Black stuff on Gracie's skin and I don't think it's dirt...

As some of you may remember, we took Gracie in to the vet and we think she is allergic to the pollen from the trees. I've been checking the pollen count and it's at "moderate" now but she is still itching. Not a lot but none the less, she is. And the other night we took them for walks and she does this "army crawl" through the grass and when we got home, her chest was pink so I think it's still around, on the ground and bothering her. Anyway, my question is this......I've been putting witch hazel on her chest morning and night. It's an all natural organic liquid I got from the Natural Food Store. I put it on a cotton ball and wipe it on her chest and when I'm done, the cotton ball is black. I can't possibly see how it could be dirt as they are inside, in bed all day when I'm at work. Even at night when I wipe it on her and then wake up and put it on in the morning, the cotton ball is black. She was in bed all night, can it really be dirt? What could it be? I'm hoping someone might know? Is this anyway related to allergies? Can it be yeast on her skin? What does that look like? Any help or feedback is appreciated!

My guess would be yeast? Does her skin look blackish?

Also, could just be dead skin that you are exfoliating off.

Witch hazel is an astringent (an ingredient I use in nose roll cleaner) and can pick up all sorts of dust and grease.
Do some tests - wipe your own skin with a witch hazel ball and see what happens.
Wipe other parts of Gracie and see what happens.
Wipe her with a cotton ball damped in plain water and see what happens.

Thank you for the replies. Angela, that is a good idea, I'll try it. Renee, Gracie's skin is darker but it's always been like that since she was a year old. It's always looked "dirty" and she has no fur at all on her chest, belly, armpits and inner legs and has black spots all over her tummy. We've had it checked out by 3 different vets and said there was no cause for concern. But when I wiped her down, I wondered how it could be so black every time. Thanks again to both of you, I appreciate it!

The hairlessness is from allergies and yeast because the immune system is damaged. It's amazing to see the hair regrow if you can get the immune system turned around (not always easy, though).

Puggered wrote:The hairlessness is from allergies and yeast because the immune system is damaged. It's amazing to see the hair regrow if you can get the immune system turned around (not always easy, though).

Amen to this!! Sheesh! How long can it take? My foster has patches of hairlessness and blackish skin. He's been on a raw / home-cooked diet for a few months. We've seen *some* improvement... but, I sure would like to see more!