is how fast scalp hair grows. Your eyes can't see that.
Clinical studies show minoxidil reaches visible response in 3–6 months. The FDA label notes results may take up to 4 months.
Photos are encrypted on your phone before upload. We store ciphertext we can't read.
Hair on the scalp grows about a centimetre a month. Your eyes cannot see that. A different angle, a different season, a fresh haircut, and suddenly you are convinced something has changed. So you panic-buy minoxidil. Or quit too early. Or spiral.
“If you can't see the change, you can't trust the feeling. Folicle replaces the mirror with a measurement you can actually compare to last week.”
Five aligned photos a week. One honest Hair Score. A side-by-side timeline you can scrub across every week you've captured. A clean PDF you can hand to a real dermatologist when you actually need one.
This is not a protocol and it is not advice. It is the messy personal context behind the app: too many guesses, too many formulas, not enough baseline discipline, and finally the decision to build a calmer measurement system.
I took finasteride at 5 mg because I knew it was used for hair loss, but I did not understand dosage, monitoring, or risk. I stopped after a while. I did not have obvious side effects, but I did have that anxiety loop where you start wondering what could happen later.
After a few months I started minoxidil. Some formulas had finasteride mixed in. Some were 10%, some 6%, some were just whatever I could get. My hair was still pretty dense, mostly corners and hairline, but I was experimenting like a lab subject instead of tracking like a person with a plan.
After about a year I took a break from minoxidil and finasteride. What followed was the scariest part: diffuse shedding, vertex loss, and the feeling that everything I had gained was disappearing. I had photos, but not a clean enough method to trust every comparison.
I moved to a more consistent topical routine from a pharmacy: topical finasteride and minoxidil, with an easier evening foam and plain minoxidil in the morning. Some hair came back, but not like it was before the break. That gap is where Folicle was born: the need to know what is actually changing.
I am still tracking. I have a more capable stack now, and I am hoping to densify before deciding on a transplant next winter. Folicle exists because I do not want the next decision to be based on panic, memory, or one flattering bathroom photo.
Folicle is not trying to cosplay as a clinic. It is built by Leo after living through the same loop many hair-loss forums describe: checking the mirror, comparing random photos, wondering if a treatment is helping, then realizing the evidence is too messy to trust. The answer is not louder medical language. The answer is a cleaner tracking system.
Folicle is written from the perspective of someone who has lived with hair-loss uncertainty. That does not create medical authority, so the product never pretends to diagnose or prescribe.
The method starts with repeatable photos because hair growth is slow and mood is noisy. Angle, distance, lighting, and wetness state matter more than a dramatic daily mirror check.
When a question needs a clinician, Folicle should help you show up prepared: photo history, treatment notes, symptom context, and a clean PDF for the appointment.
Not to advertisers, not to data brokers, not to anyone.
Analysis runs via Google Gemini as our sub-processor under their zero-retention policy — they don't train on customer data.
How the Hair Score works is documented publicly.
Even free tier keeps full timeline access for what you've captured.
Join before Aug 5 and your price is locked, for life.
Folicle is a wellness and self-tracking tool. We are not a medical device under FDA, CE, or any equivalent regulation. We are not a substitute for a consult with a board-certified dermatologist. If you suspect a medical cause for shedding - sudden patches, scalp pain, scarring, or systemic symptoms - please see a clinician first.
We are not doctors. We do not diagnose. We do not prescribe. We measure. For medical advice, you have a board-certified dermatologist; Folicle gives you an exportable PDF so that conversation starts with evidence instead of memory.
One weekly session, five angles, one honest score. Free to start, founder pricing locked for life if you join before Aug 5.