Whether you have straight or curly hair, care of that stuff growing on top of your head takes up at least some time in every day of your life.
When most people look for information about that aspect of their grooming routine, however, they're usually seeking articles with titles like Managing Long Hair or Curly Hair Tips. Rarely do we consider that most people don't really know what hair is, what it's made of, or how it grows.Deep in the dermis of the human skin, particularly on the scalp, long, bulb-like follicles produce a shaft of protein. That protein strand is hair. A new hair pushes outward from the follicle and upward through the skin. A single hair can live four to five years before falling out and being replaced by another strand. On the human head the rate of growth is about half an inch a month.A strand of hair has an inner cortex and a series of outer layers (6 to 8 in humans) known as the cuticle. In chemical terms the hair is 90% a-keratin and 10% water. The protein (a-keratin) is encased in a wrapping of microfibrils held together by a kind of protein glue. The resulting tensile strength of hair, even when it is dead, is quite strong. Wet hair, however, is very fragile.
When most people look for information about that aspect of their grooming routine, however, they're usually seeking articles with titles like Managing Long Hair or Curly Hair Tips. Rarely do we consider that most people don't really know what hair is, what it's made of, or how it grows.Deep in the dermis of the human skin, particularly on the scalp, long, bulb-like follicles produce a shaft of protein. That protein strand is hair. A new hair pushes outward from the follicle and upward through the skin. A single hair can live four to five years before falling out and being replaced by another strand. On the human head the rate of growth is about half an inch a month.A strand of hair has an inner cortex and a series of outer layers (6 to 8 in humans) known as the cuticle. In chemical terms the hair is 90% a-keratin and 10% water. The protein (a-keratin) is encased in a wrapping of microfibrils held together by a kind of protein glue. The resulting tensile strength of hair, even when it is dead, is quite strong. Wet hair, however, is very fragile.
Types of HairThere are different types of hairs for different people. You need to know what type of hair you have and then plan to maintain your hair.
Straight versus Curly HairThe type of hair, in terms of straight or curly, depends in part on a further chemical component. The a-keratin and other proteins in hair contain sulfur atoms which bond together in pairs to form a disulfide bond. When the two proteins that bond are distanced from one other, the bonding causes a bend in the hair.In addition, the environment can temporarily increase or decrease this bonding. Damp days are often known as "bad hair" days in the vocabulary of curly hair care. Humidity forces water back into the hair shaft and affects the number and degree of bends. Depending on the chemical structure of the hair, humidity may make it fall or become straighter, or kink and become even curlier. When the humidity subsides, the hair chemistry will seek its normal level.When a person with straight hair gets a chemical treatment known as a "permanent," the solution applied to their hair alters the disulfide bonds and cause the hair to bend into curls. As new hair grows in, however, it will resume its normal state. By the same token people with curly hair can use chemical solutions to break down their disulfide bonds thus straightening the hair, but the solution is only temporary and the normal chemistry of the hair will reassert itself.
FrizzyExtreme curliness or frizziness can be a product of heredity, as in the case of people of African descent. Because the physical structure of African hair is flat, the strands roll up into very dense, tight curls. Curly hair in other races can appear frizzy when it has been damaged by chemical processes or environmental factors. This is often caused by the end of the hair unraveling and fraying into split ends which gives the frizzy appearance.The combination of summer heat and high humidity can make any hair type dry and brittle which leads to the fraying of split ends. If frizziness is not a product of heredity and physical hair structure, it is an issue of the hair needing to be moisturized and of the damaged, split ends needing to be removed.
Ingrown HairsIrregular hair growth or ingrown hairs are most common in people with curly hair (and in men's beards). An ingrown hair occurs when the hair strand grows back into the skin. The area will become inflamed and often pus will form. Normally a single ingrown hair can be allowed to heal on its own. The infected area will open and drain when sufficient pressure has built for the infection to break through the skin. This essentially frees the hair to grow outward again. Many times, however, the area will need to be opened and the hair extracted with a pair of tweezers.If you perform this minor surgery, place a hot wash cloth over the irritated hair to soften the outer layer of skin. Avoid digging at the skin. Use a sterilized needle to gently open the lesion and apply mild pressure to release the pus and encourage the area to drain. Although you may need to use a magnifying glass, the hair should be visible and can be gently lifted out with the tip of the needle until enough of the shaft is exposed to allow it be grasped with tweezers and extracted. If ingrown hairs become a chronic problem, you may need to wear your hear in a longer style to keep the tips of the shafts away from the skin.
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