HairCheck vs Miniaturization Mapping

Hello Doctor Rassman,

first of all thanks for your website and for all the precious information!

I have a question related to the haircheck methodology (re. a post on Aug. 8, 2011). Is the haircheck methodology related to miniaturization or is it a different methodology? I.e., would haircheck reveal an early stage of miniaturization, which would not be usually seen with the traditional magnifying camera that you and Dr. Pak use when visiting patients? I ask this because, when doctor Pak visited me in San Jose 2 months ago, he said that at 30y I don’t have any sign of miniaturization, but I still have the “impression” that the hair on the top of my hair has lost volume over the last year. Maybe just a little paranoia :-)?

Keep up the great work!

Best regards

I discussed your case with Dr Pak and he remembers you well. You have absolutely no sign of balding. There was less than 10% of miniaturized hairs all over your scalp. There was no balding pattern identifiable. If you would like, you can send us a photo and permission for us to post it. You are 30 years old with a Norwood 2 hairline.

You are one of those people who had so much hair when you were younger, that you probably never saw the skin on your scalp. As you aged, you probably had some thinning (not balding), and when your hair was cut short and you were under bright lights, the whites of your scalp could be seen. It was the perfect storm.

The bulk measurement can be used to assess the VOLUME of hair at certain areas (top or crown) of your scalp and make a relative comparison of that value to the measurement from the back (donor) area of your scalp. This test cannot be done if you have lots of product (gel, mouse, pomade, hair spray) on your hair, as it will add to the bulk, nor can it be done if you have very short hair, because we need to grab a section of your hair in each area of the scalp. The bulk measurement is like counting the number of hairs in a certain area (density) and multiplying it by the cross section area of each hairs.

The miniaturization mapping measurement can be used to assess the condition and distribution of miniaturized hairs around certain areas of your scalp. The proportion of miniaturized hairs to non-miniaturized hairs can be compared to your own donor hair to see if there a pattern to the miniaturization (thinning). In your particular case, you had absolutely no miniaturization all over your scalp.

By the way, thank you for the bottle of wine!