Norwood 2: the stage, and what patients at this stage had done
What Norwood 2 means
Slight recession at the temples — often the "mature hairline". The corners move back symmetrically but the front stays intact.
In Norwood's scale only type III and beyond counts as balding: type III is “the minimal extent of hair loss sufficient to be considered as baldness” (Gupta and Mysore, 2016). Whether a Norwood 2 hairline stays put is the question: mature hairline vs receding.
Not only transplant patients use the scale: 474 people on reddit named Norwood 2 as their own current stage, and of the 217 who also gave their age, the middle age was 22. How old people were at each stage and how it moved for those who named it again later: receding hairline stages.
Patients who were Norwood 2 before surgery
In the reddit threads we have read for our directory, 27 people who had a hair transplant described themselves as Norwood 2 beforehand; 22 of them posted photos. Another 25 people gave Norwood 2 while still planning or considering surgery; they are not counted below.
Grafts they report
25 people stated a graft count. The median is 2,350 grafts; the middle half had between 1,850 and 2,900.
- 1,000–1,499 2
- 1,500–1,999 7
- 2,000–2,499 5
- 2,500–2,999 5
- 3,000–3,499 4
- 3,500–3,999 2
Technique they named: FUE (5), FUT (3), DHI (2).
See what 2,350 grafts costs per country →Doctors these patients named
How many of these Norwood 2 patients named each listed doctor. A count of who posted, not a measure of quality.
- Dogan Turan 3
- Kaan Pekiner 3
- Ratchathorn Panchaprateep 3
- H. Rahal 2
- Alok Kumar Sahoo 1
- Arika Bansal 1
- Augusto Filipe Guerreiro da Silva 1
- Bahk 1
- Bekir Bek 1
- Brett Bolton 1
- Christian Bisanga 1
- Damkerng Pathomvanich 1
…and 6 more doctors in the directory.
In their own words
“I did 2k grafts to a nw2 as wanted 55cm2.”
With Dogan Turan, 2,000 grafts. Dr. Dogan Turan FUECAPILAR (reddit, Sept 2024), with photos“I was I believe norwood 2 and needed 1500 grafts, and I can't be happier.”
With Kongkiat Laorwong, 1,500 grafts. Best surgeons for low norwood? (reddit, Apr 2023)“they transplanted around 3000 grafts”
With Hakan Doganay, 3,000 grafts. 4 month Update (reddit, Apr 2025), with photos“It was a 1416 graft Strip procedure done by Robert Haber.”
With Robert Haber, 1,416 grafts. Failed Hair Transplant in USA by Robert Haber / Haber Dermatology (reddit, Feb 2025), with photos“3200 grafts, the entire thing was around 9k”
With Ratchathorn Panchaprateep, 3,200 grafts. 5.5 Month update (Absolute Hair Clinic, Dr. Ratchathorn) (reddit, Nov 2024), with photos
How to read these numbers
These are people who chose to post on reddit and named their doctor, not a clinical study. The stage is their own description, not an assessment by us or by a doctor, and graft counts are what they wrote. A person counts once at a stage, however many updates they posted. Removed threads are left out of the quotes. A surgeon's assessment of your own scalp comes first.
More: all Norwood stages, the hair transplant cost calculator, and recovery month by month as patients report it.
SaveMyHairline is an independent hair transplant doctor directory: published prices, checked credentials and real patient reports, with sources — and no clinic can pay to appear.