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Hair Facts
* Trichology is the study of the structure, functions, and diseases of the hair.
* The average person has 5 million hairs.
* Hair grows everywhere on the human body except the lips, the eyelids, the palms of your hands, and the soles of your feet.
* An average hair grows about 0.4 inches (1 cm) per month. It takes about 4 months for healthy hair to grow one inch. Most hairs grow for up to six years and then fall out. New hairs grow in their place.
* The only "living part of a hair" is the root, which is anchored in a small cup-shaped structure in the skin called a follicle. The hair (a protein) you see on your body is "dead" keratin tissue. If you damage it, it cannot be repaired, except by re-growing it. As the hair is trimmed, the damaged part will be removed.
* Hair is considered sacred in certain cultures. Touching or cutting hair is not allowed.
* Cosmetics and Hair Dye - Some hair dyes and some non-Western cosmetics, such as kohl and surma, contain lead. Avoid some types of paints and pigments that contain lead and are used as make-up or hair coloring. Keep these kinds of products away from children. Lead Is Still Around!!!
* Advertisements for hair care products that claim to revitalize hair by implying they can give it new life are simply dishonest. No hair care product can restore moisture (water) to the protein itself, nor can any product cure split ends. The cosmetics industry is simply after your money.
* Certain hairs on your body, such as the eyelashes, eyebrows, and hair on your arms and legs, are programed to grow a certain length. After a certain amount of time, the hair falls out and is replaced by a new hair. As you get older, some hairs "forget" their programming. That's how older men get bushy eyebrows and such.
* Men, and some women, lose hair as they grow older. You can also lose your hair if you have certain diseases, such as thyroid problems, diabetes or Lupus. If you take certain medicines or have chemotherapy for cancer, you may also lose your hair. Other causes are a low protein diet, a family history or poor nutrition.
* Proteins are important building blocks for all body parts, including muscles, bones, hair, and nails. Hair is composed mainly of a protein called keratin. Keratin is a class of sulfur-containing fibrous proteins that forms the foundation of outgrowth tissue from the epidermis, such as hair, nails, feathers, and horns of animals.
* Increased hair growth on the face, chest, stomach, back, thumbs, or toes is called hirsutism, pronounced - HER-suh-tiz-um. Hair loss is called Alopecia, pronounced - al-oh-PEE-shuh.
* Steroids can make pimples pop up and hair fall out. Steroids can make guys grow breasts. Girls can become more masculine, their voices deepen, their breast size decreases, and they can grow excessive body hair and beards. Steroids throw a body way out of whack. Steroids have disfiguring effects - severe acne, greasy hair, and baldness in both guys and girls.
* Hair removal for women was uncommon until after World War I. (August 1914 to November 1918)
* In Germany, as in most of Europe, women shave their legs or not. Armpits are not shaved. Presumably this is to please men, who find it erotic.
* In Canada you are expected to shave your legs.
* Removing hair by a razor or other means does not change the texture, color, or rate of hair growth.
* Skin should never be shaved dry. Wet hair is soft, pliable, and easier to cut.
* Permanent hair reduction does not necessarily imply the elimination of all hairs in the treatment area. Permanent hair reduction is defined as the long-term, stable reduction in the number of hairs re-growing after a treatment regime, which may include several sessions.
* A developing fetus (unborn baby in the mothers womb), by week 22, has all of it's hair follicles formed. At this time, there are 5 million hair follicles on the body. One million of those hair follicles are on the head, and 100,000 are on the scalp. This is the largest number of follicles a person will ever have. Hair follicles are never added during life.
* As the size of the body increases as we grow older, the density of the hair follicles on the skin decreases.
* Hair is so strong that each hair can withstand the strain of 3.5 ounces (100 grams). An average head of hair could hold 10 to 15 tons if only the scalp was strong enough.
* Levels of androgen that are higher than normal can lead to excessive hair growth, acne, weight gain, and problems with ovulation in females. Progesterone alone does not help reduce acne and hair growth.
* Never dye your eyebrows or eyelashes. This can hurt your eyes. You might even go blind. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says they do not allow using hair dyes on eyelashes and eyebrows.
* According to the United States Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Office of Cosmetics and Colors, hair straighteners and hair dyes are among its top consumer complaint areas, ranging from hair breakage to symptoms warranting an emergency room visit. The reported problems are often due to incorrect use of a product rather than the product itself. FDA encourages consumers to understand the risks that come with using hair chemicals, and to take a proactive approach in ensuring their proper use. When the product is the problem, the FDA evaluates evidence on a case-by-case basis and determines if follow-up is needed, says Allen Halper, an FDA consumer safety officer. FDA looks for patterns of complaints or unusual or severe reactions. The FDA may conduct an investigation, and if the evidence supports regulatory action, FDA may request removal of a cosmetic from the market.
