Hair grows in three stages. Consequently you never have a full head of hair as some hair is in the resting stage of growth. Hair restoration treatments can stimulate re-growth.
Structure of the hair and hair follicle:
Hair is composed of a protein called keratin. It is arranged in three layers, an outer cuticle, middle cortex and central medulla. It is coloured due to the presence of pigments, either melanin (black or brown) or pheomelanin (red or yellow).
If these pigments are lacking the hair is white. Canites is the term given to grey hair, it is an illusion created by the mixture of white and coloured hairs. Hair grows from a follicle. The walls of the follicle form the outer root sheath of the hair. The lower part of the follicle widens out to form the hair bulb that contains the germinal matrix, the source of hair growth.
Dermal tissue projects into the follicle base to form the dermal papilla, and this has a network of capillary blood vessels to supply oxygen, energy and the amino acids needed for growth.
Melanocytes are present in the upper part of the papilla, producing pigment granules that are distributed throughout the cortex.
In the follicle the hair is surrounded by an inner root sheath that has three layers. Henles layer is one cell thick and lies to the outer root sheath.
Huxley's layer is two or three cells thick and is in the middle of the sheath. The cuticle of this inner root sheath interlocks with the cuticle of the hair.
Both the hair and the inner root sheath grow at the same rate, but the inner root sheath breaks down about two-thirds of the way up the follicle, so only the hair emerges past the skin surface. Uncut hair has a pointed tip.
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How your hair is structured
Who’d have thought something as fine as a strand of hair could be so complex? Here’s a little insight into the composition of hair, upon which every H+ procedure is based:
Papilla – at the base of each hair follicle is a structure called the papilla, made mainly of connective tissue and a capillary loop. Cell division in the papilla is rare or non-existent.
Matrix – around the papilla, the hair matrix is a collection of closely packed cells often interspersed with pigment-producing cells, known as melanocytes. Cell division in the hair matrix forms the major structures of the hair fibre and the inner root sheath. Of all cell populations in the human body, the hair matrix epithelium is one of the fastest growing.
Root Sheath – this structure comprises an external root sheath, a middle layer, and an internal section of dead skin – or ‘cuticle’ – which is continuous with the hair fibre’s outermost layer.
Hair Fibre – this is composed of a section of dead skin that is continuous with the root sheath, an intermediate layer, and an inner core.
Other Structures – connected to each hair follicle is a sebaceous gland, which generates the oily substance or ‘sebum’ that protects the hair and skin. Arrector pili muscles cause the follicle lissis to become more perpendicular to the surface of the skin. Apocrine glands secrete sweat. Hair follicle receptors sense the position of the hairs.
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