Hair and Scalp Properties
A tube-like structure in the skin or scalp that surrounds the hair root and anchors the hair in the skin.
What is a hair follicle?
Partial or complete hair loss from where it typically grows.
What is alopecia?
The technical term for ringworm.
What is tinea?
The study of hair, including its diseases and care.
What is trichology?
This scalp disorder is characterized by the excessive production and shedding of skin cells.
What is pityriasis (dandruff)?
An involuntary muscle in the dermis that attaches to the hair follicle. When this muscle contracts, the hair stands up, causing goosebumps.
What is the arrector pili muscle?
Thinning and/or baldness in a horseshoe shape.
What is male pattern hair loss?
The growth of terminal hair on a woman's body areas that typically do not have terminal hair, such as the upper lip, chin and cheeks, and chest.
What is hirsuties?
The amount of movement or shape of the hair strand.
What is a wave pattern?
Five elements that make up human hair, skin, tissue, and nails.
What are COHNS elements?
(carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and sulfur)
These types of glands are attached to the hair follicle and produce a substance called sebum.
What are sebaceous glands?
Temporary hair loss after pregnancy.
What is postpartum alopecia?
An autoimmune disorder. The immune system attacks the hair follicles, which leads to hair loss in round or irregularly shaped patches.
What is alopecia areata?
The yellow to red pigment in natural blonde and red shades of hair.
What is pheomelanin?
A long chain of amino acids linked by peptide bonds.
What is a polypeptide chain?
The fibrous protein layer of the hair. It is responsible for hair's strength, elasticity, and color and contributes to about 90% of the hair's weight.
What is the cortex?
The loss of terminal hair on the body and scalp.
What is alopecia universalis?
A fungus that causes dandruff and feeds on the scalp's oil.
What is malassezia?
The process by which newly formed cells in the hair bulb mature, fill with keratin, move upward, lose their nucleus, and die.
What is keratinization?
A condition in which hair grows longer or thicker than usual.
What is hypertrichosis?
This is a cone-shaped elevation at the base of the hair bulb. It contains blood vessels that supply nutrients that allow the hair to grow.
What is the dermal papilla?
Topical medication applied to the scalp. It has been proven to stimulate hair growth and comes in two different strengths.
What is Minoxidil?
The inflammation or infection of the hair follicles.
What is folliculitis?
Technical term for gray or white hair.
What are canities?
A strong chemical side bond that joins the sulfur atoms of two neighboring cysteine amino acids to create one cysteine, which joins together two polypeptide strands together like rungs on a ladder.
What is a disulfide bond?