I often get emails describing miniature hair or regrowth, even if the reader doesn’t know the correct term for it. I often hear phrases like “my hair is starting to grow or grow back like a baby’s texture”, or “my hair is getting very thin and fine”, or “I don’t have volume anymore”, or “I suddenly I’m seeing the texture of cotton candy or peach fuzz.” Some readers know the term “miniaturization” but aren’t sure how to recognize it when they see it. I am often asked about “signs, symptoms, or characteristics of hair that has miniaturized.” I will go over some of these in the next article.
Hair that looks different from other supports on your head: The easiest way to spot this is to comb the hair against the grain to spot the little growth spurts. Or use dry shampoo sprayed right on the parting line to help expose new growth. Choose hair that has been growing back for at least a couple of months (which should be at least an inch or two long). Now, you will need to pull out a few strands of new growth. I know no one who is losing hair wants to pull out or give up anything that is going in, but know that if your hair is growing back, that’s not going to do you much good anyway.
Once you’ve found a couple of hairs that have grown back, gently pull them out and place them on a piece of white toilet paper or a tissue so you can easily see them. Next, comb your hair and remove any hairs that have come out (but don’t pull them). They must be longer, healthy and normal locks. Now compare the hair on the comb with the hair on the scarf. is there a diameter difference? Do the strands from the comb look thicker and more substantial? Next, look at the root ball at the end of the shaft. Since both hairs were plucked (and didn’t fall out naturally), they should both have a dark sheath at the tip. Are both sheaths the same size to indicate that the hairs are being properly nourished and deeply embedded in the scalp?
The Flyaway/Feather test: Another test you can do is to take healthy hair, hold it between your fingers, and move your hand so that the hair moves up and then down. A strand that is “normal” should only take a few seconds to come back down, as this strand has some weight to it. However, hair that is too thin or fine will actually react like a feather. It will scroll up and then down, almost as if it is hollow in the middle or blowing in the wind.
What causes your hair to miniaturize and why is this a problem: The reason this is an issue that needs to be fixed is because if your new growth is thin, sickly, or too fine in texture, it won’t provide enough coverage and volume. Think of it this way. If you take 100 healthy strands and place them next to 100 unhealthy strands, you will find that the thicker strands give a much more cosmetically appealing result and volume. Hair extensions look so good because the human hair that is often used is Indian hair that has a phenomenal thick and healthy texture.
Although there are a few causes for miniaturization, the most common come down to genetics or androgens. In short, DHT, inflammation, or androgens compromise the hair follicle so much that it cannot maintain or reproduce normal, healthy hair. So you have to do two things to fix this. First, you need to decrease the DHT that remains in your scalp, and then you need to vigorously stimulate your scalp to produce healthy hair.
In some cases, Chronic Telogen Effluvium (CTE) will cause the hair to get finer and finer this way as well. In this case, you will need to identify the trigger and stop it for the detachment to stop. So, as I mentioned earlier, you will have to be aggressive in stimulating new growth.