Do you notice a thinning of your hair? Does it feel like more hair is tangled in your brush or caught in the shower drain? Although many of us may notice that our hair is thinning, we often ignore the early warning signs because hair loss is a sensitive subject. If you believe that your hair is thinning, it’s the right time to act now!
Miniaturization defines how hair thinning progresses. Hair follicles that previously produced healthy hairs begin to produce thinner hairs with weaker shafts during miniaturization. The look of thinning hair may result from less dense hair. It may result in hair strand shortening and follicle constriction, which causes hair thinning and loss. It will reduce the hair development cycle in people with hair shrinkage.
What is Hair Follicle Miniaturization?
It's true what it says on the tin: Hair follicle miniaturization is where your hair follicles gradually shrink, impairing your capacity to sustain healthy hair growth.
Your body is covered in microscopic, tunnel-like hair follicles, including those on your scalp, face, and torso. Your follicles produce hair due to a multi-phase cycle known as the hair growth cycle.
Your hair goes through several phases during this cycle as it reaches its full length, goes dormant, and eventually separates from your scalp so that new hair can grow in its place.
As some of your hair follicles physically shrink, new hairs lose some of the thickness of their hair shafts and develop less quickly due to hair miniaturization. The shrinking of hair follicles causes hair to weaken and shrink, eventually preventing it from penetrating your scalp.
What Causes Hair Miniaturization?
- Male Pattern Baldness and Female Pattern Hair Loss Due to sensitivity to the androgen hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT), male pattern baldness (MPB) and Female Pattern Hair Loss develops. Hair shrinks as a result of this sensitivity. Scientists are still working to pinpoint the precise process by which this occurs.
- Age Age is a key factor in aging pattern hair loss. Some men will start to experience it throughout puberty, and by 30, about 25% of males will start to experience hair loss. Nearly one in two males will have hair loss by 50. By old age, this number has increased to well over 80%.
- Genetics The hereditary basis of male and female pattern hair loss is significant. You are, therefore, more prone to contract the ailment yourself the more affected relatives you have.
- Dihydrotestosterone concentrations (DHT) The main hormone linked to the shrinkage of hair follicles is DHT. Because of a hereditary propensity, some hairs will fall out if exposed to many DHT. The follicle may shed too soon due to DHT adhering to it. The follicle starts to shrink after that, and finer hair starts to grow again in its place.
The afflicted hair follicles continue to be influenced by DHT, which causes the terminal hair to change into vellus hair. At some point, even the vellus hair stops growing, resulting in complete baldness.
How to Know if It's Hair Miniaturization?
You can look for the signs of hair miniaturization:
- A receding hairline or widow’s peaks are indications of hair miniaturization and shrinking hair follicles.
- A widening portion
- A reduction in the circumference of pony tail, when holding hair back
- General loss of density on the top part of the head and in the temples
Diagnosis of Hair Follicle Miniaturization
There is no proper way to diagnose Hair Follicle miniaturization. However, dermatologists or medical professionals frequently use the Norwood scale to "grade" hair. Although these are useful where thinning has progressed to an obvious stage, in the early stages of miniaturization, the best way to diagnose thinning is with a tricoscope (a microscopic camera, used to detect variance in hair strand thickness.
Take pictures of the top of your head each month to track the development if you think your hair is thinning.
How can it be Treated?
Hair miniaturization can impact your hair over time, resulting in a subtle loss of hair density and thinning to a blatant pattern of hair loss.
The good news is that there are tried-and-true methods for delaying or stopping the shrinkage of hair that can help you keep your hair and, in some cases, even regrow hair that is beginning to thin and fall out.
Natural Hair Loss Treatments Include:
- Viviscal. This all-natural hair-growth supplement comprises molluscs, shark powder, and vitamins and minerals.
- Ginseng This supplement may stimulate hair follicles, leading to hair growth.
- Oil of Rosemary. Using rosemary to treat male pattern baldness is particularly beneficial. You can rub this oil into the scalp with a carrier oil. You can even add a few drops to your conditioner and shampoo. Avoid applying the oil directly to the skin since it can burn.
- Oil of Geranium. This oil can improve blood flow to the scalp, which is another way that certain prescription therapies for baldness delay the condition.
- Biotin. Although it might strengthen hair, this vitamin won't always promote growth.
- Palmetto saw. There is still room for more research, but this berry plant might help reduce hair loss.
- Modifications in the way of life. A healthy diet and stopping smoking are two changes that may also slow hair loss.
**Before taking any medication or altering your lifestyle, it's crucial you consult a hair expert or a trichologist. For more insight into your hair-loss patterns, consult Hair Experts at AHS.
Clinical Hair Treatments
Clinical interventions are available to stop or slow down hair follicle shrinkage. These consist of the following:
- Minoxidil This FDA-approved medication, which is also known as Rogaine, is a vasodilator that opens and expands blood vessels. The scalp receives more blood, which is claimed to lessen hair loss.
- Finasteride The medication known as Propecia is also FDA-approved. By reducing DHT hormone levels, Propecia works.
- PRP and Stem Cell Therapy Both these treatments stimulate your body’s natural regenerative process by increasing amount of growth factors in the affected area. Treatment has been shown to reverse the process of miniaturization and improve the overall quality and texture of hair.
- Hair Transplant Follicular unit transplantation (FUT) and follicular unit extraction (FUE) are two methods. These transplants take hair follicles from the back area of the head and then relocate them to places where hair is thinning, although using slightly different techniques.
- Laser Procedures Low-level laser therapy (LLLT), helps to reduce DHT levels and improve cellular metabolism, which results in the strengthening of hair follicles and can reverse the effect of miniaturization.
**Before taking any medication or altering your lifestyle, please reach out to a hair expert or a trichologist. For more insight into your hair-loss patterns, consult Hair Experts at Advanced Hair Studio for an advanced hair check.
When to Consult a Doctor
It's advisable to consult a doctor as soon as you notice signs of hair thinning if you want to slow hair loss. If you start hair treatment before losing hair, your chances of slowing it down are higher. Holding onto hair before it falls out is far simpler than growing it back after it has already been lost.
If your hair loss looks rapid and extreme, you should also visit a doctor because this could signify a more serious medical condition.
Conclusion
When the hair follicle shrinks, it becomes more difficult for hair to grow. It is known as hair follicle shrinking. It indicates that the follicle, which previously produced healthy hairs, begins to produce hairs that are thinner and have a brittle shaft that is easily lost. A receding hairline and balding are side effects of hair follicle shrinkage.
All you need is to visit the AHS Clinic for an Advanced Hair Check if you are experiencing similar symptoms or are unsure about hair loss issues.