White dots on tips of hair

[Donyyful]

Hey everyone.

I just wanted to throw a question out to you guys, hoping to have some form of guidance. :confused:

Lately, i've been getting a whole load of these white dots on the ends of my hair and I can't seem to find what the issue is. Now I know the most common reason is breakage, or the fact that its a form of when a split end starts, but I don't seem to have any breakage in my hair at all.

I've read several posts from people who say that when the tug at the end of where these white dots are, it breaks or bends, but when I try this on my hair, it doesn't break or snap at all.

I don't use any heat on my hair, no chemicals, i don't use brushes, I am honestly very gentle on my hair and I oil my hair with coconut oil before I wash my hair.

I've started to see these white dots occurring more in the winter, they're not as visible in normal light but when I use a lamp close up on my hair, they're everywhere. What makes it even more obvious is that since I henna my hair often, these white dots are usually bright red and sparkle, so its very easy to spot and cut them. But the ends look straight and I don't see any split ends at all when I cut them off, so its really baffling.

What shall I do guys? They usually occur on my layers of my hair, but really on my length.

[Madora]

The white dots are usually indications of a split caused by damage or dryness. Since It appears you are taking good care of your hair, the cause is probably dryness.

You might want to try using a drop or two of mineral oil (baby oil) on the ends to help combat dryness. For ease of application, try this method:

Put 2 or 3 small drops of MO in a small dish, then take a cotton swab and coat it with the oil. Then take the swab and cover your palms and fingers with the oil. Then run your palms down through your hair several times until the sheen has vanished from your palms. Be sure not to use too much baby oil.

MO is lightweight and does not leave any odor. It is easily removed upon the next shampoo. It also helps combat frizzies and is a great detangler. As with all things, it does not work overnight..and it works best on hair that has been clarified first. Use it on DAMP, not dripping wet hair. You can also use it on dry hair..but damp hair seems to be best. Many LHCers have used MO with great results.

By the way, the mineral oil should only contain MO plus a fragrance. Additives may cause breakouts.

[Donyyful]

Thanks for the reply Madora,

My hair doesn't seem to feel or look dry at all, I always make sure that I apply my leave in oil ( mostly coconut oil or argon oil) or a serum on my ends of my hair to keep them from drying or looking too frizzy after a wash, but I never need to do so because its always soft after I wash my hair since I do a prepoo.

[allycat]

White dots on the very tips are sometimes the result of cutting with dull scissors.

[Donyyful]

White dots on the very tips are sometimes the result of cutting with dull scissors.

Yes, I think that might be the answer to the problem. Though my last trim wasn't pleasant though; the hairdresser used thinning shears to cut my hair when it was wet, I remember her pulling my hair and running the shears down my hair, it was so horrible. :(

[eyesofsummer]

Yes, I think that might be the answer to the problem. Though my last trim wasn't pleasant though; the hairdresser used thinning shears to cut my hair when it was wet, I remember her pulling my hair and running the shears down my hair, it was so horrible. :(

It sounds like this was definitely the culprit, then. Cutting the hair at that sort of downward angle is like shaving the tips with a razor, leaving a taper instead of a perpendicular cut at the end of the hair shaft. I used to do this to the bits of hair that framed my face (I got the idea from my hairdresser, who would do this as a finishing touch to my haircuts!). It definitely leaves the hair susceptible to damage.

I think moisturizing a bit, as suggested, and foregoing the tough shears during your next haircut will be enough to curtail them. Also, although it sounds like they are damage of some sort, it doesn't sound like particularly bad damage. I used to have tons of splits, white dots, fairy knots, etc., but they were a result of dye and heat tools. I still have a fair amount of them, but I'm amazed at how much of a difference diligent oiling and moisturizing has made! Especially in the cold winter months. I'd say as long as your hair isn't splitting, the white dots aren't too worrisome.

[Donyyful]

It sounds like this was definitely the culprit, then. Cutting the hair at that sort of downward angle is like shaving the tips with a razor, leaving a taper instead of a perpendicular cut at the end of the hair shaft. I used to do this to the bits of hair that framed my face (I got the idea from my hairdresser, who would do this as a finishing touch to my haircuts!). It definitely leaves the hair susceptible to damage.

I think moisturizing a bit, as suggested, and foregoing the tough shears during your next haircut will be enough to curtail them. Also, although it sounds like they are damage of some sort, it doesn't sound like particularly bad damage. I used to have tons of splits, white dots, fairy knots, etc., but they were a result of dye and heat tools. I still have a fair amount of them, but I'm amazed at how much of a difference diligent oiling and moisturizing has made! Especially in the cold winter months. I'd say as long as your hair isn't splitting, the white dots aren't too worrisome.

Yes, I think I shall return back to trimming my hair myself now. :p

I just got my ends dusted today actually by my big brother; he said the white dots were at every corner he could see - cringes - I guess my new goal is to grow out my hair and then have a good trim as from my previous haircut, I have very uneven layers and all different lengths so it is definitely hard to cut them all at once. I will continue with my normal routine and S&D very regularly to rid these little buggers. grr.

Thanks for the comment! :o

[jacqueline101]

Its where split ends will appear. Mineral oil after you s&d your splits.

[Donyyful]

Its where split ends will appear. Mineral oil after you s&d your splits.

Yes I applied abit of oil after I dusted. Thanks for the tip! :)

[pittsburgpam]

From my personal experience it is what's left of a broken off hair. I have been dilligently doing S&D for years and I know that if I find a white dot in the middle of a hair shaft I can take that shaft and just give a little tug and it breaks off right where the dot is. Leaving behind a hair with the white dot on the end.

