Is it difficult to detect miniaturized hairs? I’ll tell you
I get a lot of emails on how to determine if your hair is miniaturized or not. People think this determination is very important because hair that is becoming finer or thinner is typically indicative of androgen-induced hair loss (AGA) or chronic shedding that has affected the follicle’s ability to reproduce healthy hair with a normal thickness. Either way, miniaturization will need to be addressed quickly because otherwise volume and coverage will take a hit rather quickly. But how difficult is it to spot miniaturized hair? Not much if you know what you’re doing. I will talk more about this in the next article.
Inadequate Coverage (Hair Sticking Out) And/or Shiny Scalp Evidence: Often the first signs of miniaturization are a white (or red or pink if inflamed) scalp showing through your hair. Thinner or finer hair has provided less coverage, so you’re seeing more of your scalp. Often you’ll see a noticeable lack of volume or fullness before you really start to see your scalp. Also, many times you will notice a shine to your scalp that you didn’t have before (this is not always true, especially for women, but can be indicative of a loss caused by androgens or DHT when present).
Really examining hair that you think may be miniaturized: Another way to tell what’s really going on is to physically examine your actual hair strands. First, you will need a strand of regular, thick, and thick hair for comparison purposes. You will often find this on the lower back of your head. You can either pluck one of these off or find one on your brush or comb. These hairs should be long with a tapered end. (The tapered end means the hair has not been cut recently. If it had been cut, it would have a blunt end.)
Next, you’ll need to get a strand that you think may be miniaturized or grown too fine. You will usually find these hairs on the top of the head, near the hairline, at the temples, or on the sides (mostly for women). Sure, you’ll want to make sure this strand is long enough that you can easily grab it.
Look at the two strands of hair next to each other. (The easiest way to do this is to find a light-colored surface, like your kitchen or bathroom counter, and place the two strands next to each other so they can be easily seen.) Are there noticeable differences in diameter or color? Often thinner hair will be slightly lighter in color. Then, hold the hair you suspect may be thinner between your fingers. Move your hand quickly towards you so that the strand is forced up. Notice how the thread goes down. Does it go down quickly or does it stay in the air like a feather because it doesn’t have enough weight? Then repeat the process with normal or thicker hair and note the differences in the time it takes each to fall back out, if any.
Often this process will make the differences very obvious. Miniaturized hair will look and behave differently than normal hair. So, to answer the question of whether it is difficult or hard to detect miniaturized hairs, the truth is that it is not that difficult. Usually you’ll have your doubts just by taking a long-range look, but you can often confirm this quite easily upon closer inspection.
