Hair is the most revealing and important part of the human body in terms of social, sexual and psychological significance. It has been inverted with mystical and magical powers, used to indicate status and set fashions and adapted as a means of attracting attention.
There are many fallacies about hair e.g it is thought to be related to sexual activity. A Scotsman noted his hair grew more quickly during weekends when he resumed normal sexual relationship.
The morbid idea that hair still grows after death is a myth. Hair is a large part of the body and is unlikely that hair growth goes on after death, the skin contracts after death and this makes it look as though the hair is still growing.
Although you may or may not realise, your hair can stand on end, just like a oat`s or clogs does, The cause is the body’s hormonal response, which can make small involuntary muscles called the ARRECTORES PILORUM contract. ARRECTORES PILORUM is Latin for “Erector of hair” this tugs at the hair follicle, making the hair stand straight up. At the same time the follicle raises on your skin a tiny mound of flesh (commonly known as a Goose Pimple) and you experience a prickly feeling as hundreds of follicles erect: I get this feeling listening to the introduction of Alchemy Live by Dire Straits.
Rumours to the contrary there is still no proof that scalp hair will stand on end for any length of time.
Long before birth, just three or four months after Conception, hair appears on the human body. This kind of hair, called Lanugo (Primary Hairs) Covers the foetus. In fact the hair on the back at this time is more numerous (per square inch) than in the Gorilla or Chimpanzee of corresponding foetal age. This hair generally disappears about a month before birth. Next cornes a second coat of Lanugo, which is lost in the third or fourth month after birth. Finally, a different kind of hair, Vellus grows and persists throughout life. Fine, soft and downy, Vellus is often nearly invisible; yet it covers the body everywhere except for a few places, such as the soles of the feet, the palms of the hands and lips. Interestingly, even someone who has already gone bald, stile has fine Vellus growing on their scalp.
The most conspicuous hair is the thick, strong so-called terminal hair, that grows on your scalp and makes eyebrows, eyelashes and, if you are a man, your beard.
Hair texture, its coarseness or fineness depends on two things, the diameter and the shape of the hair follicle and the proportion of hard shell cuticle in the hair’s make-up. If The hair and its follicle are small in diameter, the hair will be ‘fine’ for instance, it will stream out easily in the breeze. The difference between Coarse and fine hair is that it also has a physicochemical basis. All hairs have a tough shell like Casing (the Cuticle) and a soft fibrous inner cortex. In coarse hair the Cuticle makes up 10% of the volume and cortex 90%. In fine hair, the proportion is 40% outside and 60% cortex. Both fine and thick hair have about the same number of hairs, though fair people tend to have more than dark people.
Hair, like horn, hoof, nail, claw and feather, helps to protect us by cushioning blows and knocks. Hair’s protective quality is well known to those who have little or no hair on their heads. A light blow on a bald head can be painful and even dangerous. A nice thick head of hair cushions a blow and e relatively hard knock can be shrugged off. Hair makes a good insulator. The hair holds a useful layer of air above the skin which keeps heat in and the cold out. This ensures a normal body temperature of 37°C (98.4°F) is maintained. In hot conditions hair retains sweat which evaporates slowly and gradually cools the skin.
Your body hair acts as a sensitive antenna registering the slightest touch on your skin. This reflex is strikingly evident when an insect brushes against your eyelid your eye instantly blinks shut. Tiny hair in your nostrils and ears intercept and filter out gritty dust particles floating around in the air. The eyebrows perform a useful function, serving as a miniature sweatband that soaks up and shunts away to one side perspiration that might otherwise drip into your eyes. Adornment may be described as another function of hair. It is popularly known that a well dressed person, with a good hairstyle, feels good and looks good. A well styled head of hair has been found to be of value in the treatment of some mental conditions. A good head of hair gives a boost of confidence to the individual.
The largest amounts of hair are to be seen covering areas of delicate underlying organs. The scalp hair which covers and protects the head and brain. The hair on the armpits protects the upper lungs. The beard protects the glands on the neck. The hair on the groin which covers and protects the reproductive organs and the eyebrows and eyelashes protects your eyes. By the presence of hair in these particular areas, small insects, dust and Water are prevented from entering the body’s openings. When the soft,downy hair is missing from the face of woman, her appearance becomes harsh and hard. The softness given to skin is an important part of beauty. Profuse hair growth is seen as a symbol of virility in men. Samson’s hair, the Bible tells us, held god-like powers. The ancient Greeks are known to have offered hair in sacrifice to the gods. Scientifically however, virility and a good head of hair do not go together. Hair loss does not indicate a loss of sexual virility.
As the body hair growth patterns are different on the adult male and female, it is perhaps not surprising that hair has always played an important part in the sexual attraction between men and women. One look of hair falling across the temple has an effect too alluring to be strictly decent; observed the painter William Hogarth in 1753. A thick, lustrous head of hair is not only a wonderful beauty asset, but its texture and quality can be sensuous in feel. The very fact that hair adds to our sex appeal has made hairdressing throughout the World big business. Like a magician, the hairdresser can totally transform our looks.
Barbers make their living from the fact that hair grows twelve to fifteen Centimetres (5 to 6 inches) a year. This does not mean that the hair is alive. Deep within the follicles (roots) new hair Cells are Constantly being formed. As new cells squeeze their way upward, they push the older, already dead cells, up above the surface of your skin. That process goes on for two to six years and then the hair roots rest and stop producing new cells (15% of the roots are in the resting phase at any one time). About three months later, the hair root becomes detached at the base of the follicle and eventually a comb or brush pulls the hair out. After recuperating for another three months the hair follicle grows another hair. Some roots are active far beyond the normal period and hair sometimes grows to a length of one yard or more. Hair often changes over the years. Touched by the rays of the sun, a child’s hair often seems almost iridescent, quite different in texture from adult hair. The onset of puberty, orchestrated by hormones, changes the whole body both sexes develop hair in the pubic area and in the armpits. The influence of hormones on the hair is far more pronounced among males than among females, most dramatic is the development of a coarse beard. Hair follicles in the face (present at birth)are stimulated,transforming the appearance from boy to man.
