More than just dead matter, hair is an archive of your body’s secrets
Deeply personal yet subject to public scrutiny, the cabello It is situated on the border between biology and identity. Few attributes are as linked to culture, beauty and expression as the strands that frame our faces and dot our skin.
you have some 100,000 hair follicles on the scalp and many more all over the body, he said File Maximums, cell biologist at the University of California, Irvine.
Each one of them is like a 3D printer, he said, housing a tuft of for the growing and the pigment that gives it color.
These locks are mainly made of keratina protein resistant that is also found in the nails.
But they are much more than dead matter; he for the It is a marvel of biology, which serves as a sensor for your brain and an archive of your body’s secrets.
We asked the experts what everyone should know about hair.
Hair protects you
Inside your hair follicles is a microbial zoo, filled with bacteria, viruses and fungi, he said. Ralf Paus, dermatologist at the University of Miami.
Even if you have heard of gut microbiomeyou also have a hair microbiomewhich displaces harmful germs, reducing the risk of infections.
Microbes inside hair follicles can even help hair grow y improve your colorsaid Paus.
When you get scrapes, cuts, or other minor injuries, the for the also helps heal these wounds.
Specifically, your body mobilizes stem cells from inside the hair follicles to migrate to the wound and transform into new skin cells, he said. Plikus.
“When the wound heals, the stem cells return to their daily job of growing the for the”he added.
It’s an antenna
Your hair follicles are like motion detectors for your brain, wrapped in nerve endings that fire at the slightest touch or breeze, he said. Angela Christiano, molecular geneticist who studies hair disorders in Columbia.
For example, if an insect approaches your eyes, your eyelashes sense it and reflexively blink.
The hairs on the skin have nerves that feed the emotional centers of the brain, so a gentle caress or someone stroking your hair can be pleasant.
Why does tweezing or waxing hurt?
On the contrary, tweezing or waxing your eyebrows is quite painful, since you are pulling out the for the of the follicle, while a shave is only slightly felt, since the for the It is cut above the surface of the skin.
Perhaps surprisingly, hair follicles also contain bitter taste and odor receptors that appear to influence hair growth, he said Paus.
The first data suggest that certain fragrances appear to stimulate hair growth old manwhile others could inhibit it, although more research is needed.
Hair follicles also recognize time. They have an internal clock, like the of the brainwhich helps the for the grow, stop, rest and fall in a repeating cycle, he said Luis Garza, dermatologist at Johns Hopkins Medicine.
This is probably the reason why old man tends to grow faster in the morning than in the afternoon (and that’s why there’s hardly any difference between shaving at night or the next day).
In the future, experts believe that a few samples of for the could be all it takes to control certain sleep disorderssince the clock genes inside the follicles are synchronized with your body’s 24-hour clock.
Signals when something is wrong
He for the It is the second fastest growing tissue in the body. (Bone marrow is the first). It can serve as an unofficial record of your health, he said. Antonella Tosti, dermatologist at the University of Miami.
In fact, one centimeter of for the captures approximately one month of biological data, so doctors can analyze hair to detect drug use, poisoning, chronic stress and even medication adherence.
“Hair follicles are basically like little kidneys,” he said. Paus. “These hair follicles suck in toxic compounds and deposit them in your dead hair shaft.”
However, maintaining this rate of growth requires a lot of energy. That’s why, rapid hair loss It is usually a sign of illness or stress, he said. Christian.
Nutrient deficiencies, thyroid dysfunction and high fevers can cause a sudden drop in cabelloas well as sudden weight loss, childbirth, and major surgery.
“When it happens, it can be very distressing for patients,” he added, but the for the It usually grows back within three to six months.
Some experts believe that when the body is sick or stressed, it shuts down less essential processes, such as growth and maintenance. cabelloto redirect nutrients and energy to other parts of the body.
We lose up to 100 strands of hair daily
Even so, it is inevitable that some for the: we lost between 50 and 100 strands a day.
He for the usually starts like a peach fuzz when you’re young, he said Plikusbecoming longer, darker and thicker as you grow older and then becoming wiry, unruly and whiter with old age.
“We take it for granted because we see it every day, but scientifically, the for the “It is amazing, a true marvel of nature’s engineering,” he added.