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Skin Care > Hair
Our Hair
We human beings dispensed with the need for
thick body hair long ago in our evolutionary history although some remains
though
often in the wrong place.
Our head hair
provides protection from the potentially damaging effects of ultraviolet light
on the skin of the scalp, and depending on where we live, it also provides some
insulation against the cold although hair in general has less of a protective or insulating
role for us today.
The fact that we still have head hair (or at
least most of us do when young) may be due to its importance in
sexual attraction.
Anatomy
The hair is divided into the hair root and the protruding hair shaft.
The root or bulb (bulbus) under the skin is thicker than the hair shaft, which
together with the underlying dermal hair papillae are responsible for the
nourishment, development and growth of hair. A dermal sheath of connective
tissue surrounds the whole hair root and together these form a hair follicle.
The shaft of the hair; the part of the hair that can be seen above the scalp
consists mainly of dead cells pushed out of the bulb that have turned into
keratins and binding material, together with small amounts of water and the hair
shaft also contains fats, pigment (melanin), small amounts of vitamins, and
traces of zinc and other metals. Hair also contains water which, although it
makes up only 10-13% of the hair, is extremely important for its physical and
chemical properties.
Is your hair straight or curly? This determined by the shape of the hair shaft
cross-section i.e. hair that is more round will be more straight, whereas hair
that is more oval will be more curly.
Hair Care
As with your skin, your hair is dependant on the good health of your body
and when your diet and lifestyle is good, it shows in your hair making it
thicker and more lustrous. To care for your hair:- Generally washing head hair every 1 - 3 days is sufficient to keep it clean
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Regular trimming to remove split ends
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If you have frequent bad hair days, try applying
oil to your hair, leave it in for a
while and then shampoo as normal and this is usually enough to restore texture
and shine.
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Hair care and removal product reviews
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