Look Young Again!

Structure of Hair Explained

            The structure of hair is a group of cells arranged in three layers. The cuticle, cortex and medulla. Hair is spread all over the body except on the palms of the hands, the soles of the feet, the lips and the eyelids.
            There are three common types of hair on the body:

1. Long hair is what protects the scalp from the sun’s rays and any injury from sunburn. It also provides adornment for the head and a frame for the face. Soft, long hair will also grow in the armpits of both men and women. Men will also grow hair on their face.
2. Short hair is present in the eyebrows and eyelashes or both men and women. This type of hair adds beauty and color to a persons face.
3. This type of hair is called lanugo. It is a fine, soft, downy hair that is found on the cheeks, forehead and other parts of a persons body. These hairs help evaporate perspiration.

            Hair grows in cycles of several stages. Anagen is the growth stage of the human hair. This is when the skin packs old cells together to grow the hair. Next is the catagen which the involuting or regressing phase. Then telogen is the resting phase.
            Ninety percent of the time our hair follicles are in the anagen phase while ten to fourteen percent are I the telogen phase and only one to two percent are in the catagen phase. Depending on the part of the body the cycle will last for different lengths of time. For eyebrows the cycle is usually completed in about four months while the scalp will take three to four years to complete the full cycle. This is why eyebrows only grow to a certain length but head hair can grow to almost any length. The growth cycle is controlled by a chemical signal like epidermal growth factor.
            Individual hairs will alternate between periods of growth and dormancy. During the growth period hair follicles are long and bulbous and typically advances at a rate of a third of a millimeter per day. After around three to six months body hair growth stops wit the armpits have the longest growth period.
            At the end of the growth period the follicle shrinks and the root of the hair becomes rigid. After a period of dormancy the growth cycle starts again and eventually the new hair follicle pushes the old one out from beneath. With head hair it typically grows for a long duration and to a long length before it sheds. The rate of growth for head hair is typically 1.25 centimeters or about 0.5 inches per month.
            Attached to the hair follicle is a small bundle of muscle fibers which is responsible for the hair becoming more perpendicular to the surface of the skin and causes the follicle to protrude slightly above all the surrounding skin. This process results in goose bumps.
            Stem cells are found at the junction of the arrector and the hair follicle which is responsible for the ongoing hair production during the anagen stage of the hair growth cycle.
            Hair is analyzed to determine its condition by sight, touch, hearing and smell. Sight allows you to immediately observe the condition of the hair and makes up fifteen percent of the analysis of hair. Touch helps cosmetologists judge a professional hair analysis.
            Hearing about a clients health problem allows a cosmetologist to get an accurate condition by reacting to what medications a person may be taking. Unclean hair and scalp disorders often cause an odor which can be easily observed by a cosmetologist.