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CHAPTER ELEVEN

THE HAIR

The study of the hair is also known as TRICHOLOGY. Hairs is an appendage, or outgrowth of the skin. It is composed of layers of horny cells specially arranged, which taper to a fine point at the outer end. At its root is a living structure, but throughout its length beyond the surface of the scalp, it is without life.

Hair grows all over the body except on the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet and the last joint of the fingers and toes. In some parts of the body it grows very thick and varies in texture.

KINDS OF HAIR

There are three kinds of hair found on the human body:
1. Long, soft hair as of the head, beard, and armpits.
2. Short, stiff hair as of the eyebrows and eye lashes.
3. Soft down hair, or LANUGO that covers the surface of the body.

THE FUNCTION OF HAIR - Hair serves as an aid to the body in maintaining its normal temperature and as an equalizer of the electrical currents passing through the body.

ORIGIN OF HAIR

The hairs are developed in little pits or grooves called HAIR FOLLICLES which slant downward at an angle through the outer skin or epidermis into the dermis or true skin. The hair grows from the bottom of the pit or follicle from a seat known as the PAPILLA. It is assumed that the shape and size of the hair depend upon the shape of the follicles which are set in the skin at various angles. Fine, soft hair comes from small follicles, and large or coarse hair from large ones. The angle at which the follicles exist in the scalp determine the slant at which the strands of hair lay upon the head.

THE FOLLICLE as noted above is a groove in which the hair grows. It is below the surface of the scalp and serves as a sheath

TEXTBOOK OF BEAUTY CULTURE

to encase the hair. It is a small sac, sometimes called the "Mother" of the hair. The blood vessels of the connective tissue surrounding the papilla supply the nourishment for the hair and when it is in a healthy condition the hair will shine with life and lustre. Not until the blood supply is cut off from the papilla or the hair follicle is destroyed by injury or disease will the hair fall out and never be replaced. After a hair has fallen it is the duty of the papilla to create a new hair. As long as the papilla is functioning properly a healthy hair is assured.

When a hair falls and a whitish bulb is found at the end, it is not the root of the hair, but a deposit known as SEBUM. The Sebum has clogged the passage to the papilla and shut off the nourishment to the hair causing it to become unhealthy and fall. When the hair falls, bringing with it the sebum on the end, the papilla is cleared, reinforced and enabled to then produce a new hair.

THE SEBACEOUS GLAND is a grape like appendage connected with the hair follicle by a small duct. It is a sac which supplies oil to the hair. When the small duct becomes clogged, the oil cannot reach the inside of the follicle and often runs down the side of the hair follicle to the scalp making it very oily. Proper functioning of this gland and free passage of its secretion through the ducts insures soft, glossy hair, well supplied with natural oil.

The ARRECTOR MUSCLE (ARRECTORES PILORUM) is found just below the sebaceous gland. This is the small bundle of involuntary muscle fibers connecting each hair follicle. These muscles control the position of the hair follicle and they may be said to hold hair in place. When they contract, they straighten the follicle and cause the hair to raise or "stand straight-up". Excitement of these muscles to greater activity immediately affects the action of the sebaceous glands causing them to send out additional supplies of secretion.

When the papilla, sebaceous gland and the arrector muscle are all functioning normally there is an ample blood supply to all parts of the scalp.

When the blood is poor from an undernourished condition and the nerves are wrecked or overworked, the arrector muscle becomes limp and flabby; the Sebaceous Gland becomes sluggish and inactive, and the hair becomes dull, and lifeless and falls in increasing amount. The cause of many of the cases of thin and falling hair among patrons may be traced to undernourishment.