Understanding Your Hair
Great hair is indeed possible, once you understand your hair. We all crave to have healthy, longer, shinier hair, so read on and be on your way to understanding what your hair needs and could do without.
Basically, we have 2 types on hair on our body:
Vellus hair which is found all over our body, on the upper lip and forehead. It is very fine and short hair which is usually not colored (un-pigmented, usually translucent) and doesn't grow longer than 2cm. This hair has just 2 layers: the cortex and cuticle.
Terminal hair which is the longer, coarser, pigmented hair that grows on our scalp, eyebrows, eyelashes, armpits and groin. This hair has 3 layers : the medulla in the middle filled with air and proteins, the cortex containing melanin, and the cuticle on the outside.
When hair emerges from our scalp it has about 6 - 10 layers of cuticle. The cells of the cuticle overlap at about a 5 degree angle (looking like the tiles on a roof), pointing down towards the tips of the hair strand. The cuticle protects the cortex from damage, but because the cells erode, break, lift up and get raged edges, the cuticle usually wears away over time, leading to even more hair damage quicker.
Even if you do treat your hair well, the cuticle will erode over time, this is because there is always friction from other hair strands, brushing and combing which lead to split ends and gaps in the cuticle.
We have about 150,000 hair strands on our scalp, this is about the same for both men and women. The length of our hair is determined by the shape of follicle (the duct our hair grows out from), as well as on the growth cycle of our hair. This growth cycle now depends on the season, your age as well as your hair type.
Generally speaking, our hair grows about 0.3 - 0.5mm a day, about 1cm per month, and 12cm (5 inches) per year. Then we lose about 40 - 180 hair strands per day (with the average being 40 - 80 hairs lost daily). The shape of the follicle determines the texture of your hair, while the size of the follicle determines the thickness of the hair strand.
Anagen Phase - when the follicle produces a hair, also known as the hair growth stage. This phase may last for 3 - 5 years, and up to 7 years for some lucky people. If you have a 3 year anagen phase cycle, your maximum hair length will be about 36cm (15 inches); if 5 years then the maximum length of your hair will be about 60 cm (24 inches), and if its 7 years it will be about 84 cm (35 inches)!
At a given point in time, about 85% of the hair on your scalp is in this stage.
Catagen Phase - when the hair moves out from under the scalp to the surface. The hair will stay there for some time and then shed. About 1% of your hair is in this stage at a particular point in time.
Talogen Phase - When the hair rests for about 2 - 4 months, with no growth, then it completely separates from the follicle and sheds, getting pushed out of the scalp. After this, the follicle will go into the anagen stage again and the cycle starts all over. About 12% of the hairs on your head will be in this stage at a given point in time.
Note: Hair does not grow back thicker or faster when you cut it. It only seems to come back faster because you are paying attention to it, or the area feels spiky.
The follicle is the duct (or hole) where our hair grows from. The shape of the follicle determines the texture of our hair - round follicle will produce straight hair; oval follicle will produce wavy hair; elliptical shaped follicle will produce curly or coily hair.
The size of the follicle determines the the thickness of the hair strand - a large follicle will produce thicker hair than a small follicle.
Hair can get damage from mechanical or chemical processes it goes through. Mechanical damage may come from friction from combing, brushing, stretching, heating: flattening, curling, as well as from friction caused by other hair strands rubbing on each other. While chemical damage happens when the chemistry of the hair is changed by haircare products and other elements like perms, coloring, straightening.
The layers of the cuticles get eroded, exposing the cortex to further chemical, weather and friction damage, giving you a feeling of dryness, no matter how much you condition it. Damage to hair cannot be repaired but you can seal the cuticle layer with conditioning agents, silicons and oils.
The longer your hair is the more damage it is likely to sustain over the years from weather and friction.
Use haircare products that have more oils and less humectants, and use a mild shampoo designed for the African hair - do not shampoo your hair daily as it can make it more prone to damage.
We are currently testing our handcrafted haircare products and will definitely keep you posted once these great products are ready to hit your home!
So keep an eye on our blog as well as our social media channels for even more updates and information of available products.
Leave a comment below if there's something you want to let us know.
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Pinterest
Instagram.
Youtube channel.
We have a wide array of Natural Skincare products. Get Nature's Finest from Africa's Best Crafter - Adonmu.
