Hair plays an important role in the appearance of men and women alike. Hair follicles are formed by week 22 of a developing foetus. Even at this stage of life there are about 5 million hair follicles on the body of which 1 million are found on the head. Present on the scalp however, are 100 thousand individual hair follicles. Since hair follicle production does not take place after birth, this will be the maximum amount one would ever contain. Thus hair has become a valued commodity resulting in it being used for aesthetic pleasure. In spite of hair being viewed as purely aesthetic, hair actually has a significant functional purpose. Hairs found in the nose, ears and around the eyes serve as a protective barrier from potentially harmful foreign micro-organisms as well as toxic substances. Eyebrow hair decreases the amount of light reflected into one’s eyes, protecting it. Moreover, hair also is used to soften the blows of falling objects acting as a form of padding. (World book–Childcraft International, Inc. 1982) Structurally, …show more content…
They found that this chemical builds up on the hair shaft, just above the bulb of the hair follicle and sits there until broken down. After melanin is produced, it is ordinarily excreted out the melanocyte into the medulla of the hair follicle. Before entering the medulla, the melanin is bleached by the hydrogen peroxide solution present in the follicle. All follicles contain small quantities of hydrogen peroxide so when the bleaching occurs it is barely evident to the naked eye. However if there is a build-up of hydrogen peroxide, the bleaching will be more vigorous and one may notice significant changes to the hair colour. This results in a loss of pigmentation in the hair follicle as the bleached melanin will still enter the medulla however giving off a monochromatic, dull