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 an on-line reference by Dr. John Gray,
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Page 16 -- HAIR

World of Hair Table of Contents - Hair Care and Hair Products Research Hair in Good Condition - P&G hair care research Hair Cosmetic Hair Treatments Hair Care Index

Pigment granules in the hair shaft
Pigment granules in the hair shaft

written 1 µm, is one-millionth part of a metre = one-thousandth part of a millimetre.) The scales lie along the surface of the hair like tiles on a roof, with their free edges directed towards the tip. They cover the hair surface all the way along its length.
   If you could look at a hair under a powerful microscope you would see that the scales growing over the youngest part of the hair (the part that grows closest to the scalp) are smooth and unbroken. Further along the hair, you would be able to see that they may have been damaged by cosmetic treatments and by mis­treatment such as over-energetic brushing. Little    

The cuticle scale on a normal hair

The cuticle scale on a normal hair (electronmicrograph)

  
Slight lifting of the edge of the hair cuticle

Slight lifting of the edge of the hair cuticle

by little they may break away, a process called weathering see (Chapter 2).
  A healthy cuticle is more than just a protective layer. Much of the shine that makes healthy hair so attractive is due to the
cuticle. Intact cuticle cells are smooth and glossy, and reflect light from their surfaces. This, together with the pigment within the cortex, gives hair its characteristic appearance.
   Black hair reflects less light than blond hair does. Black hair appears glossier, however, Because the bright bands of reflected light :ontrast more sharply with the darkness of the rest of the hair, as in the photograph below.



hair structure
Hair in Good Condition - P&G hair care research Hair Cosmetic Hair Treatments hair care index