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Some interesting facts:

  • the skin covers an area of 1.5-2 m2.

  • The mass of human skin is about 5% of body weight.

  • Every day, about 600 ml of water is excreted through the skin, as well as mineral salts, aromatic compounds, proteins and fats.

  • Vitamin D is synthesized in skin cells under the influence of ultraviolet rays.

  • The smell of sweat is due to indole derivatives secreted by the apocrine sweat glands, which are located in the armpits and perineum.

  • skin pH 3.8-5.6

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Epidermis (I)

1. The stratum corneum

2. Shiny layer

3. Grainy layer     

4. Spiny layer

5. Basal layer

6. Basement membrane  

Dermis (II) and hypodermis (III)

7. Hair shaft

8. Hair root

9. Sebaceous gland

10. The muscle that lifts the hair

11. Free nerve ending (pain receptor)

12. Meissner's bodies (a) and Merkel's (b) (tactile receptors)

13. Krause bodies (cold sensitivity receptor)

14. Ruffini corpuscles (thermal sensitivity receptor)

15. Body of Vater-Pacini (pressure and vibration receptor)

16. Sensitive nerve fiber

17. Sweat gland

18. Superficial vascular network of the dermis

19. Lymphatic vessels

20. Deep vascular network of the dermis

21. Veins

22. Arteries

The epidermis is the top, thinnest layer of the skin. It is a stratified squamous keratinized epithelium. It consists of five layers of cells, differing in the degree of differentiation. The lower (basal) layer of the epidermis borders on the vessels of the dermis. The processes of division and metabolism are most active in it. Moving upwards, epidermal cells (keratinocytes) flatten and lose their nucleus and organelles. Their water content is decreasing. Thus, the upper (horny) layer consists of "dead" cells in which there is no metabolism. Normally, the transfer process takes about a month. In addition to representing the vast majority of keratinocytes in the epidermis, there are other types of cells in smaller numbers: melanocytes that perform a pigment-forming function, Langerhans cells that are cells of the immune system, and lymphocytes. The epidermis includes the basal, spiny, granular, shiny (only on the palms and soles), and stratum corneum.  

The dermis is the layer of skin below the outer layer, the epidermis. The dermis occupies the main volume of the skin, it is 20-40 times thicker than the epidermis. The dermis is formed by fibrous connective tissue and consists of a large number of collagen and elastin fibers, cellular  elements and base material.  Includes papillary and reticular (reticular) layers. The collagen and elastin fibers located in the dermis are the supporting frame of the skin and, together with the interstitial substance, give it elasticity. So the muscle that raises the hair, contracting, causes the effect of "goosebumps". Here are the sebaceous and sweat glands, hair roots, blood vessels, tactile cells of Merkel and Meissner, free nerve endings.

Hypodermis (subcutaneous fat). The bundles of continuing fibers of the reticular layer of the dermis and the fat cells located between them form the subcutaneous fat. Thanks to it, the body is protected from sudden changes in temperature. Here there is amortization of mechanical shocks and shocks. During a long period of nutrient deficiency, the body receives energy from the breakdown of fat cells.

The skin has a number of its appendages: hair, nails, sebaceous and sweat glands.

Skin functions:

  1. Protective - preventing the loss of physiological fluids, protecting the body from mechanical, chemical, physical and thermal effects, an obstacle  penetration of viruses and bacteria into the human body.

  2. Thermoregulatory - despite fluctuations in ambient temperature, the temperature of the human body changes slightly.

  3. Receptor - the skin is the organ of touch. There are many different receptors on the skin.

  4. Secretory - the function is provided by the sebaceous glands. The protein keratin, interacting with the sebaceous secretion, forms a protective “mantle” on the skin.

  5. Excretory - this function is due to the activity of sweat and sebaceous glands. Through sweat and sebum, toxic substances are released.

  6. Respiratory - the skin is involved in the gas exchange of the body. About 2% of oxygen enters the human body through the skin.

  7. Immune – The skin is an immune organ. It contains almost all types of immunocompetent cells.

  8. Exchange.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hair is an adornment of any person, and in order for it to look good, it must be protected. To save hair, you need to know what it is.

