Hair Care

 

 

Structure of the Hair root:

Below the surface of the skin is the hair root, which is enclosed within a hair follicle. At the base of the hair follicle is the dermal papilla. The dermal papilla is feed by the bloodstream which carries nourishments to produced new hair. The dermal papilla is a structure very important to hairgrowth. Because it contains receptors for male hormones and androgens.

                                  

Structure of Hair:

Each strand of hair consists of three layers.

  1. An innermost layer or medulla which is only present in large thick hairs.

  2. The middle layer known as the cortex. The cortex provides strength and both the color and the texture of hair.

  3. The outermost layer is known as the cuticle. The cuticle is thin and colorless and serves as a protector of the cortex.

                                   

Hair Chemistry:

Hair fibers are composed of approximately 85% of the complex protein keratin, with some 7% of associated water. The other principal ingredients are lipids 3% and pigment 2%. This last component is melanin, derived in biosynthesis from the amino acid tyrosine. Also present are trace amounts of many metals. The most important material is keratin which has been formed biochemically from the condensation of some 18 types of amino acids.

Hair is composed of strong structural protein called keratin. This is the same kind of protein that makes up the nails and the outer layer of skin.

 

 

Hair color and Pigments:

Hair color is caused by pigment granules in the cells of the hair shaft. The effect is produced by the large amount of pigment in the cortex, but granules also occur in the medulla. The pigment is manufactured within melanocytes situated around the apex of the dermal papilla and transferred to the newly formed hair cells from the tips of their finger-like dendrites.

The shades of human hair result mainly from two kinds of pigment, eumelanin, which is brown or black, and phaeomelanin which is yellow

or reddish .

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The Hair Growth Cycle:

Hair follicles grow in repeated cycles. One cycle can be broken down into three phases.

  1. Anagen - Growth phase

  2. Catagen – Transitional phase

  3. Telogen – Resting phase

 

Each hair passes through the phases independent of the neighboring hairs.

 

Anagen phase – Growth phase:

Approximately 85% of all hairs are in the growing phase at any one time. The Anagen phase or growth phase can vary from two to six years. Hair grows approximately 10cm per year and any individual hair is unlikely to grow more than one meter long.

 

 

Catagen phase – Transitional phase:

At the end of the Anagen phase the hairs enters into a catagen phase which lasts about one or two weeks, during the Catagen phase the hair follicle shrinks to about 1/6 of the normal length. The lower part is destroyed and the dermal papilla breaks aways to rest below.

 

 

Telogen phase – Resting phase:

The resting phase follows the catagen phase and normally lasts about 5-6 weeks. During this time the hair does not grow but stays attached to the follicle while the dermal papilla stays in a resting phase below. Approximately 10-15 percent of all hairs are in this phase at a one time.

At the end of the Telogen phase the hair follicle re-enters the Anagen phase.

The dermal papilla and the base of the follicle join together again and a new hair begins to form. If the old hair has not already been shed the new hair pushes the old one out and the growth cycle starts all over again.

 

 

Different Types of Hair:

 

1-Greasy Hair:

      Frequency and instances of washing the hair should be proportionate to

      level of hair grease. Greasy hair should be washed once a day with

      Special shampoo for greasy hair.

 

2-Dry Hair:

      The drier is the hair; frequency of washing should be prolonged.

      Washing of dry hair with special shampoo for dry hair twice or trice a

      Week would be sufficient.              

 

Hair Disorders:

 

Dandruff:

Dandruff appears with specific signs and peeling of skull mucus. The complication mostly afflicts people in their youth. Common cause of this complication is called seborrhea Dermal that creates scab-like pustules and rash. Washing the hair regularly with a mild shampoo that is formulated for daily use is a suitable treatment of dandruff.

Dandruff is a condition of the scalp characterized by the massive desquamation of small flakes of stratum corneum .

The scales may be dry or trapped in a film of sebum. Dandruff is uncommon in infancy and early childhood, but by puberty about half of all males and females become affected and in many it persists throughout life. It must therefore be considered as a physiological state rather than a disease and as such, falls very much in the cosmetic rather than the clinical field.

The causation of dandruff is still debatable. Perhaps constitution or as in acne, stimulation by Androgens or other physiological factors plays a part.

 

 

Split Ends of Hair:

The cuticle cells on the surface of hair have an overlapping, roof-tile like formation. This means that the friction of the fibre is considerably less when it is measured from root to tip than when measured the reverse way. The hairdressing practice of back-coming takes advantage of this property. Backcombed hair is more manageable than if it had been conventionally combed or brushed. In back-coming, the hair surface is, to a certain extent, damaged through the detachment of some of the cuticle cells. The loss of these cells roughens the hair surface and thus increases interfibre friction. This means that individual hairs are less likely to separate from their neighbours.
   
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