HAIR CARE

« BREAKFAST: USING THE G.I. FACTOR TO SUSTAIN YOU THROUGH THE DAY

Man is a hairy animal. An adult has about five million hair follicles of which 100000 are on the scalp. Virtually the only areas spared are the palms of the hands, soles of the feet, and lips. Most of the skin surface is covered with short, fair, fine, and poorly developed hair known as vellus hair or ‘fuzz’. Certain specific areas such as the scalp, genital area and armpits grow coarser, thicker, coloured hair known as terminal hair. There is a marked difference between the hair in different areas of the body, making simple generalizations about hair growth impossible. Originally, hair had four important functions to fulfil. These included improved sensory awareness; heat regulation; sexual attraction and protection. Of these only the latter two are relevant today: hair still contributes to sexual attraction, and still protects the nose and eyes.

Hair grows from follicles, which are finger-like indentations of the superficial epidermis and dermis, each of which encloses at its base a small bud of dermis. The hair filament may be regarded almost as a secretion arising from the division of cells surrounding this bud. It is composed of the same type of keratin protein as the skin itself. However, it does not contain nerves, blood vessels or any vital ’sap’. There is therefore no truth to the supposition that dull, lank hair with split ends is due to escaping ’sap’, and that singeing the ends will prevent this.

Hair does not grow continuously, but in cycles. All hairs on all parts of the body grow, rest, and fall out according to a cycle which is repeated without interruption throughout life. The duration of various stages in the cycle varies from one part of the body to another, with the scalp being the longest of all — from three to six years. There are three distinct phases of the hair cycle: a prolonged hair growth phase (anagen); a short transitional phase (catagen); and a longer resting phase (telogen). With the growth of the new hair the old hair is pushed out of the follicle and is shed. At any time of the scalps cycle there will be anything up to 100 hairs shed per day. However, as different parts of the scalp will be at different stages in the cycle at any one time, no nett loss is usually detected. Hair grows faster during the summer, and women’s hair grows faster than men’s, averaging about 10 millimetres a month. However, with ageing, the rate of growth slows down.

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