Doc
If a layperson tries mapping out their scalp for miniaturization are they really going to be able to tell the difference from a hair in a certain stage of miniaturization and a new hair growing in? Or from a miniaturized hair getting thicker. I would think it would take a trained professional eye. Especially if someone has already started treatment.
Thanks.
If you follow the tutorials on mapping your own scalp (see BaldingForum) some of this information is not difficult to get as long as you have the proper tool. Using a video microscope, you take photos of various areas of your scalp and compare those photographs a year later at the same location. Then it will be easy to see what has happened to your hair. You do not have to be a rocket scientist to do this, just a motivated victim of hair loss.
That being said — yes, I can tell much more because of the years of experience I have. I was one of the first ever to do this and it reflected my invention (U.S. Patent 5,331,472), which defined the process for measuring hair density and observing the appearance and thickness of the hair. I then published the same process in various articles written since 1993 (see my CV for a list).