Ever take a real close look at the hairs you lose?
- Thread starter jeffsss
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Dinzy
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I have never noticed it being much thinner at all. Maybe a tad thinner in the area w/ less pigment right near the bulb but I am pretty sure that is normal. It's such a minor difference I am not sure it is real or just an optical effect due to the 100 um sized object I am looking at with my naked eye.
So what is it you are referring to? Could you better describe the magnitude of the thinning? Is it gradual or is it just in the last mm of hair?
So what is it you are referring to? Could you better describe the magnitude of the thinning? Is it gradual or is it just in the last mm of hair?
ash900 said:yeah, i've noticed that too...
maybe try ripping some hair out of your girls head and compare them
i've never thought to see if people without hair loss have this too.. if they do then we are all worrying about nothing.
thats what i'm getting at!
and yes it's like the last couple cm of the hair.
well bad news..
I looked at several other peoples random hairs, in combs.. etc..
and none of them had that really thin part near the bulb.
so what i'm thinking is.. if you find one of your hairs.. and it's really thin near the bulb part.. it may be leaving your head for good.
could be wrong.. i hope i'm wrong.. damn.
I looked at several other peoples random hairs, in combs.. etc..
and none of them had that really thin part near the bulb.
so what i'm thinking is.. if you find one of your hairs.. and it's really thin near the bulb part.. it may be leaving your head for good.
could be wrong.. i hope i'm wrong.. damn.
DonaldAnderson
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Cheer up man
Wrong - u are needlessly worrying
All hairs taper when they enter telogen phase (that is also when the "bulb" forms." Next time you shed (NATURALLY SHED, not RIP OUT) a body hair such as arm, leg, or pubic hair, observe it. It will be tapered a bit towards the bulb. Now, the chances of a healthy guy going bald in his pubic region or on his arms or legs are almost zero. So just relax.
You cannot tell whether an individual hair is miniaturizing, or has miniaturized, or will miniaturize, just by looking at it.The only way you can tell whether you are thinning or not is to see whether scalp is visible in areas in which it was not visible previously under the same conditions of lighting, wetness/greasiness, hairstyling, etc. Remember, miniaturization is a RELATIVE measurement. If there is a large difference in diameter and length between the hairs in a certain area, then the area is said to be miniaturizing. Even the baldest men have a few good thick terminal hairs in their bald areas, while conversely even men with lots of hair have a few thinner hairs scattered throughout their head.
Cheers,
Arjun
All hairs taper when they enter telogen phase (that is also when the "bulb" forms." Next time you shed (NATURALLY SHED, not RIP OUT) a body hair such as arm, leg, or pubic hair, observe it. It will be tapered a bit towards the bulb. Now, the chances of a healthy guy going bald in his pubic region or on his arms or legs are almost zero. So just relax.
You cannot tell whether an individual hair is miniaturizing, or has miniaturized, or will miniaturize, just by looking at it.The only way you can tell whether you are thinning or not is to see whether scalp is visible in areas in which it was not visible previously under the same conditions of lighting, wetness/greasiness, hairstyling, etc. Remember, miniaturization is a RELATIVE measurement. If there is a large difference in diameter and length between the hairs in a certain area, then the area is said to be miniaturizing. Even the baldest men have a few good thick terminal hairs in their bald areas, while conversely even men with lots of hair have a few thinner hairs scattered throughout their head.
Cheers,
Arjun
To chewbaca
Hi chewbaca,
Shedding medium length hairs from your thinning areas is not a definite indicator of anything. Those medium length hairs could grow back thicker (if your medication is causing regrowth), the same thickness ( if you are just able to maintain) or thinner BUT THICKER THAN THEY WOULD IN THE SAME TIME W/O TREATMENT (if you are not able to stop the loss, but are able to slow it down.) If you are extremely unlucky (i.e. almost a non-responder which is not very common) then the hairs will grow back thinner, as thin as they would in the same period of time w/o
treatment. The shedding of these medium length hairs could indicate any of the above four scenarios i.e. it does'nt indicate squat.