Hair is an appendage of the skin and covers almost the entire surface of the body, absent only on the palms and soles. An adult has about 100,000 hairs, and their number depends on the color. Redheads have the thickest hair, but less of it than brunettes. Blondes have the most hair - approximately 150,000. Blacks have the largest hair of all, can be 3 times thicker than blonds.  The hair on the head is unevenly distributed: more on the crown of the head, less on the temporal part and near the forehead. hair is also different. Fastest on the head (for 3 days - about 1 mm), slowest on the eyebrows.

An individual hair lives on average from a few months to 6 years. Eyelashes live from 3 to 5 months, fluffy - 7-10 months. It is considered normal if 30 to 50 hairs fall out on the head per day.

There are the following types of hair:

1) long (head, beard, mustache, in the armpits, on the genitals  organs) is the strongest hair.

2 ) bristly (eyebrows, eyelashes, hair in the nose and in the external auditory canal);

3) vellus (on the skin of the face, trunk, limbs);

4) lanugo (the first human hair appears at the end of the third month  intrauterine development).

  The hair consists of a shaft (the part of the hair that is freely located above the skin) and a root (the part hidden in the thickness of the skin). - Fig.1.

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The hair shaft consists of three layers (Fig. 2). The core of the hair is called the medulla (1), it contains dead cells. The medulla is absent in vellus hair and at the ends of other hairs.
The main mass of the hair is its cortical substance (3), which is composed of elongated, tightly adjacent cells with an elongated nucleus or its traces, containing a pigment - a coloring matter. The pigment can be red, yellow and black, and the combination of these colors creates an individual hair color. In the absence of pigment, the hair looks white.
The outer layer of the hair - the cuticle (2), the skin - is represented by flat, nuclear-free keratinized cells, which, located in one layer, overlap each other like tiles

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    The root of the hair is located in the hair follicle (folliculus pili), which opens on the skin with a small extension (ostium). The excretory duct of the sebaceous gland flows into the skin follicle approximately at the border of the outer and middle third of the hair. The hair follicle (hair bag) consists of connective tissue and epithelial parts. The connective tissue part reaches its full development only in the lower part of the root, starting from the confluence of the sebaceous glands. Its outer longitudinal and middle annular layers are formed by collagen bundles with an admixture of elastic fibers and argentophilic fibers; the latter form a membrane around the hair follicle, tightly adhering to the outer epithelial layer of the follicle. The inner layer, developed only slightly above the bulb, consists of a very thin, homogeneous, vitreous shell, which strongly refracts light. The hair follicle is a unique mini organ that plays an important role in the hair growth process. The ducts of the sebaceous glands are removed into the hair follicle, which lubricate the hair with their secret, giving it elasticity, flexibility and shine. Therefore, the appearance and health of hair directly depend on the work of the sebaceous glands. And here, as they say, we need a golden mean. If there is little fat, then the hair will be dry, dull and brittle. If there is a lot, the hair quickly gets dirty and becomes greasy. The root ends with an extension - a hair follicle. Hair grows in the bulb. From the connective tissue, the hair follicle protrudes into the hair follicle, carrying vessels that feed the bulb.

   We are born into the world with a certain number of follicles, this value is genetically programmed, and nothing can be changed here. Although, perhaps in the near future, scientists will be able to reprogram this hereditary information, now all the prerequisites have been created for this. However, this is practically meaningless, since the stock of 1 million root hair follicles is used by our body far from being completely - only 100-150 thousand will turn into hair. So, most likely, it would be rational to learn how to "wake up the planting material" we already have in stock.

      Hair is 3% moisture and 97% protein. Protein substance - keratin, enriched with sulfur, trace elements (iron, copper, zinc, chromium, manganese) and vitamins A, B, P, C, T).

Hair development cycle

      Human hair growth occurs in cycles. The cycle lasts for years, then a period of rest for several months, after which the old hair falls out and a new cycle begins. Each hair follicle has its own development cycle.

  • anagen (hair growth phase) 2-6 years

  • catagenic (transitional phase) about 2 weeks;

  • telogen (resting phase) 3-4 months.

    Approximately 85-90% of the scalp hair is normally in the anagen phase, about 1% is in the catagen phase.

Normally, the duration of anagen in each person is genetically determined and lasts from 2 to 5 years. The telogen period is approximately 100 days. Normally, the percentage of hair in the telogen stage is small. The average percentage of hair in the anagen, telogen, and catagen stages is 85, 14, and 1 percent, respectively. An increase in the number of telogen hairs up to 20 percent is an unfavorable sign.

    Most balding people don't lose their hair more often than others. The difference is that their lost hair is not replaced by a new one.

So, hair growth occurs cyclically: the growth stage, or anagen, is followed by a short transitional stage, catagen, and then the resting stage, or telogen, when the hair stops growing and falls out. At the end of telogen, a new hair begins to grow in the follicle.

   As already mentioned, a hair papilla protrudes into the lower part of the follicle (bulb), rich in blood vessels, through which nutrition and oxygen are supplied to the constantly dividing cells of the bulb. This is observed in the anagen stage. In catagen, the nutrition of the hair is disturbed, the hair moves upward, moving away from the papilla. There is a gradual atrophy of the hair papilla and keratinization of the cells of the bulb, devoid of nutrition. In the telogen stage, the hair gradually moves to the surface of the skin and falls out. In the depths of the hair follicle, in the remnant of the former germinal layer, the cells begin to multiply again and the atrophic papilla thickens. The remains of the mother cells of the hair follicle form new epithelial elements, gradually creating a new hair follicle.

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Such a complex physiological process of hair change is repeated many times, and with each change, the hair papilla rises slightly upward. Therefore, with each change, new hair sits less deeply than the previous one. With age, hair development cycles are shortened, they become thinner, gradually lose pigment and strength.

This leads to the only right decision: we should treat our hair more carefully year after year. Only proper care can preserve the beauty of hair.

Hair grows continuously, but during the day they grow faster than at night, and in spring and autumn their growth accelerates. Men grow faster than women. The average hair growth rate in children is 13 mm, in adults 15 mm and in the elderly 11 mm per month.

Types and shape of hair.

In the first two or three years of life, vellus hairs predominate on the body, but then, after their next change, thicker and well-pigmented ones appear on the scalp. At the beginning of puberty, the hair is replaced by more rigid - terminal, which may have a slightly different color and density than the hair of the previous generation.

Hair also has different shapes: - straight hair (smooth) - wavy - curly

The shape of the hair depends on the shape and location of the follicle in relation to the skin surface. In addition to individual characteristics, race is an important determining factor: Asians have straight and thick hair, while Negroids have curly hair.

Straight hair is located in the skin almost perpendicular to the surface, curly - with a slight bend, and curly - S-shaped.

If you cut the hair across, then the cut of the straight hair will be round, curly - oval, curly - even more flattened, resembling a ribbon.

The structure and location of the hair follicle

Straight hair         Wavy        Curly

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If you are determined to make life easier for your hair, then first you need to determine your hair type. It depends on the further care, and the means that you will purchase. Moreover, diet, procedures, and banal combing are closely related to hair type. For example, it is enough to comb some 3-4 times a day, while for others the number of hygiene procedures will need to be increased. So make no mistake!

The hairs can be conditionally divided into three types:

1. Normal hair.

They have a nice healthy sheen. Their tips can be somewhat damaged, overdried, but usually there are no special problems with such hair, and they easily grow to a great length, delighting you and those around you. They have a well-maintained water-fat balance.

2. Dry hair.

They are usually dull and weak, without shine. They grow slowly, and with a large length they become unattractive. It is about them that they say that they grow to a certain length. They require particularly intensive and careful care. Even normal hair can become dry after light coloring if you don't change your hair care and styling products.

3. Oily hair.

They have to be washed frequently. Such hair has a rather dull color, and when dyed only at the tips they become overdried. Therefore, their care includes not only shampoos for oily skin. But also hair care products.

    You can also highlight another type of hair - mixed . This type includes hair with oily roots and dry, split ends. After washing, they last 2-3 days, then closer to the skin they become greasy and dirty, while the tips still look clean. With improper care, selection of funds, the tips are severely split and destroyed. Perhaps this is the most common type of hair.

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