Basically, we have 2 types on hair on our body:
Vellus hair which is found all over our body, on the upper lip and forehead. It is very fine and short hair which is usually not colored (un-pigmented, usually translucent) and doesn't grow longer than 2cm. This hair has just 2 layers: the cortex and cuticle.
Terminal hair which is the longer, coarser, pigmented hair that grows on our scalp, eyebrows, eyelashes, armpits and groin. This hair has 3 layers : the medulla in the middle filled with air and proteins, the cortex containing melanin, and the cuticle on the outside.
Even if you do treat your hair well, the cuticle will erode over time, this is because there is always friction from other hair strands, brushing and combing which lead to split ends and gaps in the cuticle.
We have about 150,000 hair strands on our scalp, this is about the same for both men and women. The length of our hair is determined by the shape of follicle (the duct our hair grows out from), as well as on the growth cycle of our hair. This growth cycle now depends on the season, your age as well as your hair type.
Generally speaking, our hair grows about 0.3 - 0.5mm a day, about 1cm per month, and 12cm (5 inches) per year. Then we lose about 40 - 180 hair strands per day (with the average being 40 - 80 hairs lost daily). The shape of the follicle determines the texture of your hair, while the size of the follicle determines the thickness of the hair strand.
The Hair Growth Cycle
Anagen Phase - when the follicle produces a hair, also known as the hair growth stage. This phase may last for 3 - 5 years, and up to 7 years for some lucky people. If you have a 3 year anagen phase cycle, your maximum hair length will be about 36cm (15 inches); if 5 years then the maximum length of your hair will be about 60 cm (24 inches), and if its 7 years it will be about 84 cm (35 inches)!
At a given point in time, about 85% of the hair on your scalp is in this stage.
Catagen Phase - when the hair moves out from under the scalp to the surface. The hair will stay there for some time and then shed. About 1% of your hair is in this stage at a particular point in time.
Talogen Phase - When the hair rests for about 2 - 4 months, with no growth, then it completely separates from the follicle and sheds, getting pushed out of the scalp. After this, the follicle will go into the anagen stage again and the cycle starts all over. About 12% of the hairs on your head will be in this stage at a given point in time.
Note: Hair does not grow back thicker or faster when you cut it. It only seems to come back faster because you are paying attention to it, or the area feels spiky.
Hair Types
The size of the follicle determines the the thickness of the hair strand - a large follicle will produce thicker hair than a small follicle.
African Hair
African hair has a flattened elliptical cross-section, making it ultra curly, coily or kinky, with thick follicles. It is much more water-loving and oil-loving than other hair types, but it is much weaker because of the kinks in the hair shafts. This means that African hair is more prone to breakage and is less resistant to any type of strain to the hair and scalp.
This hair also tends to be very dry and has about 7 - 11 layers of cuticle, and is more accepting of chemical treatment.
Virgin Hair
This is hair that has not been chemically processed - has not been permed, no waving, bleaching, dying or straightening. It generally repels water and attracts more haircare products attaching to the tips more than the roots.Hair Damage
Hair can get damage from mechanical or chemical processes it goes through. Mechanical damage may come from friction from combing, brushing, stretching, heating: flattening, curling, as well as from friction caused by other hair strands rubbing on each other. While chemical damage happens when the chemistry of the hair is changed by haircare products and other elements like perms, coloring, straightening.
The layers of the cuticles get eroded, exposing the cortex to further chemical, weather and friction damage, giving you a feeling of dryness, no matter how much you condition it. Damage to hair cannot be repaired but you can seal the cuticle layer with conditioning agents, silicons and oils.
The longer your hair is the more damage it is likely to sustain over the years from weather and friction.
Caring for African Hair
As mentioned above, African hair is fragile but loves oils, so keeping it moisturized and protecting it from absorbing water is the best haircare routine for this hair type.Use haircare products that have more oils and less humectants, and use a mild shampoo designed for the African hair - do not shampoo your hair daily as it can make it more prone to damage.
We are currently testing our handcrafted haircare products and will definitely keep you posted once these great products are ready to hit your home!
So keep an eye on our blog as well as our social media channels for even more updates and information of available products.
Leave a comment below if there's something you want to let us know.
Facebook,
Instagram.
Youtube channel.
We have a wide array of Natural Skincare products. Get Nature's Finest from Africa's Best Crafter - Adonmu.
This piece is quite educative. Thanks for sharing. Can't wait to get your hair care products.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback. Here's to amazing hair :D
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