WHITE BUILDUP on the root. new thread.

[jaquelines]

Hello, I know there was a thread opened a long time ago, unfortunately not so lucky with the answers, that is why I started this one and posted photos. I have been noticed a white root buildup. Looks like gelatine, sticking to the root. It is no all over, on every part of the head, but mostly, especially in the front part and middle ( top ) of the head. From what I extracted on the front part of the head, I could see the black bulb on the root, which, from what I have read on the internet means, that the hair is healthy ( no subnutrition, etc.) .But the buil-up white was there as well. Anyone knows what the really is ? I do not have oily hair, I do ACV rinses, CO-wash, Poo-Bar, or Vo5, or Kiehls Shampoo from time to time. I do sometime Clarifying. But the white is still there . Here are the photos from different strands I have pulled out of the hair :
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25483836@N07/5579343039/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25483836@N07/5579342431/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25483836@N07/5579927672/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25483836@N07/5579927020/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25483836@N07/5579340671/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25483836@N07/5579339963/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25483836@N07/5579925044/

[jaquelines]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25483836@N07/5579343039/

[jaquelines]

for spme reason i can only add photos through flickr and not directly on the site.sorry for that.

[jaquelines]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25483836@N07/5579342431

[NaClH2O]

I get this sometimes too.....In the front of my hair where the 'bang area' is. I don't know what it is. I always assumed it was dandruff or something similar. Maybe left over conditioner that dried on my scalp? Your guess is as good as mine. To get rid of it, I usually just 'scratch' it off I guess.... Scrape with my fingernail.

Although my buildup is more on my scalp then on my actual hair follicles. Maybe they aren't the same. Sorry I couldn't be of more help :(

[NaClH2O]

Do you use hairspray or any leave-in products? That could be contributing too....

[jaquelines]

no problem. thankx anyway for the answer so far. is not that you can see it on the scalp, is something that is building up under the scalp skin. i guess. otherwise i would been seeing it in the mirror.

[jaquelines]

no, i do not use any leave-in products.

[honeybunny_1996]

Could that be your natural hair sebum?

[jaquelines]

well....i have no idea about sebum..i have no idea at wall what it is. but shouldn´t it be all over than ? is not all over the head. only in parts. :rolleyes:

[curlytm]

Can you see it when you look at the hair coming directly out of your scalp? Or do you have to pull the hair out to see it.

The reason why I ask is because those images are showing actual epithelial tissue that comes out of plucked hair. You can see this when tweezing eyebrows, too. The root of the hair (that black bud) sits well under the surface of the skin. When plucked out, the shaft of the hair which leads to the bud (and is also under the surface of the skin) brings with it skin tissue, which looks like a white film near the root of the hair.

In forensics, this piece of skin is called a "tag."
http://www2.fbi.gov/hq/lab/fsc/backissu/jan2004/research/images/fig58.jpg

[ladyfey]

I get that, for me it is seborratic dermatitis, caused by an overpopulation of yeast on the scalp. It also gave me bumps on my forehead and all down the sides of my face. Nizoral shampoo is my miracle worker for it, I shampoo with it every 4 days. It's active ingredient is a fungicide. No more face bumps! :)

[jaquelines]

i have to pull it out in order to see it and it kind of looks like the photo. but could it be also seborratic dermatitis ? i know i won´t get an answer before going to the doctor, but when i did a hair test last year in september, there was no problem.

[honeybunny_1996]

Then it's probably a build up of conditioner then. Try to clarify and see if it removes it.

[NaiadOreiad]

That is not buildup or anything bad. It is there to protect the follicle. It should be at the base of almost all of your hairs on your body. Iadvise you to stop pulling the hairs out. When I was a kid, in like fourth grade, Our teacher instructed us to pull out one hair to see what a follicle looks like. I was fascinated and soon started doing it obsessively. I derived a weird feeling of joy from pulling out a hair with a big follicle or alot of the white stuff on it. I had to go to therapy for trichotillomania.

[Loviatar]

i have to pull it out in order to see it

Jaqueline I would advise that what you are seeing is follicular tags - when my hair sheds, I do not see these, but if I pull a hair out deliberately, the tag is on there.

They are not dangerous or damaging.

If you have issues with white sebum on your scalp, that is visible when you part your hair (rather than when you pull it out) then perhaps a gentle sugar scrub on your scalp could help. I make a nice one with olive oil and white sugar, for my body. It is gentler than salt scrubs. Use it maybe once a month.

