Difference between New Hair & Broken Hair?

[Firefox7275]

This has probably been asked before, and it's probably a stupid question but I have no idea what search terms to use. :o

I have been examining my shed hairs and the longer ones have blunt ends, the shorter ones have tapering ends: I haven't seen a split end or white dot for years. My hair is shoulder length, layered and was last cut a month ago. I have a lot of breaks from constant ponytailing, there are whole tendrils at the temples, and sections at the back where the elastic used to go . I just found another clump of shorties at the crown. :(

I just seem to be shedding a high percentage of tapering hairs, which makes me wonder if some are new ones ... is there any way to tell without a microscope? :confused:

[jojo]

A broken hair has a blunt end and a new hair has a tapered/pointed end.

Sounds like you have a crop of baby hairs coming up, make sure you baby them they are future long hairs :).

Split ends are normally not a problem until you grow to longer lengths. i never saw one until I reached BSL and even more now at waist. The older the ends, the more damaged they will be due to weather, years of combing/brushing, washing and basically age of the hair, my ends are nearly 6 years old. But with careful handling you can minimize splits when your longer.

and no question is a stupid one, we all had to start somewhere and if we don't ask, we never know! :)

[Firefox7275]

A broken hair has a blunt end and a new hair has a tapered/pointed end.

Sounds like you have a crop of baby hairs coming up, make sure you baby them they are future long hairs :).

Split ends are normally not a problem until you grow to longer lengths. i never saw one until I reached BSL and even more now at waist. The older the ends, the more damaged they will be due to weather, years of combing/brushing, washing and basically age of the hair, my ends are nearly 6 years old. But with careful handling you can minimize splits when your longer.

and no question is a stupid one, we all had to start somewhere and if we don't ask, we never know! :)

Thank you for replying! I thought cut hairs had a blunt end? :confused: It is tapering hairs I am losing, but also what I can see in the new growth (expected the latter). The crown is making me paranoid because it's definitely a little clump not just individual hairs. I was expecting some splits from the breakage, even at my length because I not treated my hair with kindness. :o

[haibane]

Split hairs where half of the split end has broken off can look like a tapered hair. It can be hard to see the difference from a new hair tapering end. Though the new hairs usually have a longer and more even taper.

[jojo]

Blunt ends are due to hairs which have reached their terminal length; I get these round my hairline, split ends are forked, new hairs are like arrow ends but can be mixed up with damaged hair.

Maybe these are due to your pony tail (been there too in the past, it sucks!) damage?
Do you have a halo of hairs which stick up and around your longer hair?

I think your noticing them more too as you are getting longer and they look worse?its normal to lose 100 hairs a day and maybe you may be going through a shedding stage?

[islandboo]

May I briefly hijack here? So what about shedding hairs that have a tapered terminus and a bulb on the other end. That is normal shedding, right? But why does it happen to young, short hairs? Some (not all) of the hairs I shed are much shorter than my full hair length - I found one a few weeks ago that was less than an inch long - and I don't know why they drop out so soon. Quitters!

[Anje]

Lots of hairs shed out at less-than-full length. We talk about terminal length like it's the one long length that all undamaged hairs could potentially achieve, but in reality the terminal length can vary a lot between follicles. Typically, the ones around the face have shorter terminal lengths.

Basically, I'm saying it's pretty normal to shed out some short hairs with tapered new-growth tips.

[islandboo]

Lots of hairs shed out at less-than-full length. We talk about terminal length like it's the one long length that all undamaged hairs could potentially achieve, but in reality the terminal length can vary a lot between follicles. Typically, the ones around the face have shorter terminal lengths.

Basically, I'm saying it's pretty normal to shed out some short hairs with tapered new-growth tips.

Thanks - I just get frustrated because I have so much taper so it would be nice for the little guys to hold on a little longer. But along as it's not an unhealthy thing, I will just deal. Better natural shedding than breakage!

[selderon]

Dangit, Firefox! Now I'm all curious about my short hairs (you know, the ones that stick up out of a hair style because they're stubborn and short) and I'm gonna sprain an eyeball trying to see them. :P

[ouseljay]

Lots of hairs shed out at less-than-full length. We talk about terminal length like it's the one long length that all undamaged hairs could potentially achieve, but in reality the terminal length can vary a lot between follicles. Typically, the ones around the face have shorter terminal lengths.

Basically, I'm saying it's pretty normal to shed out some short hairs with tapered new-growth tips.

Thank you islandboo for asking this and Anje for answering. I've been nervous about "baby hairs" shedding recently myself.

[mamaherrera]

this worries me as I shed a lot and have lots of hairs that are shorter than a ruler and have tapered, white ends. I thought they were stretched and broken because when I stretch and break a hair, it has a white end. Anyone else have a more distinct way to know the differnce?

[gthlvrmx]

So the short hairs with the taper ends are new hairs? Well that makes sense why the short hairs I shed usually have taper.