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Natural Hair Colors
Melanin
Melanin is a natural pigment (pigment is a dyelike material in cells that provides color) of which two forms, eumelanin and phaeomelanin, determine the color of human and animal hair. Eumelanin and phaeomelanin blended together make up the wide range of hair colors each individual person has. A person may also have a variety of natural hair colors on their head at the same time.
- Eumelanin
- Eumelanin is the black and brown pigment occurring in human and animal hair. Eumelanin produces darker hair.
- Phaeomelanin
- Phaeomelanin is the reddish brown to yellow pigment occurring in human and animal hair. Phaeomelanin produces lighter hair. Low concentrations of pheomelanin causes a yellow tone and higher concentrations of pheomelanin causes a red color.
Melanin is made up of specialized pigment cells called melanocytes. They position themselves at the openings on the skin's surface through which hair grows (follicles). Each hair grows from a single follicle.
As the hair is being formed, melanocytes inject pigment (melanin) into cells containing keratin. Keratin is the protein that makes up our hair, skin, and nails. Throughout the years, melanocyctes continue to inject pigment into the hair's keratin, giving it a colorful hue.
With age comes a reduction of melanin. The hair turns gray and eventually white.
There are other factors that can change the pigmentation of hair, making it lighter or darker. Scientists have divided them by intrinsic (internal) and extrinsic (external) factors:
- Intrinsic factors:
- Genetic defects
- Hormones
- Body distribution
- Age
- Extrinsic factors:
- Climate
- Pollutants
- Toxins
- Chemical exposure
Black Hair
Black hair has higher amount of eumelanin and is about the same strand thickness as brown hair. Black hair is known to be the shiniest of all hair colors.
Brown Hair
Brown Hair has more eumelanin than blonde hair, with some phaeomelanin present. Brown strands of hair are medium thick. Males with brown hair are called brunet, females brunette.
Blonde Hair
Blonde (also spelled blond) hair has small amounts of eumelanin and small amounts of phaeomelanin. More eumelanin creates a dishwater or ash blonde, and more phaeomelanin creates a golden blonde color. Compared to strand thickness, blonde hair is the thinnest.
Red Hair
Red hair has high amounts of phaeomelanin and lowest amounts of eumelanin. Red strands of hair are the thickest of all colors, but redheaded people have less hair on their head than other people. People with red hair are called redheads.
White Hair
White hair has no pigment. Initially, hair is white. It gets its natural color from a type of pigment called melanin. The formation of melanin begins before birth. The natural color of our hair depends upon the distribution, type and amount of melanin in the middle layer of the hair shaft or cortex. People with Albinism typically have very fair skin and white or light-colored hair. People with Waardenburg Syndrome (WS) may have distinctive hair coloring, such as a patch of white hair or premature gray hair as early as age 12.
Gray Hair
Scientists continue to investigate why hair turns gray. Gray hair results from a reduction of pigment, while white hair has no pigment. In time, everyone's hair turns gray. Your chance of going gray increases 10 to 20 percent every decade after 30 years. Some young people can have gray hair.
Medical Conditions Can Affect Hair Color
A sizeable number of medical conditions can affect the skin, hair, and nails. Here are just a few of them that can affect the hair and hair color:
Albino
Albinism, pronounced al-byn-is-em, is having pale or colorless hair, eyes, and skin because the body does not produce enough pigment.
Hypohidrotic Ectodermal Dysplasia
Most people with hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia have a reduced ability to sweat (hypohidrosis) because they have fewer sweat glands than normal or their sweat glands do not function properly. Sweating is a major way that the body controls its temperature - as sweat evaporates from the skin, it cools the body. An inability to sweat can lead to a dangerously high body temperature (hyperthermia), particularly in hot weather. In some cases, hyperthermia can cause life-threatening medical problems.
Affected individuals tend to have sparse scalp and body hair (hypotrichosis). The hair is often light-colored, brittle, and slow-growing. This condition is also characterized by absent teeth (hypodontia) or teeth that are malformed. The teeth that are present are frequently small and pointed.
Hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia is associated with distinctive facial features including a prominent forehead, thick lips, and a flattened bridge of the nose. Additional features of this condition include thin, wrinkled, and dark-colored skin around the eyes; chronic (lasting a long time) skin problems such as eczema; and a bad-smelling discharge from the nose (ozena).
Kwashiorkor
Kwashiorkor is a form of malnutrition (improper diet) caused by inadequate protein intake in the presence of fair to good energy (total calories) intake. One of the symptoms of kwashiorkor is hair changes - the color of hair may change, often becoming lighter or reddish, thin, or brittle.
Vitiligo
Vitiligo, pronounced vit-ill-EYE-go, causes white patches on the skin in different parts of the body and can also affect the mucous membranes (tissues that line the inside of the mouth and nose), and the retina (inner layer of the eyeball). The hair that grows on areas affected by vitiligo sometimes turns white. People with vitiligo may have premature graying of the scalp hair, eyelashes, eyebrows, and beard. People with dark skin may notice a loss of color inside their mouths. Vitiligo occurs when the cells that give the skin its color are destroyed. It is more common in people with autoimmune diseases, and it might run in families. Half the people who have vitiligo develop it before age 20, most develop it before their 40th birthday.
Waardenburg Syndrome
The main characteristics of Waardenburg syndrome (WS) include:
*) A wide bridge of the nose.
*) Pigmentary disturbances such as two different colored eyes, white forelock and eyelashes and premature graying of the hair.
*) Some degree of cochlear deafness.
Werner Syndrome
Werner syndrome is a premature aging disease that begins in adolescence or early adulthood and results in the appearance of old age by 30 to 40 years of age. Werner syndrome is inherited and transmitted as an autosomal recessive trait. Its physical characteristics may include short stature (common from childhood on) and other features usually developing during adulthood:
*) A hoarse voice
*) Thin, wrinkled and hardened skin
*) Graying hair and baldness
*) Cataracts
*) Muscular atrophy
*) A tendency to diabetes mellitus, among others
References:
1) National Library of Medicine (NLM) - September 2008 - www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov - ghr.nlm.nih.gov
2) Library of Congress - Everyday Mysteries - March 2007 - www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries
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