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Hair Roots - What are the benefits of Hair Root cell color?
Before we go any further, let's return to the follicles, which contain the bulb-shaped roots of your hairs. These are nourished by tiny capillaries that carry minerals, proteins, vitamins, fats and carbohydrates. It is here, at the root, that newly dividing cells force older cells upward, where they die and harden into the hair shaft (the hair shaft is the visible part of the hair. It is a synonym of hair strand, the individual hairs that grace most of our heads).
The hair shaft has three layers: the cuticle, the cortex and the medulla. If you look closely at the cuticle under a microscopic, you'll see that it is made up of layers of colorless, tightly overlapping tiles, much like a tile roof. The cuticle is the strongest part of the hair fiber and protects the fragile inner cortex. The cortex is comprised of a hard protein called keratin. It is also the place where melanin - your hair's natural pigment - is located. The medulla - which for an unexplainable reason some people's hair happens not to have - does not extend all the way to the hair's tip. Though the medulla contains a small amount of pigment, it is essentially colorless; it does, however, help reflect the light that travels through the translucent cuticle and cortex.
Depending on your hair's natural color, it contains one or two different types of melanin: eumalin is the most common and is responsible for darker hair shades, including chestnut, coffee and black, while phaeomelanin contributes to light and reddish tones such as blonde, caramel, ginger and auburn.
A complex system in your skin works to produce, maintain and replace your body's hair.
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