Hair Science

Hey hey


  First things first, I'm not a scientist or anything like that, lol, but I'm going to be sharing with you just a little study about hair.


HAIR STRUCTURE
 Hair is a protein filament called keratin that grows from the follicles found in the dermis or skin. However, hair is usually referred as two distinct structures;
Firstly, the part beneath the skin called follicles, or bulb (the whitish part) that is when it is pulled out of the skin, and;
Secondly, the shaft which is the hard, visbile and filamentous part extends above the skin surface. Surprisingly, it is also considered "dead" as no biochemical activity takes place there.

  This shaft is divided into three layers namely;

1.The Cuticle is the outer covering of the hair which consist of several layers of flat, thin cells overlapping one another.

2. The Cortex , or middle layer contains the keratin bundles in cell-like structures. It is the primary source of mechanical strength and water uptake. It also contains the melanin which colours the hair fibres (hmm, interesting). This melanin consists of two hair pigments which are produced in the hair follicles.
  Eumelanin is the dominant pigment in brown and black hair. While, Pheomelanin is dominant in red hair. Blond hair is the result of having little pigmentation, whilst gray hair occurs when melanin production decreases or stops.
  The shapes of the follicles are determined by the shape of the cortex, and the shape of the fibres relates to how straight or curly your hair is. Straight hair has round fibres while wavy and curly hair have oval and other shaped fibres.

3. The Medulla is the innermost layer of the hair shaft. This nearly invisible layer is the most soft and fragile. It serves as the pith or marrow of the hair.

HAIR GROWTH
  I think this is the part most of us are really interested in. Well, it is believed that an average human's hair grows half an inch per month. This does not pertain to every individual as everyone is different. Some experience a quarter of an inch while others might be an inch or even more per month. One should not compare themselves to others in terms of hair growth as it is said that hair growth varies per individual as genetics play a role in hair growth.

   Do tell me, do you experience half an inch of growth. Do you believe that genetics can determine one's hair growth?