First, what exactly is Hair made from?
It is made out of keratin which is a naturally occurring polymer and water, with the ratio of 90% keratin to 10% water. The water content, although quite small in relation to the keratin, is very important as it controls the ‘mechanical’ properties of the hair.
Within a single strand of hair are several keratin coils held together with protein glue which gives the hair its strength.
The actual structure of the hair is made up from two parts, the inner cortex and the outer sheath of about 7 layers, known as the cuticle which consists of those scales which we have all seen on the dandruff adds on television and gives the hair most of its strength.
Hair grows in two different shapes, round which makes it straight and flat which makes it curly. This can be altered when water is applied to it, allowing us to style our hair.
This style is lost when we wash our hair again. To achieve a longer lasting transformation, a perm is used, which chemically breaks the disulphide linkages in the structure of the hair allowing it to be reformed in whatever style is applied.
Although the human hair is quite fine it has quite a range of thicknesses which, to some extent depend on a person’s racial type, starting with the thinnest, which belongs to Europeans and Africans where the blonde and black hair has the finest diameter, gradually growing in thickness until the last one, red, has been reached.
The coarsest hair belongs to those of Asian descent.
The hair has three general shapes, round, which mainly in those of Asian descent, the Europeans go from nearly round to a much more flatter profile, whilst Africans have the flattest hair. So the flatter your hair profile, so the curlier your hair will be.
This can be demonstrated by taking a round hair and squashing it flat; as it flattens it will curl up.
The cells at the bottom of the hair follicle can divide and grow very quickly which is why, after chemotherapy; a patient suffers temporary hair loss. Chemotherapy attacks the cells that grow quickly, which is why, apart from dealing with the cancer cells, the hair follicles are similarly dealt with.
Temporary or even permanent loss of hair can also be caused by either trauma or disease.
Hair is quite strong, but its strength diminishes when wet, so be gentle with it when you leave the shower.
And if it all drops out your in some illustrious company, Yul Brynner, Telly Salvlas, Patric Stewart, John D. Rockefeller, Olympic gold medal winner Duncan Goodhew and world famous soccer referee Pierluigi Collina.
As for famous bald women, we must salute the wig makers for their brilliant skills and for being able to keep a secret!
© Ian Richards 2006
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