Hair follicle is formed in the upper layer of the skin from a cluster of cells called primitive hair germ. The primitive hair germ cells get their nourishment by working their way down into the dermal layer of the skin. This cluster of cells creates a follicle, which creates a pocket known as the root sheath as they pull the upper layer down in search for nourishment. Out of this sheath the hair will grow. Hair grows from stem cells. These cells grow directly under the oil (sebaceous) glands. As the cells continue to grow, the nucleus of the cells disappears and the cells become keratinized. (dead cells; hair)
Your hair follicle consists of 3 important parts;
1. Sebaceous gland
which produces sebum, a kind of oily substance that is responsible for protecting your hair from becoming dry, brittle and cracked. And also inhibits growth of microorganism on the skin. However, the glands can either overproduce sebum that can cause oily scalp or under produce sebum.
2. Blood and lymph vessels
which are your energy and nutrient supply line to the skin and hair follicles. This supply will be disconnected from your hair follicle when it reaches the CATAGEN phase. (see hair growth)
3. Arrector Pili muscle
which is attached to your hair follicle is responsible for making your hair stands up when you have goose bumps. It also functions by raising the hair to catch the heat to keep you warm. Stem cells at the junction of this muscle and your hair follicle are responsible for the ongoing hair production during the ANAGEN phase. (see hair growth)
All hair whether straight, wavy, curly or kinky is composed to two essential parts; the root and the shaft. With the hair shaft having 3 parts:
1. The medulla– contains melanin, responsible for your natural hair color
2. The cortex – the thickest part of the shaft, determines hair’s strength, elasticity and moisture content
3. The cuticle – what we see or think as our hair, contains keratin cells (protein) that lies on the shaft closely together like fish scales
The number of layers determines each individual’s hair diameter, thus your hair’s thickness
It defines or determines how healthy your hair is;
Healthy hair is defines as having intact cuticle
Unhealthy whether from heat, or chemical processing, is defined as having separated or broken cuticles.
Broken cuticles cause the hair’s cortex and medulla to become expose, thus making hair susceptible to breakage
The shape of the hair shaft is determined by the shape of the hair follicle. People with straight or wavy hair have typically round or oval shaped hair follicles, while people with curly or overly curly hair’s follicles are elliptical in shape. How your hair is shaped, is determine by the follicles and giving credits to genetics follicles vary in size, shape and thickness.
The more elliptical the shaft is, the curlier the hair. The cross-sectional shape also determines the amount of shine the hair has. Straighter hair is shinier because sebum from the sebaceous gland (a kind of oily substance that is responsible for protecting your hair from becoming dry, brittle and cracked), can travel down the hair more easily. The curlier the hair, the more difficulty the sebums has traveling down the hair, therefore the drier or dull the hair looks.
It is not the diameter of each stand of hair that defines whether your have thick or fine hair, rather the number of shafts per square inch. In other words, you may have very coarse hair but not a lot of it and be classified as having fine hair and on the other hand one can have fine hair but a lot of it and be classified as having thick hair (See hair type chart).
Whether your hair is straight, wavy, curly, kinky or frizzy, a hair is always a hair because its basic composition is largely based on keratin and is always the same. However the special shape of the hair varies enormously, and hair type you end up with is determined by its cross-sectional shape or the shape of the hair follicle.
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