* Applying more than one type of chemical treatment, such as coloring hair one week and then relaxing it the next, can increase the risk of hair damage. "The only color we recommend for relaxed hair is semi-permanent because it has no ammonia and less peroxide, compared with permanent color," says Pearl Freier, an instructor at the International Academy of Hair Design in South Daytona, Florida.
* Depilatories: The FDA also has received complaints about skin burns and scarring from some chemical hair removal products. If you use this type of product, always do a patch test in accordance with the directions, don't use it on broken or irritated skin, and keep the product away from eyes. Cosmetics don't go through FDA approval before they are marketed, though the agency can take action to get unsafe products off the market.
* The medulla is the center or core of a hair.
* The cortex is the main body of a hair - the region between the medulla and the cuticle.
* The cuticle is the scaly, outer portion of a hair.
* Gray Hair
Gray hair results from a reduction of pigment. White hair has no pigment. Your chance of going gray increases 10 to 20 percent every decade after 30 years.
* Longest Female Head of Hair
The longest documented head of hair, when measured on May 8, 2004, belonged to a Chinese woman named Xie Qiuping, from China. Her hair measured in at 18 feet 5.54 inches (5.627 meters). She started growing it at the age of 13 in 1973.
* Longest Bearded Woman
Janice Deveree, from Bracken Country, Kentucky, USA, in 1884, who had a beard 14 inches long (36cm). They called her Janice "The Bearded Lady" Deveree.
* Another Bearded Woman
Vivian Wheeler of Wood River, Illinois, USA, grew a full beard after the death of her mother in 1993. In the year 2000, the longest strand of hair in her beard measured 11 inches (27.9 cm). (At the age of 7, her father insisted that she start shaving).
* Longest Ear Hair
As of May 2003, 50 year old Radhakant Bajpai, of Naya Ganj, Uttar Pradesh, northern India, made it into the Guinness Book of Records, confirmed by medical examiner Dr. R. P. Gupta, for having the longest ear hair, (coming out of both ears), measuring 5.19 inches (13.2 cm) at the longest point. After setting the record in 2003, his ear hairs have now grown to nearly 10 inches (25 cm).
* In 1803, a man named Luke Howard used Latin words to categorize clouds. Cirrus, which means curl of hair, is used to describe high, wispy clouds that look like locks of hair.
* Hair strands can provide a goldmine of forensic evidence. Examining hair under a microscope and analyzing its DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) helps identify victims and criminals, rule out suspects, and reconstruct crime scenes.
* By carefully examining hair under a microscope, there are no characteristics that tell forensic examiners whether a hair is from a man or a woman (except for maybe lots of hair spray).
* Forensic examiners can tell if a hair was forcibly removed, damaged by burning, dyed or bleached, and cut by glass, and sometimes they can tell if the person was ill. A microscopic look at hair can't absolutely identify the owner, but if the hair root has tissue, DNA testing can provide absolute identity.
* Hair will eventually decompose (rot or decay) because it is made of protein, which is easily attacked by soil microorganisms (microorganisms are too small to be seen without a microscope, such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi). Hair protein is tougher than skin protein, making it last a lot longer than flesh when exposed to the decaying process.
References:
1) National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) - teens.drugabuse.gov
2) U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - April 2007 - www.4woman.gov/FAQ/pcos.htm
3) U.S. Food and Drug Administration - 2005 - www.fda.gov/WOMENS
4) Library of Congress - Everyday Mysteries - March 2007 - www.loc.gov
5) National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) - www.nasa.gov
6) Federal Bureau of Investigation - March 2005 - www.fbi.gov
7) National Library of Medicine (NLM) - MedlinePlus - www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus
8) Argonne National Laboratory - Office of Science - U.S. Department of Energy - Ask A Scientist - www.newton.dep.anl.gov
9) ATSDR (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry) - Department of Health and Human Services - January 2008 - www.atsdr.cdc.gov
This summary is a general overview about the topic discussed and does not include all the facts, or include everything there is to know about any medicine and/or products mentioned. Do not use any medicine and/or products without first talking to your doctor. Possible side effects of medications, other than those listed, may occur. Full Disclaimer & General Safety Advisory