When Hair Falls Out With The Root Attached, Does It Grow Back?

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There are certain issues humans, particularly men, must face in their lives that dawn on them naturally with age.

Hair loss is a super common one! Many wonder when hair falls out with the root attached, does it grow back?

Rest assured, just because it’s got a root attached, that doesn’t mean it’s time to get a razor! First, one has to determine if they’ve actually lost a root. Then, they’ll need to identify potential reasons they’re losing roots.

In this blog, we’ll go over some other possible reasons you’re losing your roots, what to do about it, and other signs to watch out for.

Contents

The Looming White Bulb

The confusion begins when you notice a white bulb at the end of a lost strand of hair. It’s a scary feeling. “When hair falls out with the root attached, does it grow back?” That question lingers in your mind. The white bulb, one thinks, is the root, and without it that hair is never going to grow again.

But the white bulb at the end of the strand is often mistaken for the root of the hair. It’s not. Rather, it is the closest the strand gets to the root. This means the hair was lost at the root, not the root itself. It does not mean that hair will not grow back, nor is it a sign of male-pattern baldness.

Any strands lost at the root will contain that white bulb. Some may be larger than others. If hair is lost without the bulb, that means the strand has been lost to breakage, usually from physical tension or stress. Some other things that lead to breakage are:

Stretching
Vitamin or Mineral Deficiency
Overexposure to Sun
Protein Deficiency
Dyes/Perms
Heat Styling

Losing a white bulb is an entirely normal occurrence. However, should it occur with an irregular frequency, it could be a sign of trouble unless properly treated.

The Hair Cycle

Hair goes through 4 cycles in its lifetime. They are:

Anagen – This cycle of active growth usually lasts between two to six years. Cells are developing very quickly, and the bottom part of the strand – the bulb – forms.

Catagen – This is a transitional state in which the active growth stops and the strand is pushed outward. It lasts from just a few days to a few weeks.

Telogen – Very little cell activity happens during the telogen phase. It doesn’t need to. Underneath, new anagen hair is starting to grow, which will push the older hair out.

Exogen – This is when the telogen hairs begin to shed and the new anagen hair starts to come out. A person loses 50-100 strands of hair a day.

Around 80 percent of the hair on your head is anagen, with another 15 to 20 percent being telogen that’s ready to shed any day now. Often, it will shed with a bulb.

But When Hair Falls Out With The Root Attached, Does It Grow Back?

A white bulb found in hair loss can be scary, but it’s not necessarily a sign of anything to come. Other factors would have to also be noticed for it to constitute a serious problem. Things such as:

Excessive shedding
Receding hairline
Itchy scalp
Thin, wispy hair

If you have a genetic predisposition to hair loss, it could be an indicator of a more serious problem as well. People with a family history of hair loss should always be wary and preemptively treat it if they notice any early warning signs.

Telogen Effluvium

Telogen Effluvium is unnatural hair loss during the telogen cycle. Translated literally, it means “telogen outflow”. There can be a lot of causes, but it has the same result. Too many of your hairs have begun to telogen cycle, meaning that active growth has mostly stopped.

This will ultimately result in a thinning of the hair. Some things that cause telogen effluvium are:

Hormonal changes (pregnancy, illness, medication)
Shock
Diet or vitamin deficiencies
Stress

One of the things that may be an indicator of telogen effluvium is the increase in hair loss featuring white bulbs. The good news is that telogen effluvium is not a permanent condition. It’s short-lived, usually resolving by itself in six months.

This usually involves discovering what triggered it and dealing with the root cause.

How To Stop Thinning and Hair Loss

Fortunately, there are many options for fighting hair loss.

The first part of your life you should examine is your diet. Getting the proper nutrition from your meals is just as important for your hair as it is for any other part of your body. If you are significantly lacking in the right minerals and vitamins you need daily, it might be directly related to your hair loss.

If telogen effluvium was caused by a poor diet, then it can easily be fixed by changing your eating habits.

But first one must learn what their dietary needs are. What dictates a proper diet can vary from person to person, depending on age, weight, and a number of other factors. Consult a professional dietician for the best advice.

When it comes to dieting, you’ll need to adhere to a fairly strict regimen, which can be difficult for many people. However, it’s absolutely essential to master self-control.

There are some food groups that commonly cause more hair-related issues than others. They are:

Dairy – Dairy can cause delayed allergic reactions. It can also cause your pores to block. If this happens on the scalp, it will lead to follicle miniaturization and hair thinning.

Carbonated Drinks – Drinks such as sodas form a great deal of acid. They’re also high in sugar, leading your blood sugar to spike and crash. Rapid increases and decreases in blood sugar has been directly linked to male pattern baldness.

Sugary Cereals – Once again, foods with high sugar content are not great for your hair. Processed cereals contain a great deal of glucose, and aren’t recommended.

Greasy Foods – Greasy foods are unhealthy for your body, but they can also cause greasy skin. Greasy skin on the scalp can lead to follicle miniaturization.

But just removing these foods from your routine leaves a gaping hole in your eating schedule. You’ll have to fill it with healthier items. Be sure to include foods in your diet that are:

High fiber
Low glycemic
Probiotic
Plant-based

Foods with the ingredients listed above ensure that your body, as well as your hair, will remain healthy.

Stress

We’re all, at some point in our lives, dealing with immense stress. This stress can come from pressures at work, at home, psychological issues, medical issues, financial worries – there’s no aspect of life that can’t be stressful. Everyone recently had some brushes with stress during the Covid pandemic, which certainly caused some hair fallout nationwide.

But there are ways to keep stress under control. One such exercise is controlled breathing. Slow, calm, intentional breaths during times of panic can center your thinking. It also increases your oxygen levels and lowers cortisol.

Other exercises, such as Yoga or Thai Chi, are often useful in reducing stress.

Stimulating Your Scalp

Previously, we talked about ways to ensure a great head of hair and fighting the issues that will potentially damage it. A more direct way to deal with hair loss is to stimulate the scalp.

This can be done in various ways, but it is in its essence the physical stimulation of the top of your head in order to prompt hair growth. Some ways this is done include massage, scalp exercises, light therapy, and microneedling.

Scalp stimulation can naturally increase the oxygen and blood flow around your hair. It can also proliferate cells to grow more hair.

So while a few white bulbs may not be anything to worry about, they can be a more serious concern if you find that you’re shedding them in large numbers. Fortunately, there are some treatments you can undergo involving your diet and managing your stress that will naturally prevent hair loss.

However, scalp stimulation may be the better option for those who may still be concerned about their hair due to a hereditary condition.

Is Losing 200 Hairs A Day Normal?

The average person loses 50-100 hairs a day during shedding. However, if a person has particularly thick or long hair, they could easily lose up to 200 on days when they wash it.

While it would be irregular for someone with short, thin hair to lose as many as 200 a day, you should consider what kind of hair you have before worrying too much.