About Hair

Hair... The Beginning

Beautiful hair begins with healthy hair and healthy hair starts long before you can see it. Before we start learning about services and maintenance, i will get you familiar the basics of hair. On this page we’ll cover a little on hair structure, chemistry, growth and maintenance. I will also give you some terms and definitions that will be helpful in understanding your hair.

Scalp Care & General Health... healthy soil healthy tree

The scalp is the part of your body where beautiful hair begins. Proper exercise, diet, stress management and hygiene are the first steps to acquiring healthy hair. That said, your scalp requires constant maintenance. As a hair stylist, I can tell you that most people need to take care of their scalps better, if they could see it from my view point they’d feel the same. Anyone who shaves their head will tell you it’s not wash and go. A healthy scalp requires the same care you give to your face. In the salon I offer my clients scalp treatments. Scalp treatments proform the same function a Facial.

In short, many people dont care maintain their scalp becuase it's covered with hair. Subsequently, people only start taking care of their scalp only when they're losing their hair.

You should care for your hair the same as your care for your face and skin.

· Keep it clear of excess and unwanted debris.

· Massage and manipulate the scalp to promote blood flow and spread your natural oils through the hair.

· Be cautious of chemical or styling damage to the scalp.

· Add moisturizers and supplements when needed.

· Use products which are agreeable with your body’s delicate chemistry.

What is Hair

At it’s very simplest; hair is comprised of five elements, two solids (carbon and sulfur) and 3 gases (hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen). These elements are arranged in such a way to create amino acids, which chain together to become proteins. The proteins of hair form a particular type called keratin and keratin proteins are linked together in groups by polypeptide bonds.

There are four types of side bonds holding these protein chains together and they each serve a different purpose in the hair’s structure. Hydrogen bonds, Salt bonds, Disulfide bonds and van der Waal’s Forces, the first three are the ones important to us now.

Hydrogen and Salt bonds both account for 35% of the hair’s strength and resistance to change. These bonds are relatively weak but there is strength in numbers and there are millions of them. Hydrogen and Salt bonds are easily broken with water or heat; we’ll talk about them more in the styling section.

Disulfide Bonds are strong but not as numerous as the others. Disulfide bonds are the chemical bond that forms between protein structures and chemical services directly affect these bonds by breaking or reforming them.

Structurally, hair is comprised of three major layers when keratinized:

· Cuticle- the outer protective covering of the hair shaft made up of overlapping layers of transparent scales. Think of it like a see-through armor or skin of the hair. Also, when we talk shine, we’re talking cuticle.

· Cortex- the second layer consisting of unique protein structures. This is where most of the pigment (see hair color) resides and attributes to hair’s strength and flexibility.

· Medulla- the central core of the hair shaft. Not much is known about the medulla and it is often absent in fine to very fine hair types.

How does Hair Grow?

Hair starts growing where you can’t see it, under the surface skin in the epidermis. Hair start as living cells called a hair bulb which grows from the follicle, a tube like pocket, which has a papilla. The papilla is attached to blood supply which brings nutrient to follicle. Also, in the follicle is the sebaceous gland which produces special oil called sebum. Sebum protects hair and skin, prevents dryness, improves elasticity, and maintains the natural acid balance.

On average hair grows ½ inch every 4 weeks. As the hair grows up and out of the follicle it begins to keratinize and is no longer a living cell. Hair grows in three stages.

Anagen or active growing stage- during which time each hair bulb is attached to the root sheath. On average 90% of your hair is in the anagen stage which last for two to six years.
Catagen or transitional stage- when cell division stops and begins to detach from the root. The catagen stage last for only a few weeks.
Telogen or resting stage- when each hair has no attached root sheath. At this time the hair sheds or falls out on average 10% of your hair is in the telogen stage, which generally last for 3-4 months. Eventually cell division is again stimulated, producing new hair and the growth cycle starts again.

Differences in hair types, not so cut and dry.

If all hair is made of the same thing why is everyone’s hair different? Why do some people never trim their hair and it grows fine? Why does a color formula looks great on my friend but is different on my hair? I believe people put so much importance on their hair because hair, in many ways is an expression of ourselves. All of the factors that make us different from each other are the factors which make hair different. Hair takes on different shapes, textures and conditions because of heredity, environment, diet, stress, how it’s maintained, how it’s been treated, the shape, the size, the number, the color, what’s in it and what’s on it.

There are a few way to assess hair type and how it will reacts to styling and chemical services. There is also hair characteristic we associate with different racial backgrounds. You can perform a cuticle/cortex ratio versus curly/ straight test, you’ll want to find out how coarse the hair is, what percentage is cuticle and how much curl your hair has, most stylists can tell by looking at your hair in its natural state. You also have to look at the hair’s density, elasticity and condition. You will learn more about different hair textures and conditions in the styling and conditioning section.

Emmett Henley

live... learn... get beautiful.