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Club
hair
Club hairs are hairs that have a bulge at the end that comes out
of the hair follicle. They are a normal part of hair growth and
cycling. Our hair follicles go through stages of fiber growth (anagen)
and rest (telogen). As a hair follicle enters a resting stage it
suddenly stops producing new cells for incorporation into the hair
fiber. The remaining cortex cells in the hair root have to be removed
for the hair follicle to enter a true resting state. These remaining
cells are attached to the end of the hair fiber as a keratinized
lump or a club shape.
The club does serve a purpose. It is wider size than the rest
of the normal hair fiber and so it acts as a wedge to hold the hair
in place in the hair follicle canal. Although the fiber is no longer
growing and the hair follicle below it resting, the club hair does
not immediately fall out of the follicle. It can be pulled out during
washing, combing, brushing, styling or any other form of physical
hair manipulation, but often the club hair stays in place until
the hair follicle below it returns to an active state and starts
making a new hair fiber. The new fiber eventually pushes the old
club fiber out of the hair follicle.
While club hairs are observed in people with healthy hair there
can be a sudden increase in the number of club hairs present in
some hair loss conditions. In a diffuse type of hair loss called
telogen effluvium more hair follicles enter a resting state than
would normally be expected. This leads to more club hairs as hair
fiber production stops in affected follicles. These club hairs are
more likely to be pulled out and this results in diffuse hair loss
all over. Treatment involves tackling the cause of telogen effluvium
or other cause of club hair increase.
Club
hair references
- Headington
JT. Telogen effluvium. New concepts and review. Arch Dermatol.
1993 Mar;129(3):356-63.
- Sperling
LC. Hair anatomy for the clinician. J Am Acad Dermatol. 1991
Jul;25(1 Pt 1):1-17.
- Ebling
FJ. The biology of hair. Dermatol Clin. 1987 Jul;5(3):467-81.
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