How to Take Comparable Hair-Progress Photos

For comparable hair-progress photos, repeat the same camera and view, lighting, hair preparation, head position and framing; save the original files and record anything that changed. Folivis Photo Record v1.0 is an eight-point consumer method for documenting appearance. It is not a clinical measurement, diagnostic test, follicle count or validated treatment-outcome scale.

A photograph can make a part look wider simply because the hair is wetter, the light is harsher or the head is tilted farther forward. The aim of this method is to make those differences visible and reduce avoidable mismatches. A useful record should help you describe a concern and then return to everyday life, rather than creating a daily inspection project.

Citable method: Folivis Editorial. Folivis Photo Record: a consumer protocol for comparable hair-progress images and context logging. Version 1.0, October 20, 2026. Protocol identifier FHP-1.0-20261020. The consumer steps, log structure and observation categories below are Folivis's original editorial method, informed by the general standardization principle in clinical photography literature. No clinical validation of this method is claimed.

1. Choose one appearance question and a small set of views

Write the question before taking pictures. “How does my central part look when my hair is dry?” needs a different view from “What is happening at the frontal hairline?” Choose a central-part view, front view or crown view according to the concern. Use only the views you can repeat comfortably. More pictures do not automatically create better evidence.

For each view, save a reference frame showing enough of the head to recognize location and angle. A scalp-only crop can hide a changed part or head tilt. Do not mark or shave an area to turn this consumer record into a measurement experiment. A dermatologist may use different photographs or equipment for a clinical assessment.

2–3. Fix the station, then fix the camera recipe

Point 2: repeat the station and light. Choose a room and lighting arrangement you can recreate. Record which lights are on and where the chair or standing position sits. A removable floor marker or a familiar fixed landmark can help. Avoid comparing direct overhead light on one date with soft side light on another. If daylight is your only option, record that limitation and changes in time or weather.

Point 3: record the camera recipe. Use the same phone, camera, lens, orientation and zoom. A stand or secure shelf can make distance easier to repeat. Record the approximate distance or reproduce fixed camera and head positions. Keep filters, portrait effects and beauty modes off. If an update or a different phone changes processing, note the change rather than silently joining the images into the same series.

Test the setup with the hair and head in position. A frame that is sharp on the phone screen may focus on the wall instead of the hair. Check the first image before completing all views. The recipe should be short enough that another person could read it and help repeat the setup.

4–5. Repeat hair preparation and head position

Point 4: repeat and record hair preparation. A manageable baseline is fully dry hair in its usual part, at a similar point after washing and before cosmetic coverage products. This is a practical editorial choice, not a clinically validated best condition. Record time since washing, wet or dry state, part and any leave-in, dry shampoo, fibre, oil or styling product. Never alter a prescribed treatment schedule merely to make a picture match.

Point 5: repeat position and framing. Use the reference image to match where the head points and which landmarks appear. Ask a helper to compare the frame before capturing, especially for the crown. Keep the same view names over time. A new angle can be useful, but start a new labeled view instead of pretending it is interchangeable with the old one.

Haircuts, colour, extensions and texture changes can affect appearance. You do not need to stop them. Record the date and change so you can interpret the next image sensibly. Keep wet photographs, styling demonstrations and photographs with fibres in separate labeled sequences.

6. Check the image before deciding what it shows

Use three quality fields: focus acceptable, target view recognizable and recipe reasonably matched. If an image is blurred, retake it during the same session when practical. If the preparation or light differs, retain it but mark the mismatch. Do not select the harshest picture to justify worry or the most flattering picture to demonstrate improvement.

Observation category	Definition in this record	What it does not mean
Comparable	Key recorded conditions reasonably match the reference.	Identical imaging or clinical measurement.
Not comparable	A material mismatch, such as wet versus dry hair or changed view, prevents a useful appearance comparison.	That hair improved or worsened.
Less / similar / more visible scalp	A descriptive impression in the comparable view, with uncertainty recorded.	A percentage change, follicle count or diagnosis.
Unclear	The reviewer cannot confidently describe a direction.	Treatment failure or proof of stability.
Comfort or use change	A separately recorded experience such as itch or ease of application.	Evidence of regrowth.

These are original consumer logging categories, not a severity scale. “Similar” means no clear appearance difference in this record. It cannot show what would have happened without treatment. Avoid assigning a numerical growth score from phone photographs.

7. Save originals and keep the context beside them

Use a filename with date, view and session identifier, such as 2026-10-20_central-part_baseline.jpg. Keep the original before cropping or building a side-by-side image. Preserve the wider frame and avoid different sharpening, exposure or colour adjustments on different dates. Do not darken the scalp or clone hairs to make a comparison easier to see.

Make one log row per view per session. The downloadable CSV structure contains the protocol version, date, view, setup recipe, device and lens, zoom, lighting, hair state, time since wash, part, products, cut or colour changes, original filename, quality check, comparability, observation, comfort and other changes. Blank means unknown; it does not mean normal or absent. Example rows are marked EXAMPLE and are not results from a person.

Keep personal photographs private and inspect any automatic sharing settings. Consent to show an image during a consultation is different from consent to publish it in marketing. If you later share a collage, keep identifying details out where they serve no purpose and retain the originals privately.

8. Schedule a review, then close the folder

A monthly session can be a manageable editorial starting suggestion for a personal record. It is not a validated interval or a substitute for a clinician's plan. Choose a schedule you can maintain, note missed sessions and avoid reconstructing them. A missed date is better left missing than filled with a differently prepared image presented as equivalent.

At review, ask: were the conditions comparable; what else changed; and what action follows? The answer may be to keep the setup, improve the next frame or discuss a persistent concern. New patches, pain, inflammation or rapid change warrant assessment without waiting for the next photo date.

If you use Folivis RESET or Folivis SUPPORT, record where photography fits into your usual care. “Fully dry, usual part, before the daily cosmetic leave-in” is a repeatable description. Follow product directions and keep any medicine timing within the clinical plan. The record should observe the routine, not make you repeatedly change it for the camera.

What supports this method, and where does it stop?

Takwale and colleagues developed clinical photography protocols using published hair-loss severity scales and review by a specialist working group. Their work supports the value of standardization in clinical photography; the abstract does not validate Folivis's consumer method, CSV fields or observation categories. We reviewed the indexed abstract and author-institution metadata, not the full protocol figures. [P1]

Clinical assessment uses history and examination, and tests when indicated. A consumer image series cannot diagnose a cause, count follicles, identify individual strands, measure density or isolate the effect of a product. [P2] The useful result is a clearer description of appearance and context, with uncertainty kept visible.

Download the Folivis Photo Record

Keep the original photographs private and use these versioned files for the context log. The example rows are explicitly hypothetical; this record is for appearance tracking and is not a diagnosis or clinical measurement.

Blank photo log (CSV) · Hypothetical example rows (CSV) · Field guide and limits (TXT) · Versioned schema (JSON)