The Science of Hair

October 25, 2017

The Science of Hair

We spent most of our lives styling our hair, washing our hair and coloring our hair.  Often, it’s not until we notice it becoming thinner that we start to pay attention to it.  When we do a double take because there’s extra hair in the shower or on our hair brush. 

Understanding the science of our hair allows us to fully grasp the impact of nutrition, genetics and lifestyle.  Read on for a lesson in Hair 101!

The Beginning

Did you know our scalps expand as we grow?  In most cases, the density of your scalp hair is reduced as you change from youth to an adult.  When a developing fetus is approximately 22 weeks old, all of its hair follicles have formed.  At this stage, there are about 5 million hair follicles on the body.  This is the most a human will ever have, since we do not gain follicles throughout life.

Follicles

Follicles are made up of cells and conceive tissue that surround the root of a hair.  As follicles produce new hair cells, old cells are pushed out through the surface of the skin at the rate of about six inches a year. The hair you see is a string of dead keratin cells.  Each follicle has its own life cycle, influenced by age, diseases and lifestyle.  With age, the rate of your hair growth begins to decline.

Shaft

Hair follicles anchor each hair to your scalp.  A hair “bulb” forms the base of each follicle, where cells divide and grow to build the hair shaft.  Sometimes hair shaft defects occur when the hair is improperly formed by the follicles.  Conditions like these are typically associated with genetic defects.

Hair Growth Cycle

Hair begins growing from a root in the bottom of the follicle.  The root is made up of protein cells.  The blood vessels provide nutrient-dense blood to the root, creating more cells and stimulating the hair to grow.  The hair emerges through the skin as it grows.  Hair growth cycles consist of 3 stages.  The anagen stage is a growing period of the hair follicle.  The catagen stage is the intermediate stage where deeper portions of the follicle begin to collapse.  In the final telegon stage, older hairs that are at the end of their cycle will fall out and newer hairs begin to grow.  Baldness is associated with interference to the hair growth cycle, when a follicle prematurely leaves the anagen (active) stage to enter the telogen (resting) stage.

While genetics play a big role, knowing what we can control brings peace of mind.  It can help us accept, and even embrace our hair type, rather than fight it. It also helps us better visualize the role that hair products like PRIMAL HAIR play in our hair’s health.

While many topical products like shampoos, conditioners and products use ingredients to help better style and protect the “dead hair cells” while internal products such as PRIMAL HAIR aim to increase hair growth by stimulating things like circulation and cell production to help re-grow new hair from our follicles. 

Pretty neat, right? 





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