Hair Science
The scientific study of hair and its diseases and care.
What is trichology?
The outermost protective layer of the hair strand.
What is the cuticle?
The enlarged, club-shaped structure at the base of the hair root.
What is the hair bulb?
The active growth phase of the hair cycle.
What is the anagen stage?
The natural pigment responsible for hair and skin color.
What is melanin?
A genetic condition characterized by little or no melanin production.
What is albinism?
Glands attached to hair follicles that produce an oily substance.
What are sebaceous glands?
A mixture in which one substance is dissolved evenly into another.
What is a solution?
The part of the hair structure that is located below the skin and surrounds the hair root.
What is a hair follicle?
The middle layer of the hair that gives it strength, elasticity, and contains most of its pigment.
What is the cortex?
The portion of the hair located below the skin's surface.
What is the hair root?
The short transition phase between active growth and resting.
What is the catagen stage?
The cells that produce melanin.
What are melanocytes?
Hair with uneven or irregular pigment distribution throughout the strand.
What is mottled hair?
The oily substance produced by the sebaceous glands that lubricates the skin and hair.
What is sebum?
The substance that is dissolved in a solution.
What is a solute?
The process in which living cells fill with keratin, harden, and become part of the hair strand.
What is keratinization?
The innermost layer of the hair shaft, often found in coarse hair.
What is the medulla?
The specialized structure at the base of the hair follicle that supplies nutrients to growing hair.
What is the dermal papilla or papilla?
The resting phase of the hair growth cycle.
What is the telogen stage?
The type of melanin that produces brown and black tones in hair.
What is eumelanin?
The genetic passing of characteristics from parents to offspring.
What is heredity?
The protective mixture of sebum and perspiration found on the skin's surface.
What is the acid mantle?
The substance that dissolves another substance in a solution.
What is a solvent?
The process of cell division that creates new cells for hair growth.
What is mitosis?
The overlapping outer layers that protect the cortex.
What are cuticle scales?
These tiny blood vessels supply oxygen and nutrients to the dermal papilla and surrounding tissues that support hair growth.
What are capillaries?
During this stage, the hair follicle shrinks and growth slows down.
What is the catagen stage?
The type of melanin that produces red and yellow tones in hair.
What is pheomelanin?
This structure and its shape can influence whether hair grows straight, wavy, or curly.
What is the hair follicle?
A tiny hair-like structure that can help move substances along a surface.
What are cilia?
A mixture in which particles are dispersed but not dissolved and may eventually settle out.
What is a suspension?
Clue: The phase of hair growth when the hair is actively growing.
What is the anagen stage?
The visible portion of hair that extends above the skin's surface.
What is the hair fiber or hair strand?
Rapidly dividing cells in the hair bulb that produce new hair.
What are germinal matrix cells?
During this stage, new hair begins its development and growth cycle.
What is the anagen stage?
Small structures inside melanocytes that contain pigment.
What are melanosomes?
A follicle shape most commonly associated with straight hair.
What is a round hair follicle?
The basic building blocks that combine to form proteins.
What are amino acids?
A mixture of two liquids that normally do not mix, such as oil and water.
What is an emulsion?