How to Track Hair Regrowth Progress with Photos

Ugh, Siri, just start recording. Please. My hands are, like, full, and this dog is pulling me towards that squirrel again, you know? It’s, um, drizzling, which is just perfect for my mood right now. Anyway. So, I wanted to talk about something that, for years, just ate at me, like, every single day. Hair loss. Specifically, how I learned **how to track hair regrowth progress with photos** because, honestly, I spent a good five years just staring in the mirror, hoping, praying, and getting absolutely nowhere. It was like watching paint dry, except the paint was my receding hairline, and it was just getting drier and drier.

I mean, I’m Alex, right? You probably know me from Gourmet Style Wellness, where I usually talk about, like, trying to eat kale without gagging, or how to make a decent smoothie when you’re hungover. But before all that, before I figured out this whole blogging thing and started making some affiliate income, I was a graphic designer in LA, and my biggest design problem wasn’t a client’s terrible logo idea, it was my own damn head. I started noticing it at 32, just a slight thinning, you know? By 34, I was wearing hats indoors, like some kind of weird, desperate cosplay. And by 35, I was up at 3 AM, staring at my phone, googling “Turkey hair transplant cheap” like a maniac. I wasted so much money, you guys, so much. I’m still bitter about the $847 I blew on that “miracle” caffeine shampoo from some sketchy online store I found at 2 AM on a Tuesday. It literally did nothing. NOTHING. I could have bought, like, a new graphics tablet with that. Or, you know, paid my electric bill, which I just remembered I still need to pay. Oh, shit. Anyway.

I tried everything. Biotin gummies that tasted like regret, a pricey dermatologist in Beverly Hills who basically took my money and said, “It’s genetics, get over it.” Like, thanks, doc, that really helped my anxiety. My head felt like it was betraying me. So, after all that, when a friend told me about Roman in early 2023, I was so incredibly skeptical. Another thing? Another waste of money? But, like, the free 2-minute quiz, you know, it was easy. Private. No insurance weirdness. Discreet packaging, which was, um, nice because I didn’t need my nosy neighbor, Carol, knowing my business. She already judges me for not composting.

Okay, Siri, um, pause for a second. Buddy, stop it, stop sniffing that. That’s probably, like, poison. Okay, back to it. So, the Roman topical finasteride + minoxidil spray. I started using it, and I was still, you know, just staring in the mirror. But this time, I was actually trying to be scientific about it. Because, after all the money I wasted, I needed a way to tell if minoxidil is working, or if this was just another expensive placebo. I needed concrete proof. I needed, like, data. My graphic designer brain kicked in, finally.

### Is it even possible to track hair regrowth when you feel hopeless?

Yeah, I know, it feels impossible, right? When you’re in that deep pit of hair loss despair, it’s hard to see anything but a shiny scalp. I remember one morning, must have been, like, late 2023, maybe October? I was sitting there, trying to eat my sad oatmeal, and I just felt this crushing weight. Like, what’s the point? Is this ever gonna change? I’m still mad. Still. Mad. About how much mental energy I wasted on that feeling. But here’s the thing, it IS possible. You just gotta, um, approach it like you’re doing a design project. With, like, reference images.

So, for months, I didn’t see anything. I was convinced it was another flop. I was still waking up at 3 AM sometimes, just running my hand over my head, feeling nothing but scalp. And then, around six months in, after I’d been pretty consistent with the Roman spray, my barber, Marco, who is, like, a magician with clippers, he said something. He’s always been super chill, never really commented on my thinning hair, just, like, did his best with what he had, you know? But this time, he was like, “Hey, Alex, what have you been doing? Your crown is looking… fuller.” My jaw, like, dropped. I almost, um, fell off the chair. My barber. Not my mom, not my girlfriend, my *barber* noticed. That was my first real “oh shit, this might be working” moment.

But just a barber’s comment wasn’t enough for me after, like, TWELVE. THOUSAND. DOLLARS. spent on various snake oils and consultations over the years. I needed proof. So, I started actually documenting. It’s the best way to photograph hair loss progress, seriously. And it’s not hard. You just need your phone, some consistent lighting, and, um, a bit of patience.

