it's the 'crystals' that will indicate when its ready, not the 'hairs' ... when the 'crystals' are ALL cloudy, except for just a few 'amber' ones, it's ready ... you WILL need a fairly powerful magnifying glass ... 30X works nicely ... Radio Shack has a 3-in-one magnifying glass (you can use 2 or 3 to get the view you want ... I don't much care for their 'pocket microscope', but some prefer it ... :smokin: