Hair Root

getting to know your roots

Now that we´ve covered the basics of hair´s composition we can talk about its structure. When a strand of our hair has matured during its development process it can be divided into two sections: the hair root and hair shaft. The hair root is composed of the following parts: the hair follicle, the hair bulb, the sebaceous gland, and the arrector pili.

Hair Follicle
We´ll start with the hair follicle

which can be defined as an opening on our skin´s surface containing the hair root. To form a mental image of a hair follicle imagine a tube-like structure, similar in shape to a test tube, in which the space is occupied by the hair root. The length of the follicle begins at the epidermis, the outer layer of our skin, and continues downward towards the dermis, the inner layer of our skin. Three major sections make up the hair follicle: the dermal papilla, hair fiber, and root sheaths.

Dermal Papilla (DP)

Found at the base of the follicle and surrounded by the hair bulb lies the dermal papilla. The dermal papilla´s main function involves the nourishment of our hair through tiny blood vessels, capillaries. Our hair´s source of blood, oxygen, and some nutrients come from DP. Also known as the connective tissue, dermal papilla consists of numerous cell components which include: active fibroblast cells, histiocytes, melanophages, mast cells, and Langerhan´s granule-containing cells. A major task of the connective tissue is to regulate the growth of our hair. We will get into more details about the dermal papilla when we discuss hair growth.

Definitions

Fibroblast:helps with the formation of connective tissue.
Histiocytes(Fixed Macrophage): an inactive, immobile white blood cell
Melanophages: a cell which obtain its pigment by engulfing and containing melanin.
Mast: responds to injury or inflammation by releasing heparin and histamine
Langerhan´s: neurosecretory cells responsible for sending messages to the nervous and immune system.

Hair Fiber

The dermal papilla helps to direct the hair follicle when making the hair fiber. In looking underneath our skin´s surface the hair fiber is the central (innermost) part of the hair follicle. The hair fiber is formed by the epithelia and matrix cells and composed of cortex cells. Another name that is used for the hair fiber is the hair shaft.

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