### What’s the *actual* best way to take hair progress pics without fancy equipment?

Okay, so I don’t have, like, a professional studio setup in my tiny LA apartment. Who does? I needed something easy, something I could do consistently without, you know, turning it into a whole production. Like, I’m already trying to remember to take my supplements and, um, not burn dinner every night. So, here’s my, um, totally non-scientific, Alex-approved method for **tracking hair growth journey at home**.

**Anyway, tip number one:** Pick your spot, and stick to it. This is, like, crucial. I found a spot in my bathroom, right in front of the window, usually in the morning, around 8 AM. The light is pretty consistent there. Same background, same distance from the mirror, same everything. You want to eliminate as many variables as possible, you know? I even tried to wear the same, like, boring grey t-shirt most times, just so my brain wouldn’t get distracted by, um, fashion choices. Which, let’s be real, are already pretty limited in my wardrobe. I just spilled coffee on my keyboard, goddammit. This dog is still pulling. Siri, record this.

**Oh wait, tip number two:** Multiple angles, every time. Don’t just take one selfie and call it a day. That’s like, um, designing a website with only one page. Useless. You need a front shot, obviously, to see that hairline. Then, like, a top-down shot of your crown. This is where it gets tricky. I used to just, um, hold my phone up and hope for the best, but those pics were always blurry, or I’d get my arm in the shot. So, what I started doing was using my phone’s timer and, like, leaning against the wall, holding my arm steady. Or, if I was feeling fancy, I’d prop my phone up on a stack of books. You want to make sure your head is angled the same way each time. I also did, like, side profiles. Left, right. Just get all the angles. Because, um, what to look for in hair regrowth pictures isn’t always obvious from just one view. Sometimes I’d see growth on the sides before the front, or vice-versa. And that’s okay. It’s a journey, not a sprint, whatever.

**Actually, hang on, tip number three:** Compare, compare, compare. This is where, um, my graphic designer past finally became useful. Instead of just scrolling through a million blurry photos in my phone, I started taking them into a simple photo editor – honestly, even just the basic one on my iPhone – and lining them up. I’d take, like, month 1, month 3, month 6, and month 12, and put them side-by-side. That’s when you really start to see the changes. Like, I remember looking at one of my crown shots from, um, early 2023, just before I started Roman, and then one from, like, late 2023. And I could actually see little, like, baby hairs. Vellus hairs, I think someone called them. Whatever they were, they were there. It wasn’t just my barber being nice. It was real. It was, like, mind-blowing. I have zero idea why this actually worked, after everything else failed, but it did. Maybe it’s the finasteride, maybe it’s the minoxidil, maybe it’s, um, just the universe finally giving me a break. I don’t care about the science, honestly. Just that it worked.

I mean, I can show you some of my Finasteride Before and After Photos Men: What to Expect sometime. It’s wild. Or even just how I survived the Minoxidil Shedding Phase: How Long and How to Survive It – because that was a whole other nightmare I didn’t need.

It’s been over two years now, December 2025. My hairline is stable, the crown is filled in. And my confidence? Dude, it’s back. I actually went to a pool party last summer without a hat on, which, like, hasn’t happened in years. I’m still jealous of guys who just, like, have a full head of hair naturally and never had to deal with this, but whatever. At least I’m not that desperate 3 AM guy anymore.

If you’re, like, where I was, just staring in the mirror, wondering if anything will ever work, if you can actually track hair regrowth progress with photos, I get it. I really do. And you know, I’m not a doctor – consult a licensed physician, obviously – but for me, starting the journey with Roman’s free quiz was, um, a no-brainer. It was just easy. No pressure. And it led to this. To me actually having hair again. You can check out How Roman’s Free Hair Loss Quiz Works: Step by Step Guide if you want. It’s, um, worth a shot. What do you have to lose? Except maybe more hair if you don’t try anything, you know?

Phone’s at 3%—shit. My kid just opened the knife drawer. Gotta go.