Hair is a filamentous outgrowth of dead cells from the skin, found only in mammals. Although many other life forms, especially insects, show filamentous outgrowths, these are not considered "hair" regarding the accepted meaning of the term.
The primary component of hair fiber is keratin. Keratins are proteins, long chains (polymers) of amino acids. Keratin proteins form the cytoskeleton (miniature skeleton within a cell) of all epidermal cells. Keratin filaments run within a cell from the inside of the outer membrane to weave a "basket" around the nucleus of the cell. Keratins are a principle part of the cells in the epidermis, hair, nails, feathers, hooves, horny tissues and the enamel of teeth.
The most noticeable part of human hair is the hair on the head, which can grow longer than on most mammals and is denser than most hair found elsewhere on the body. The average human head has about 100,000 hair follicles
Each follicle can grow about 20 individual hairs in a person's lifetime. Average hair loss is about 100 strands a day.
Humans have three different types of hair:
Lanugo, the fine hair that covers nearly the entire body of fetuses
Vellus hair, the short, fine, "peach fuzz" body hair that grows in most places on the human body in both sexes
Terminal hair, the fully developed hair, which is generally longer, coarser, thicker, and darker than vellus hair
Different parts of the human body feature different types of hair. From childhood onward, vellus hair covers the entire human body regardless of sex or race except in the following locations: the lips, the nipples, the palms of hands, the soles of feet, certain external genital areas, the navel and scar tissue. The density of the hairs (in hair follicles per square centimeter) varies from one person to another.
The rising level of male hormones (androgens) during puberty causes a transformation process of vellus hair into terminal hair on several parts of the male body. The hair follicles respond to androgens, primarily testosterone and its derivatives; the hair in these locations can be thus termed androgenic hair. The rate of hair growth and the weight of the hairs increase. However, different areas respond with different sensitivities. As testosterone level increases, the sequence of appearance of androgenic hair reflects the gradations of androgen sensitivity. The pubic area is most sensitive, and heavier hair usually grows there first in response to androgens.
Areas on the human body that develop terminal hair growth due to rising androgens in both sexes, men and women, are the underarms and the pubic area. In contrast, normally only men grow androgenic hair in other areas. There is a sexual dimorphism in the amount and distribution of androgenic hair, with males having more terminal hair (particularly facial hair, chest hair, abdominal hair and hair on legs and arms) and females having more vellus hair, which is less visible. The genetic disposition determines the sex-dependent and individual rising of androgens and therefore the development of androgenic hair.
Hair texture is measured by the degree of which one's hair is either fine or coarse, which in turn varies according to the diameter of each individual hair. There are usually four major types of hair texture: fine, medium, coarse and wiry. Within the four texture ranges hair can also be thin, medium or thick density and it can be straight, curly, wavy or kinky
Older people tend to develop grey hair because the pigment in the hair is lost and the hair becomes colourless. Grey hair is considered to be a characteristic of normal aging. The age at which this occurs varies from person to person, but in general nearly everyone 75 years or older has grey hair, and in general men tend to become grey at younger ages than women.
Adapted from Wikipedia
