Hair Science - Basic Hair Care Knowledge

Hair Science and Basic Hair Care Knowledge

Learning about hair science and expanding your basic hair care knowledge will help you to get a better understanding of technical terms used by your hair stylist or why they advice you to do things in a certain way. Its also helpful to select the right hair care product for your hair. Understanding the anatomy of hair is important to understanding how to treat it.

Hair science is quite complicated and not in scope of this website. The goal here is to get familiar with some simple terms used in hair style magazines and hair salons. You will also learn how to deal with hair disorders and hair care problems such as unusual hair loss.

Your Hair Root

Each hair begin to from invisible part of the hair buried 4 mm under the scalp inside a small tube which is called a follicle.

As the hair begins to grow, it pushes up from the root and out of the follicle, through the skin where it can be seen. The part we see which goes to make up the hair fibre (shaft), is in fact biologically dead. Hair shaft is a complex structure consisting of an inner core structure (called cortex) and a series of protective outer layers (cuticle).

Hair Cuticle

Cuticle is the external part of the hair fibre. It is the cuticle which need basic hair care and subjected to attacks which the hair suffers and your hair conditions depending on it.

Wind, rain, sunlight, pool and saltwater, harsh chemicals, excessive perms, bleaching or coloring your hair, and mechanical injury caused by harsh brushing can result in damaged hair.

Depending on type of damage, there are special tretments that can help prevent and even repair damaged hair.

Blood vessels at the base of each follicle which is called papilla will feed your hair root with nutrition and amino acids and are responsible for your hair growth. This part of your hair also requires hair care that comes from within - a good diet with essential vitamins and minerals.

Vitamin deficiency or abnormal protein levels due to unbalanced diet or hormonal changes can disturb hair growth by weakening the structure and function of hair root. These problems can lead to hair loss and thinning hair problems.

Every follicle has a sebaceous gland, which are responsible in maintaining your hairs condition. And Sebum is the Greasy material produced by the sebaceous glands which naturally lubricates the hair.

Hair type and hair color

The structure of your hair follicle will determine the type of your hair. If that tube is small, then you will have a fine hair and if its large then you will have thick hair. A person's hair will be straight if this tube is round and will be curly if the tube is flattened.

Hair color comes from melanin, the substance that gives hair and skin its pigment. There are two types of melanin one type is responsible for darke shades (eumelanin) and the other is responsible for light shades like blonde and red (phaeomelanin). The mixture and amount of these pigments determine the natural color of hair. So in a way its also true to say that the lighter someone's hair, the less melanin there is. A person with black hair has much more melanin than someone with blond or red hair.

A 3-D Voyage To The Heart Of Human Hair
Updated March 24, 2004 - loreal.com - Hair Science

L’Oréal is sharing its scientific research and expertise of human hair from all around the world, by using virtual reality technology in 3-D.

This allows visitors to penetrate directly to the heart of the hair shaft using cutaway anatomical views, and the 3-D mode makes it easy to see the distinguishing features of different hair types. A detailed description illustrated with histological cross-sections and electronic microscope imaging helps bring to life the various components of the 3-D model.

For the very first time—thanks to this innovative module—users can explore every facet of human hair in a way that is fun and interesting.

To use the 3-D functions in real time over the Internet, you must download the free player from VirTools (1,8 MB) and then download the models (900 Kb per model). Use this 3D tool only if your Internet connection is fast enough.