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What exactly hair is is a complex subject. However, understanding its structure is important for optimal hair care
Question: What is hair?
Everyone has hair, but very few people really know about it. Yet this information is essential if you want to care for your hair properly.
- Hair is almost identical to fingernails and toenails, it is made of horn. Horn is dead cells that have no metabolism or life and no longer grow or divide themselves.
- Since the cells are dead, they no longer need oxygen or nutrients. Living cells normally receive these things via blood vessels, but in hair and nails these are completely absent.
- In addition, hair has no sensation. They are not permeated by nerve tracts. You can only register hair movements via the hair roots, which are located in the sensitive scalp.
- In addition, there are differences between the hair on the head, armpits and genital area compared to the rest of the hair on the arms, legs, etc.
- While the hair on the head, armpits and genital area is usually colorful and strong, the remaining hair tends to be less pigmented and thinner. In addition, the hair on the arms and legs can be raised by small muscles, resulting in goose bumps
- In addition, every part of the external human body is actually hairy. The only exceptions are the lips, the palm of the hand, the sole of the foot and the nipples and eyes.
How your hair grows
Hair grows continuously for several years.
- Hairs grow approximately 0.35 millimeters per day for between 2 and 6 years. This period is also known as the “anagen phase”
- When the hair is nearing the end of its growth, but is not yet in the resting phase, it is in the “catagen phase”. This lasts from a few weeks to months.
- This is followed by a resting phase, the “telogen phase”. In a period of around 2 to 4 months, the hair no longer grows, but does not yet fall out.
- Hair loss only occurs after 2 to 4 months. This is caused by a new hair growing in from below, which removes the old hair from the root.