As said by me (and many others before me) on previous occasions, look at what is left on the scalp to determine the presence/absence , degree of severity, and rate of progression of male pattern baldness. DO NOT look at what falls from the scalp.
Cheers,
Arjun
Hi chewbaca,
Shedding medium length hairs from your thinning areas is not a definite indicator of anything. Those medium length hairs could grow back thicker (if your medication is causing regrowth), the same thickness ( if you are just able to maintain) or thinner BUT THICKER THAN THEY WOULD IN THE SAME TIME W/O TREATMENT (if you are not able to stop the loss, but are able to slow it down.) If you are extremely unlucky (i.e. almost a non-responder which is not very common) then the hairs will grow back thinner, as thin as they would in the same period of time w/o
treatment. The shedding of these medium length hairs could indicate any of the above four scenarios i.e. it does'nt indicate squat.
As said by me (and many others before me) on previous occasions, look at what is left on the scalp to determine the presence/absence , degree of severity, and rate of progression of male pattern baldness. DO NOT look at what falls from the scalp.
Cheers,
Arjun
cook'n'milkies
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hey jeffsss,
I'm pretty sure a good indication of "bad" hairs falling out is when you see hairs that are far smaller and lighter in color than your other hairs. Also, If these hairs taper off at the other end of the hair (not the root), this means they haven't stuck around long enough to be cut: A good indication of short cycling.
But honestly don't read too much into shedding, you are on finasteride after all, which is known to induce sheds.
I'm pretty sure a good indication of "bad" hairs falling out is when you see hairs that are far smaller and lighter in color than your other hairs. Also, If these hairs taper off at the other end of the hair (not the root), this means they haven't stuck around long enough to be cut: A good indication of short cycling.
But honestly don't read too much into shedding, you are on finasteride after all, which is known to induce sheds.
Dinzy
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jeffsss said:socks said:Thought I would add this little tibit I found on Keratin:
The questioned was answered by a guy who holds a PhD btw
says "some" are tapered. but it's a nice thought..
Are you implying that some cannot mean many? If the guy has his PhD in a science then the word "some" just means not every. My interpretation of this is that those hairs that go through a ~2 week catagen phase will be slightly tapered near the bulb whereas those that do not go through a catagen phase or perhaps have a shorter one will not. It says nothing about the realative quantity of either case in a normal scalp or a male pattern baldness scalp.
I just plucked out a chest hair and noticed that it does taper slightly but only in the last 1/2 cm which I would guess to be about the last 2 weeks of growth depending on whether it grows slower at the end of a cycle or not and assuming chest hair grow at approximately 1-1.5 cm/ month like scalp hair.
socks
Experienced Member
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Dinzy said:jeffsss said:socks said:Thought I would add this little tibit I found on Keratin:
The questioned was answered by a guy who holds a PhD btw
says "some" are tapered. but it's a nice thought..
Are you implying that some cannot mean many? If the guy has his PhD in a science then the word "some" just means not every. My interpretation of this is that those hairs that go through a ~2 week catagen phase will be slightly tapered near the bulb whereas those that do not go through a catagen phase or perhaps have a shorter one will not. It says nothing about the realative quantity of either case in a normal scalp or a male pattern baldness scalp.
I just plucked out a chest hair and noticed that it does taper slightly but only in the last 1/2 cm which I would guess to be about the last 2 weeks of growth depending on whether it grows slower at the end of a cycle or not and assuming chest hair grow at approximately 1-1.5 cm/ month like scalp hair.
I dont think you can EVER read too much into shed hair. I mean, even when I had Elvis thick hair I still would get this tiny 1 - 2 cm vellus hairs in my comb. Not often though but I did get them. Didnt someone say here not all your hair is the exact same diameter all over anyhow.
I think the only way to really gauge male pattern baldness is by taking pictures in the same light with the same length and comparing over time. Look gentlemen, my mother who never was a huge shedder herself has come to me recently about a shed she has been going through for the last several months. When I go over the parent's house I see her freaking hair all over... Guess what? She doesnt even look like she thinned a bit. Even she said she didnt think she thinned.
Hair sheds. We will always worry though (me included) but in the end, the sane thing to do is go by objective pictures over a period of months.