Are these hairs salvageable? [PICS]

[ericgerard]

Hey guys.

I was poking around with my scalp microscope in the regions that I am thinning (across the front and top of my head), and I saw this:



If all of those little hairs in that photo were normal size and normal pigment I would have very thick hair. However, because many of those hairs are miniaturized I am left with medium thick hair at best. It is very frustrating as I have been on fin for about 15 months and minox for about 7 months. I feel like ever since I started minox I've been below baseline due to constant sheds. I would like to quit using minox, but I won't if using it will salvage these little hairs. My scalp is very itchy on minox and I get crazy flakage. I honestly think finasteride would probably do the job at maintaining the diameter of these little hairs on its own, at least. I should note that my hair density is normal (# of hairs per square cm).. the only thing I am experiencing is miniaturization. Is minox even necessary here?

What do you guys think? Can these little hairs become thick again? If not, should I even be bothering with minoxidil? Here is what my hair looks like right now, just for reference: