GENERAL FACTS ABOUT HAIR...
2. Each hair consists of 3 layers; the cuticle (outside layer), the cortex (middle layer) and the medulla (axis of the hair).
3. The medulla is only found in people with thick hair.
4. Hair is made of keratin protein, the same substance that forms nails and the skin's barrier.
5. Normally we shed 50-100 hairs a day.
6. Hair turns gray because the pigment cells known as melanin in your hair follicles are not working properly. Melanin usually degrades in production as you age or when you are stressed.
7. Hair is dead; it is not alive. The follicle (the root of the hair) is living and pushes hair cells up through the skin which are dead by the time they're pushed out, that's why it doesn't hurt when it grows or is cut and therefore...
8. ... Cutting hair does not influence its growth.
...ABOUT GROWTH
9. Hair grows on average approximately one-half inch per month.
10. Hair growth occurs fastest between the ages of 15 and 30, and grows faster on men than women, due to the higher levels of female hormones (Estrogens).
11. Each strand of hair grows without stopping for about six years. Then, it rests for a few months before falling out. About 10% of the hairs on your scalp are resting.
12. Hair grows faster in warm weather (by about 10 percent).
13. Also, hair grows more during daytime than at night.
14. Hair growth is mainly affected by genetics, but can be influenced negatively or positively by nutrition/diet, health, environment and hair maintenance.
...FACTS ABOUT TEXTURE
15. The texture and width of your hair depends on characteristics of your follicles. Oval follicles produce curly hair, round follicles produce straight hair, large follicles lead to thick hair, and narrow follicles lead to thinner hair.
16. Hair texture changes throughout our lives. Approximately every 5-7 years.
17. Asian hair grows faster than any other ethnicity, and has the greatest elasticity and thickness.
18. Caucasians have the most varied colour of hair. The colour ranges from black to a pale blond that is almost white, including just about every possible shade in between.
19. Afro-textured hair is the most fragile because it has a thinner cuticle layer and is more prone to dryness...
20. ...but it is the most versatile, especially when it comes to styling. It can go from kinky/curly to straight (even without the use of chemicals) and everything in between.
Hope you learned something new!
To my dismay, I found that hair changes texture after extensive chemotherapy as well. Before my hair fell out it was thick and wavy; now it is thin and straight. :-( But then again, I have hair...which is an improvement over being bald. LOL.
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