# Inverse Head & Shoulders

Inverse Head & Shoulders is an indicator on [Vela](https://vela.luxalgo.com/chart), our next-generation charting platform, written in Pine Script®.

Detects three-trough bottoms whose middle low undercuts both shoulders, built from 10-bar swing pivots with the head required to print the lowest low of the past 100 bars by default. The neckline extends as a dashed line until a closing breakout confirms the pattern, then a measured target, retest marks and a right-shoulder stop are tracked, with five alerts.

- Indicator in the LuxAlgo Library, by LuxAlgo, published May 6, 2026.
- Access: free.
- Concepts: [Inverse Head & Shoulders](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/concept/inverse-head-and-shoulders/) (primary)
- Open on Vela: https://vela.luxalgo.com/chart?pineScriptCodeId=h88b7gehmvvllmlih2w76n7p
- Page: https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/inverse-head-and-shoulders/

**Inverse Head & Shoulders** finds the classical three-trough bottom (head below both shoulders, neckline across the intervening rally highs) and manages it from formation through target, the [inverse head and shoulders](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/concept/inverse-head-and-shoulders/) implemented in full for the library. Patterns build from swing pivots with S-H-S markers, and by default must terminate a genuine downtrend: the head has to print the lowest low of the lookback.

## How to Trade the Inverse Head & Shoulders?

- **Forming pattern**: once the right shoulder is in place, the outline and dashed neckline appear, the anticipated entry some traders take, stop under the head.
- **Neckline breakout**: a firm close through the neckline (dashed while forming, solid once broken) confirms the reversal and prints the IH&S label; an optional filter demands breakout volume, or the full classical template.
- **Retest**: an R marks the first successful hold of the broken neckline from above, a common second entry.
- **Measured target and stop**: the head-to-neckline height projects upward from the break as a dotted level; a close below the right-shoulder low invalidates at any stage.

## Inverse Head & Shoulders Settings

- **Swing Length** (default 10): pivot width for troughs and rally highs. Larger values build cleaner, rarer patterns.
- **Preceding Downtrend** (default enabled) with **Downtrend Lookback** (default 100): the head must undercut this many bars.
- **Min Head Depth %** (default 15): how clearly the head must bottom below both shoulders, as a share of pattern height.
- **Max Shoulder Imbalance %** (default 100): tighten below 100 to enforce shoulder symmetry.
- **Breakout Window** (default 2): pattern widths allowed before a forming setup goes stale.
- **Volume Filter** (default Off) with **Volume Average Length** (default 20) and **Breakout Volume Multiplier** (default 1).
- **Show Forming Patterns**, **Measured Target** and **Neckline Retests** (all default enabled).

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How does it differ from the topping version?

Structurally it mirrors the [Head & Shoulders detector](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/head-and-shoulders/), but the classical literature weights volume far more heavily at bottoms. The Full Template filter encodes that: a quieter decline into the head and a firmer rally off it.

### Can the neckline slope?

Yes. It is drawn through the two rally highs wherever they sit, and every breakout, retest and stale-pattern check is evaluated against the line's value on that bar.

### When does a forming pattern disappear?

A close below the right-shoulder low invalidates it. Otherwise a newer valid candidate replaces it, or the breakout window expires without a neckline break and the setup goes stale.

## Related indicators

- [N Bar Reversal Detector](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/n-bar-reversal-detector/) (Key Reversal): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/n-bar-reversal-detector.md
- [Bart Pattern](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/bart-pattern/) (Chart & Candlestick Patterns): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/bart-pattern.md
- [Head & Shoulders](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/head-and-shoulders/) (Chart & Candlestick Patterns): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/head-and-shoulders.md
- [Wolfe Wave Detector](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/wolfe-wave-detector/) (Wolfe Waves): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/wolfe-wave-detector.md
- [Island Reversal](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/island-reversal/) (Chart & Candlestick Patterns): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/island-reversal.md
- [McDonald's Pattern](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/mcdonalds-pattern/) (Double Top/bottom): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/mcdonalds-pattern.md
- [Diamond Top/bottom](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/diamond-top-bottom/) (Chart & Candlestick Patterns): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/diamond-top-bottom.md
- [Horns Pattern Identifier](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/horns-pattern-identifier/) (Rare Reversal Patterns): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/horns-pattern-identifier.md

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Source: https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/inverse-head-and-shoulders/ (LuxAlgo Library). Free to use with attribution: https://www.luxalgo.com/library/license/