Types of Hair
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Hair is made of keratin, a protein found in nails and the outer layer of the skin. The part that rises out of the skin is called the hair shaft. The average head normally contains about 100,000 hairs, with brunettes having as much as 155,000 hairs and redheads, 85,000 hairs.
The living part of the hair is the hair root which is found beneath the skin. This is the part that grows and pushes the dead hair shaft out of the skin. Surrounding each hair root is the hair follicle. The number of hair follicles is determined before birth and this, in turn, determines the number of hairs a person will have.
The two types of hair are terminal, meaning very long, thick and easily visible hair; and vellus or tiny, fine, almost unnoticeable hair.
Each hair follicle undergoes repeated cycles of active growth and rest. The three stages in the follicular cycle are the anagen or growth phase, the catagen or transition phase and the telogen or resting phase during which hair is shed.
On a normal adult scalp, 80 to 95 percent of hair follicles are in the anagen phase while the remainder are in the telogen phase. The catagen phase which runs for three to four weeks affects less than 1 percent of hair.
In general, each hair stays on your head for about two to six years and grows at the rate of about half an inch a month. As it ages, hair falls out and is replaced by a new one in six months.
So there’s no need to worry if you find a lot of hair on your pillow or comb. These are old hairs that are constantly being shed and will soon be replaced by new ones.
“In reality, it’s normal to shed between 50 and 100 hairs a day. That’s generally not a problem, since the typical head has about 100,000 hairs. It’s simply part of the shedding phase that all hair goes through. Hair first goes through growth stage, which lasts anywhere from months to years,” according to the editors of “The Home Remedies Handbook” published by Consumer Guide.
When hair falls off faster than it is replaced, that’s when baldness begins. This can either be temporary or permanent. What’s the difference between the two and what can be done about this? Find out in my next article. (Next: Why people become bald.)
Even if you don’t have hair, you can still look good with Lumnaderm, a whitening cream that eliminates freckles, unsightly age spots, sun spots, blemishes and hyperpigmentation. When used as directed, Lumnaderm will balance uneven skin tones and illuminate your skin. For more information, visit http://www.lumnaderm.com.
By Sharon Bell
Tags: Baldness, Freckles, Lumnaderm
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