hair covers virtually every part of your body, expressing personality and protecting the skin. Hair has multiple functional uses but is often perceived as a superficial feature. Your hair can reveal information about your gender, sexuality, worldview, and socioeconomic status that could otherwise remain hidden; yet how exactly does this process work? In this article, we’ll investigate its inner workings.
Hair Follicles and Growth Cycle
hair grows out of follicles, which resemble tiny tubes in your skin. Each hair follicle contains living roots, hair strands, and cells that nourish them; hair follicles also aid wound healing, sustain wounds, and create new neurons (neurogenesis). Your hair follicles follow an annual cycle that spans three phases. The anagen phase lasts anywhere from two to seven years. It involves active hair growth, followed by brief transitional phases called catagen, and the resting (telogen) phase, during which dead strands either push out during anagen growth or fall off naturally.
The Composition of Hair: Protein and Keratin
Hair is made of protein. Proteins are the building blocks of life. Composed of numerous COHNS elements linked by side bonds that intertwine to form long chains known as polypeptides that then spiral around one another into long helix structures linking amino acids together. Keratin, the protein that gives human skin its elasticity, also forms part of your hair’s structure as its outer protective layer, known as the cortex and inner core, known as the medulla. Protein-rich foods include eggs, berries, cottage cheese, salmon, and other fatty fish, tofu, nuts, legumes, and whole grains. You may also find protein powders or bars at health food stores to increase your protein intake if necessary – although remember that protein alone cannot restore dull hair, as many products claim.
Hair is made of keratin. Keratin is one of the critical components in our hair, skin, nails, organs, and glands, acting to shield our locks from stress and damage by smoothing out layers of cells that overlap to form individual strands of hair. Keratin proteins contain high concentrations of the amino acid cysteine, which allows them to develop strong cross-links known as disulfide bonds between chains to give keratin its rigid, strong structure. Keratin is vital to hair health. By absorbing water, keratin keeps hair hydrated, making it less likely to breakage and easier to manage – something Hairworks shampoo can assist in accomplishing.
Role of Sebaceous Glands
Hair is made of sebaceous glands. Sebaceous glands throughout the skin produce sebum to lubricate hair shafts and protect the dermis from water loss. Sebaceous glands form part of an intricate network known as the pilosebaceous unit, alongside hair follicles and arrector pili muscles (responsible for goosebumps). Once produced in hair follicles, sebum drains out through short ducts directly onto the scalp or face areas for drainage. Sebaceous glands produce too much sebum, clogging the pores that drain it off the skin and leading to blackheads (large pores with hardened material) or other symptoms of overactive sebaceous glands such as oily skin or greasy hair, blackheads, or other signs. Other indicators of overactive sebaceous glands may include oily skin or hair and symptoms like oily or greasy scalp. External factors, including medications and underlying conditions, can alter how much sebum your body produces; production usually peaks during childhood and then slows through adulthood before finally slowing off during adulthood when treated using medications like retinoids used for acne treatments to lower levels of sebum production in adults.
