"The white bulb at the end of the hair is keratin (or protein) and is the same keratin that makes up your skin and nails.
Myth: A hair falling out with a white bulb attached means it won't grow back. False! If you notice that some of your fallen hairs have a small white lump or bulb at the root, you shouldn't worry. This does not mean that the root of your hair has been removed, or that the follicle is dead.
When you notice hair falling out with a white bulb at the end, it typically indicates that the hair has gone through its natural growth cycle and has been shed during the telogen phase. The white bulb is the hair root or the dermal papilla, which is the base of the hair follicle that supplies nutrients for hair growth.
So what is this small white particle? In fact, the white small particles in the roots of the hair are fat particles composed of sebum and oil.
Nits (eggs) are tiny white specks attached to hairs close to the scalp. Unlike dandruff or sand, nits can't be shaken off the hair shafts. Best places to look for nits: behind the ears and along the hairline at the neck.
What is folliculitis? Folliculitis is inflammation of the hair follicle. Follicles are the bulb-shaped root that anchors hair to your scalp and generates new hair. Bacteria trapped in the inflamed hair follicle can cause small pus-filled bumps called pustules to form.
If you pull out a strand of hair, you might notice a bulb or round ball (root) attached to the end of the hair strand. The root is surrounded by nerve fibers that let you feel when your hair moves or you touch your hair. Removing this root doesn't mean your hair won't grow back, because in most cases, it will.
When your hair follicles have died or become inactive the skin on the scalp takes on a smooth, shiny appearance. This indicates that hair loss has progressed to the stage of true baldness.
Can thin hair become thicker again? A person cannot change the texture of their hair. However, the hair may grow back after chemotherapy or pregnancy, for example.
With the right diagnosis and treatments, white hair progression can be stopped and reversed in some instances. A balanced diet and good hair care can also help. In some cases, however, the process is irreversible. Regular use of natural remedies may slow down and possibly reverse white hair.
The use of a hair wash test (5 day modified hair wash test, or photos, or trichograms, or biopsies, or evaluation of hairs collected in the shower drain can help patient's and their doctors get a sense of whether or not shedding rates have returned back to normal.
Pull Test and Tug Test. This simple test measures the severity of hair loss. During a pull test, a dermatologist grasps small sections of hair, about 40 strands, from different parts of the scalp and gently tugs. If six or more strands fall out, you have what's known as active hair loss.
Trichotillomania can be related to emotions: Negative emotions. For many people with trichotillomania, hair pulling is a way of dealing with negative or uncomfortable feelings, such as stress, anxiety, tension, boredom, loneliness, fatigue or frustration.
If the doctor gently tugs on some hairs on your scalp and four or more hairs come out, you probably have telogen effluvium. Also, the hairs will look like hairs in the telogen phase — they will have a white bulb at the end that was in the scalp, and will not have a gel-like covering around that end of the hair.
When your hair follicles are dead, they do not regrow hair. You can inspect your scalp and look for signs of hair growth. Even if you only see thin hair patches or fuzzy texture, your hair follicles are still alive and will continue to renew themselves.
When done correctly, plucking can stop hair growth for up to six weeks, longer than many alternative hair removal methods. The reason plucking stops hair growth for so long is because it removes the hair directly from the hair follicle, the part of the hair strand that is anchored to your skin.
Dead hair follicles are most evident when the scalp's skin (where the hair once grew) becomes smoother and shinier in appearance. In other words, there'll quite literally be no hair there/no signs of regrowth if your hair follicles are completely dead.
Black dots correspond to remnants of hair shafts in the follicular ostia and cannot be removed mechanically. They are usually associated with other forms of broken hairs. The second trichoscopic finding is hair dye; if hair is improperly washed, dye can deposit on the scalp and may even penetrate the follicular ostia.
A trichomycosis infection causes nodules, which stick to the hair shaft, where they grow and multiply. These nodules are most commonly yellow, with red and black nodules occurring less frequently. As the nodules can be one of the only symptoms, many people do not notice that they have an infection.
Piedra is a superficial fungal infection of hair shafts, which presents with small nodules stuck-on to the shaft. Black piedra, caused by Piedraia hortae, is characterized by black-colored nodules and is common in the tropics, especially in individuals with long hair and poor scalp hygiene.
Seborrheic dermatitis is a common, noncontagious, easy-to-manage skin condition. This type of dermatitis causes itchy red patches and greasy scales on your skin along with white or yellow crusty or powdery flakes on your scalp.
MYTH 1: Cutting your hair frequently makes it grow faster.
Hair growth occurs at the roots, not at the ends, so cutting the ends of your hair (which we should remind you are not living entities) doesn't actually affect the follicles that are in charge of your hair's growth.