But please stop pulling out your hair. :flower: The whiteness on each hair is NOT build up, I assure you.

[spidermom]

I think it's little flakes of tissue from the follicle.

[jaquelines]

:lol:oh, i think people have understood me the wrong way - is not like i am pulling hair out of my head on a daily basic for fun.. about 2 weeks ago i posted something regarding my hair who was not taking color ( neither henna, or chemical dye, or 90% plant based dye, it just looks dull after ) . so i read and did a test with 4 strands of hair for porosity, damage, etc. that is when I have noticed the white buildup. after reading some articles and not finding something concluding, i thought posting here. but i am not pulling my hair out. no no. :cheese: i think you all are saying that is the natural build up and i kind of tempt also to think that, because, as i have written - is not on the outside. i don´t have anything on my scalp. nothing at all. but if is the natural sebum , does this mean, that the parts where i cannot see that, are damaged roots ? or sebum misproduction ?

[curlytm]

No, jaquelines, it is not buildup. It is just skin. When hair is pulled out, the skin that is touching the hair comes out with it. There is no malfunction or damaged roots. It has nothing to do with sebum.

The only problem to be worried about is damage to the follicle (that is, the place where the root of the hair comes from) as a result of pulling hair out. Plucking a few hairs here and there does not result in serious damage to the follicle. But repeated removal of hair from the same follicle eventually results in slower growth or stoppage of growth from that follicle.

The skin that is coming out when you pull out your hair is a GOOD thing. Just don't keep checking for it.

[Chamy]

Thats the roots. Nothing wrong with it at all.

[Firefox7275]

:lol:oh, i think people have understood me the wrong way - is not like i am pulling hair out of my head on a daily basic for fun.. about 2 weeks ago i posted something regarding my hair who was not taking color ( neither henna, or chemical dye, or 90% plant based dye, it just looks dull after ) . so i read and did a test with 4 strands of hair for porosity, damage, etc. that is when I have noticed the white buildup. after reading some articles and not finding something concluding, i thought posting here. but i am not pulling my hair out. no no. :cheese: i think you all are saying that is the natural build up and i kind of tempt also to think that, because, as i have written - is not on the outside. i don´t have anything on my scalp. nothing at all. but if is the natural sebum , does this mean, that the parts where i cannot see that, are damaged roots ? or sebum misproduction ?

I am not saying what it is as you have had more qualified answers than I could give. But it's quite normal for some parts of your scalp to produce more oil or shed faster than others, the same happens on many people's faces. I am saving hair from my brush or plughole for strand tests because there is more of it so you can really see the result. :) You can ask a pharmacist about seborrheic dermatitis, you shouldn't need to see a doctor. You'd probably have dandruff if that was the problem tho.

[Athena's Owl]

you are seeing this white buildup because you are pulling perfectly healthy hairs out of your head.

Stop. Stop doing that. Healthy hairs that are not ready to fall out have this sheath. Hairs that are falling out because they are in the "telogen" phase do not. That is why some hairs have it and some don't. Stop pulling your hair out. and if you're seeing these sheathed hairs in your brush and comb you are being far too rough on your hair and causing massive mechanical damage.

[pixistixx]

I've seen that sheath on my eyebrow hairs when I pluck the odd stray, I'd say it's normal.

[christine1989]

That is very perplexing! I don't have any ideas on what it might be (other than ordinary product buildup) but as long as it isn't hurting your hair I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Not to hyjack a thread but the OP's pictures show hairs with black roots. Mine always have white roots- like a little white bulb at the end! Is this atypical or do people just have different root colors?

[jaquelines]

thank thank so much for the answers. it makes sense with the healthy hair roots having more of that white coat, than the other ones. if you consider the other factors such as - no dandruff, no itchy scalp, it makes sense that is normal. thank you for opening eyes. the only thing that i do have, sometimes more, sometimes not at all, but when it is, is very painful is pain at the hair root. a lot of pain. is like i cannot move one hair strand, it´s very painful. searched on internet, but...i could only find people having the same symptoms, but no explication. i first had this symptom when i was about 11 years old.when i first saw this white coat i thought maybe that´s the reason why i do have pain. but if it is a healthy thing..than i solved the problem with the white coat, but not the pain. all your answers have been very helpful though. thank you .