Knowing When to Harvest by Examiinng Hairs

I've got my first crop growing inside right now and I've heard that you can make your determination when to harvest by what percent of the hairs have turned from white to red. I've also read that you should wait until at least 50% of the hairs have turned red to harvest. I know all about examining trichomes to decide when to harvest, the problem is I seem incapable of doing it. I bought one of those el cheapo Radio Shack microscopes but it's useless to me. I have LED Lighting with all those pretty red and blue colors. Trouble is it makes it more difficult for me to check out the trichomes, and another thing that doesn't help is it's really hard for me to keep the microscope absolutely still in order to examine the trichomes properly. In otherwords, it's a big pain in the ass. So if I can make that critical decision solely by looking at the hairs, it would be a great relief to me. As you know, they can be see in detail easily with a regular old magnifying glass. If I can determine when to harvest by the color of the hairs, it will make it so easy for me. I'm really hoping that someone can tell me that I don't have to look at the trichomes to make my decision, I can just look at all those beautiful little hairs to know when to harvest. I await in anticipation for a reply from someone who knows.

Going by the hairs is one of the least reliable methods. Cut of a small tip of bud and look at it on a tabletop with your microscope using regular daylight lighting.

Read this first post in this thread -
https://www.rollitup.org/harvesting-curing/210501-zeuss-take-harvesting.html
it will answer all your questions. Look at how the bud looks in his photo - looks overcooked doesn't it? Nope - that shit is perfect. 99.99% of new growers harvest weeks too early and get shitty fluffy buds after they dry and shrivel up to nothing but leaves and hair. When it looks done to you - add another week or two.

Here's how I do it.
When the majority of hairs have turned red and shriveled, I look under the buds at the calyxView attachment 2752555
When they're fat and swolen and the hair on them has turned red, the bud is done.

They are not "hairs", they are "stigma"...sorry. pet peeve of mine. That and "crystals".

Anyway.

The stigma are a perfectly good way to determine ripeness. You should use several visual indicators in order to make the best call.

Full, round buds. Swollen calyxes. Orange/brown, shriveled stigma. A change in leaf color/vigor. the appearance of isolated "nanners" late in flowering. Trichome "frosting" of the buds....

IMO looking at trichomes through a microscope is convoluted and unnecessary. Learn to develop a feel/eye for other more visible indicators. You should know without having to use a microscope.

Check out the sticky thread by FDD, Harvest time, in the harvesting/curing section. Explains exactly how to tell ripeness w/o the scope.