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 have no volume anymore”, or “I suddenly I’m seeing the texture of cotton candy or peach fuzz.” Some readers are familiar with 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 been miniaturized”. I’ll go over some of these in the next article.

Hair that looks different from other supports on your head: The easiest way to detect this is to comb your hair against the grain to detect the small growth spurts. Or use dry shampoo sprayed right on the part 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’ll need to pluck a few tufts of new growth. I know that no one who is losing hair wants to rip out or give up anything that is going in, but you should know that if your hair is growing back, it’s not going to do you much good anyway.

Once you’ve found a few regrowth hairs, gently pull them out and place them on a white toilet paper or 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 should be longer, healthy and normal locks. Now compare the hair on the comb to the hair on the bandana. Is there a difference in diameter? Do comb tresses look thicker and more substantial? Next, look at the root ball at the end of the shaft. Since both hairs were plucked (and did not fall out naturally), both should have a dark sheath at the tip. Do they both have the same size pods 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 the 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 take only 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 would. It will drift up and then down, almost like it’s hollow in the middle or blowing in the wind.

What causes your hair to become miniaturized and why is this a problem?: The reason this is a problem that needs to be fixed is because if your new growth is thin, unhealthy, or too fine in texture, it will not 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’ll find that the thicker strands provide a much more cosmetically appealing result and volume. Hair extensions look so good because the human hair that is often used is Indian hair which has a phenomenal thick and healthy texture.

Although there are a few causes for miniaturization, the most common one comes down to genetics or androgens. In short, DHT, inflammation, or androgens so compromise the hair follicle 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 become thinner and thinner in this way as well. In this case, you will need to identify the trigger and stop it in order for the detachment to stop. So, as I mentioned earlier, you’ll have to be aggressive to encourage new growth.