriptions. Regrow Hair AI is the more established #1 app with a larger installed base and polished UX — pick Folik if cited sources matter most to you; pick Regrow if you want the most mature product.

No. The Coach surfaces what AAD guidelines, FDA prescribing information, and peer-reviewed studies say about finasteride — mechanism (5α-reductase inhibition, DHT reduction), efficacy in clinical trials (Kaufman et al. 1998), known side-effect profile, and post-marketing reports including post-finasteride syndrome. The decision to start finasteride is between you and a dermatologist who can evaluate your full picture (medical history, baseline sexual function, family history, alternatives). We do not recommend treatments.

The Coach surfaces the published evidence honestly. PFS is reported in the medical literature with persistence concerns. It is also a contested clinical area where some dermatologists minimize the reports and others take them seriously. The Coach does not dismiss the reports nor pretend they don't exist. It cites the FDA-required label warnings, the published post-marketing case series, and recommends that anyone considering finasteride discuss this with their dermatologist before starting — including documenting baseline sexual function and informed consent.

No. Dutasteride (Avodart®, GlaxoSmithKline) is FDA-approved in the US for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) only. Use for hair loss is off-label in the US. It is approved for hair loss in some other countries including South Korea and Japan. Dutasteride is a more complete 5α-reductase inhibitor than finasteride (inhibits both type I and type II isoenzymes) which can produce stronger results but also stronger side-effect risk. If your dermatologist prescribes dutasteride for hair loss, that is a clinical decision under their professional judgment. The Coach surfaces the off-label status explicitly so you can have an informed conversation.

Oral minoxidil is FDA-approved for treatment-resistant hypertension at higher doses. Low-dose oral minoxidil (typically 0.25mg to 5mg daily) is used off-label for hair loss with increasing frequency in dermatology practice. Several recent peer-reviewed studies support efficacy. Side-effect profile includes hypertrichosis (unwanted body hair), ankle swelling, and cardiovascular considerations at higher doses. Folik tracks oral minoxidil if prescribed; the Coach surfaces the off-label status, dose ranges from published studies, and known side-effect monitoring.

Yes. Folik supports the Ludwig scale for women (stages I, II, III) alongside the Norwood scale for men. The AI Coach surfaces female pattern hair loss evidence — minoxidil 2% and 5% topical (FDA-approved for women), spironolactone (off-label, commonly prescribed by dermatologists), low-level laser therapy, and microneedling. IMPORTANT: finasteride and dutasteride are FDA Pregnancy Category X and are NOT appropriate for women of childbearing potential due to fetal risk. The Coach surfaces this explicitly. For diffuse thinning in women, dermatologist evaluation is especially valuable because contributors like postpartum telogen effluvium, PCOS, thyroid dysfunction, iron deficiency, and restrictive dieting are common and warrant medical attention.

Folik is built for pattern hair loss tracking (androgenetic alopecia) and progress monitoring on treatments. Patchy hair loss with smooth bald patches may indicate alopecia areata (autoimmune). Hair loss with skin redness, scarring, itching, burning, or scaling may indicate scarring alopecia (lichen planopilaris, frontal fibrosing alopecia, central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia). Sudden severe shedding may indicate telogen effluvium triggered by illness, medication, thyroid issue, or iron deficiency. None of these are diagnosable by an app. See a dermatologist for evaluation — early intervention matters more for these conditions than for pattern hair loss.

Yes. Track at-home dermaroller sessions or in-office procedures. The Coach surfaces the published evidence on microneedling-minoxidil synergy (Dhurat et al. 2013 showed enhanced results vs minoxidil alone) and frequency guidance from published studies. Note: microneedling has technique requirements — needle length, frequency, skin preparation, post-care — and inappropriate technique can cause skin damage or infection. For first-time microneedling, dermatologist guidance is recommended.

HIPAA applies to covered entities (providers, insurers, business associates) — not directly to consumer wellness apps you use yourself. Practically, Folik keeps your photos and tracking data on your device, requires no account for the free Norwood calculator, and routes AI Coach queries through a privacy proxy that does not link prompts to your identity. If you choose to share progress photos with your dermatologist, those become part of your medical record under their HIPAA obligations.

No. The photo journal is local-only — photos stay on your device. AI Coach queries are routed through a privacy proxy without identity linkage. We do not store scalp photos on Folik's servers and do not sell or share user data.

Folik tracks pre-transplant baseline (so you have evidence of what was there before), tracks the post-transplant timeline (initial shock loss, then growth phases at months 4–12 per ISHRS resources), and surfaces ISHRS guidance on evaluating clinics, expected outcomes, and complications. We do not refer to specific clinics — Folik has no commercial relationship with any transplant provider. For clinic selection, dermatology consult and ISHRS member directories are more useful than app recommendations.

Free Norwood calculator: take or upload a photo, get a Norwood (men) or Ludwig (women) stage estimate. No signup, no paywall. Premium AI Coach: ask follow-up questions like "is this consistent with my family history of pattern loss", "what treatments does the AAD guideline recommend at this stage", "how does my pattern compare against the 18-month finasteride trial baseline cohort" — every answer cited. Premium also unlocks the full 5-angle calibrated photo journal with ghost overlay, treatment tracker, and progress trend charts.

The AI gives a reasonable estimate based on visible hairline position, crown coverage, and frontal density. It is a starting reference, not a diagnostic. Dermatologists trained in trichoscopy and clinical examination produce more accurate staging because they evaluate hair miniaturization patterns, density per cm², and pull-test results that no photo can capture. Use the AI staging as a starting reference and tracking baseline; rely on dermatology evaluation for clinical decisions.

Free Norwood/Ludwig calculator is permanently free with no signup. Premium subscription (price shown in the App Store at install, subject to App Store regional pricing) unlocks the AI Hair Loss Coach with cited sources, the full 5-angle calibrated photo journal with ghost overlay alignment, the treatment tracker, and progress trend charts. Subscriptions auto-renew unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the period ends. Manage in iPhone Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions.

Log the side effect in the treatment tracker. For non-urgent side effects, bring the log to your next dermatology appointment — having a structured timeline makes the conversation more productive. For sexual side effects on finasteride or dutasteride, contact your prescriber. For severe symptoms — severe scalp pain, signs of infection from microneedling, severe edema, chest pain, signs of allergic reaction — seek medical attention immediately: 911 in the US for emergencies, urgent care or your dermatologist's office for non-emergency concerns. Folik is a tracker, not a medical safety system.