Telogen (shedding): This is the resting stage of your hair growth cycle. The hair follicle is inactive, and there's a white bulb of keratin at the root (club hair). The bulb of keratin keeps the hair in the follicle until it sheds, which then starts the hair growth cycle over again.
If there is any kind of bulb at the end, that means the hair fell out at the root. That is not breakage, just normal hair shedding.
When hair falls out with a white bulb at the end, it typically indicates that the hair has gone through its natural shedding process. The white bulb is the root sheath or hair follicle, which is normal when hair falls out.
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.
Shedding hair with a black bulb at the end typically indicates that the hair has completed its growth cycle and is in the telogen phase, ready to fall out naturally. This shedding is a normal part of the hair growth process, and new hair will grow back in its place.
So dead hair follicles can look like a smooth, bald patch of skin or like a scar. A trichologist may be able to get a better view of your follicles by using a microscope or other trichological tools.
Telogen (shedding): This is the resting stage of your hair growth cycle. The hair follicle is inactive, and there's a white bulb of keratin at the root (club hair). The bulb of keratin keeps the hair in the follicle until it sheds, which then starts the hair growth cycle over again.
While it is quite natural to lose around 50-100 hair strands a day, is losing 200-300 hairs a day normal? Not! If you neglect such extensive hair loss for long, you will face the consequences, such as a loss in your hair's thickness, and your hairline will continuously recede.
Hair follicles are part of your skin that are responsible for growing your hair. If you accidentally pull out a strand of your hair and it has a ball (bulb) on the end of it, you didn't pull out the follicle, and instead, you removed your hair root. That root grows back and your hair will grow back, too.
In fact, it's quite normal. The white bulb at the end of a hair strand is a clump of keratin, a type of protein. This clump forms around the root when the hair follicle transitions from the growth to the resting phase and it helps to anchor the hair to the follicle until it's shed.
No Visible Pattern. With stress-related shedding, hair falls out evenly all over your scalp instead of in a defined pattern. You'll likely notice more hairs than usual coming out while shampooing, combing, or on your pillow, clothing, and bathroom floor.
And remember, if you ever find yourself asking, “Can you squeeze an ingrown hair out?” the answer is a careful no—stick to safer, smarter solutions for your skin's sake.
Cicatricial alopecia, also known as scarring alopecia, is a rare type of hair loss in which inflammation destroys hair follicles and causes scar tissue to form in their place. After scar tissue forms, hair doesn't regrow.
"When washing your hair nearly every day, it's normal to lose 200 hairs a day," says Dr. McCarty. "Less frequent washing may cause you to think that you are losing more hair than you actually are, which, in turn, can cause you to become stressed, making hair shed more!"
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.
"If the flyaways are in just one section, it's most likely breakage." "New growth may stick out, but the hair is easier to tame and will cooperate with the style you are trying to achieve," says Izquierdo.
You might be able to reverse hair loss, or at least slow it. With some conditions, such as patchy hair loss (alopecia areata), hair may regrow without treatment within a year. Treatments for hair loss include medications and surgery.
It's perfectly normal to lose a few stray strands when running your fingers, or a comb, through your hair. But if you notice increased hair being pulled out when you are being gentle, this can be a cause of concern that you should get checked over.
The white bulb indicates that the hair was in the resting (telogen) phase of the hair growth cycle. Normally, about 10-15% of your hair is in this phase, but with telogen effluvium, up to around 70% of your anagen hair (hair that is actively growing) may enter the resting phase and fall out prematurely.
Among the common causes are high fevers, childbirth, severe infections, severe chronic illness, severe psychological stress, major surgery or illnesses, over or under active thyroid gland, crash diets with inadequate protein, and a variety of medications.
The "white gunk" you might notice in hair follicles is typically sebum, a natural oil produced by your sebaceous glands to protect and hydrate the skin and hair. Sebum, combined with dead skin cells and other debris, can build up around the hair follicle and harden, often looking like a white or yellowish gunk.
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.
Quality sleep is as vital for healthy hair as it is for overall health. When we don't sleep enough, it can throw off the levels of certain hormones that help our hair grow, such as oestrogen and melatonin. People experiencing regular poor sleep tend to notice more hair shedding and thinning.