Does Bulk Measurement Depend on Hair Length?
A question about the hair bulk measurement tool – surely it’s dependent on the person measuring having exactly the same length hair every time a measurement is taken otherwise it’s going to produce inaccurate results?
I mean, great if you know your hairdresser can cut your hair the same length perfectly each time you want to do a measurement but realistically that’s not going to happen unless you use clippers which most of us don’t want to do.
Or does it not work this way? Am I missing something?
If not, then I’d think that a camera would be a better way of judging hair loss.
For the bulk analysis, you need to have an adequate length of hair (maybe 2 inches in length) so that the hairs can be bundled up and the bulk can be measured. Any adequate hair length will work the same, even if it is 3 feet long, because the measurement is made at about one to one and a half inches from the scalp. Think of a person bundling up a long pony tail. If you have more hair, the bulk of the pony tail will be much greater. As the measurement is limited to a point about one inch from the scalp, the longer hair will not impact the measurement.
We take a baseline measurement at the same coordinates of the scalp each and every time you return (12 months). If you cut your hair with clippers with a buzzcut style, you cannot do a bulk measurement. If you have gel or other products on your hair it will give a higher bulk reading, so we ask that there are no hair products on your hair when you come in for the analysis.
If your hair is very short, then we can always use a miniaturization study, looking at hair diameters at a microscopic level. Bulk measurement is doing it at a macroscopic level. These are all our attempts to measure an objective (not subjective) value of your hair status. The subjective measurement can be a simple before after picture of your head/face. The picture can be highly variable depending on lighting and angles. At NHI, we try to keep the angles and the lighting and the camera model, lenses, aperture, and external flash location as constant as possible.
Thanks for answering my question. It seems like a good method.
Would you also be able to tell me if bulk analysis and hair miniaturisation studies are widely performed by dermatologists or hair transplant surgeons? I’m in the UK.
I want to put my mind at rest once and for all and know whether my hairline recession is a mature hairline or not – the constant assessing of whether I need to take a drug or not to stop it is taking over my life because I pretty much have OCD and obsess about it. I went to a dermatologist/hair surgeon a few months ago and all he could say about my hair was that it was high in density but the hairs were thin in diameter. He couldn’t tell if the hairs had miniaturised but said it ‘could be’ as he ‘could see some scalp’. Regarding my temple hair loss he could only comment that ‘everyone gets that’.
So, it didn’t put my mind at rest and I want some more definite answers before I make the decision to take a drug that ideally I wouldn’t want to take. I have pictures but I suppose that this isn’t good enough?
Many Thanks for reading and sorry for the long post.