I hope that as time goes by and I'm not blow drying or damaging it, there will be less of them.

[Donyyful]

From my personal experience it is what's left of a broken off hair. I have been dilligently doing S&D for years and I know that if I find a white dot in the middle of a hair shaft I can take that shaft and just give a little tug and it breaks off right where the dot is. Leaving behind a hair with the white dot on the end.

I hope that as time goes by and I'm not blow drying or damaging it, there will be less of them.

It must be awful to have breakage in the middle of the hair shaft, its never happened to me thankfully. ><

[pittsburgpam]

I think it's old damage from blow drying, heat, and dying. I find them in the last foot or so of hair now and there's been lots that are within a quarter inch of the end. I find less and less so hopefully soon they will be gone.

[TheaLee]

I see white dots in a certain angle of light, and I'm worried the hair scissors we've always had are getting dull. It sounds silly to get sentimental about scissors, but it makes me a bit sad as they've been part of my household for my whole life. Ah, well. I'll get some new ones I suppose.

I'm not completely convinced yet that the white dots are in fact damage and not just what happens when light enters my hair at a certain angle. I'll treat them like damage to be safe but well, I'm blonde so I'm used to my hair catching and "holding" light, as it were. It's quite translucent, and it gets blindingly bright in full sun, so seeing the ends illuminated isn't that strange. If my hair was darker I guess I would be convinced. Maybe I should try and see the white dots in low/indoor light. If the white is more "white colored" than "refracted light" I'll be convinced I suppose. But I just trimmed, and I don't really want to trim again so soon.

[hennalonghair]

From my personal experience it is what's left of a broken off hair. I have been dilligently doing S&D for years and I know that if I find a white dot in the middle of a hair shaft I can take that shaft and just give a little tug and it breaks off right where the dot is. Leaving behind a hair with the white dot on the end.

I hope that as time goes by and I'm not blow drying or damaging it, there will be less of them.
I know this is an old thread but I agree. Hairs I’ve found like that do split off easily. It’s like they are damaged from the inside somewhere which weakens the hairs so they break off. Luckily I don’t have many but I have some.

[Jane99]

I have a ton of the middle of the strand damaged hairs. My ends look pretty ok now but I just s&d’d thousands of ends in the last couple weeks. The good hair scissors made a lot of difference... I used to s&d with dull scissors and the splits would be right back as soon as they were cut off. Some of my splits are weird... the hair shaft will split in two in the middle of the hair but go back to a solid shaft again for the rest of the hair. Or I have weird tree splits, or splits where the hair will look almost cobwebby. Finding those mid hair splits is the worst when you have to cut off length but better to cut them off than have them break off and split again on their own. I am hoping with better hair care the number of splits reduces over time and hopefully the self trim methods will be useful for me as I will avoid going to get a haircut for so long... somewhere between six months to however many years between cuts. But I have not babied my hair until recently and though I was never *too* horrible to it I hadn’t been *too* great to it either until more recently

[hennalonghair]

You explained that really well. Yes most damage is usually near the ends but not necessarily. Those damaged spots, (dots) can be found anywhere up the length of your hair. Search and destroy is a perfect way to get them otherwise those hairs can split all the way up.

[lapushka]

I have a ton of the middle of the strand damaged hairs. My ends look pretty ok now but I just s&d’d thousands of ends in the last couple weeks. The good hair scissors made a lot of difference... I used to s&d with dull scissors and the splits would be right back as soon as they were cut off. Some of my splits are weird... the hair shaft will split in two in the middle of the hair but go back to a solid shaft again for the rest of the hair. Or I have weird tree splits, or splits where the hair will look almost cobwebby. Finding those mid hair splits is the worst when you have to cut off length but better to cut them off than have them break off and split again on their own. I am hoping with better hair care the number of splits reduces over time and hopefully the self trim methods will be useful for me as I will avoid going to get a haircut for so long... somewhere between six months to however many years between cuts. But I have not babied my hair until recently and though I was never *too* horrible to it I hadn’t been *too* great to it either until more recently

If it's in the middle of a strand, that's probably heat damage. Does it form a sharp angle at the dot? That means it's a breaking point.

You don't have to take them out right away, as they can hang on for dear life!

I once grew out a head that was half riddled in white dots (up to a couple inches from the root), from shoulder to hip. We then had to cut back to BSL, due to heavy S&D and well, my hemline was half of its normal thickness, so that had to go. Some inevitably broke off, but most of them were still in there, intact.

So there is no rush, you can go slowly with it!

[MusicalSpoons]

I have plenty, but I've never really abused my hair (no heat, no chemical processing). I'm hoping it's mostly due to pre-LHC unintentional neglect, though I have loads on my baby-fine white blonde hairs that have only ever had LHC care and the only reason I can think is that those hairs are just extra fragile. They are growing from the edges of my hair so I'm not too worried; if hair elsewhere on my head regularly crumbled like that I'd be rather more concerned!

I usually cut them off, not because I'm worried they'll break off and turn into splits that travel up the shaft, but because otherwise I'd be tempted to just pull them off and cutting is just healthier.

I do have mid-shaft splits as well, occasionally some feathers. I don't know why or what I could do to prevent any more, but as my hair isn't riddled with them I'm not overly concerned and have just come to accept that my hair isn't going to be perfect :shrug: