Hair and its aging: interesting facts from trichologists
All peoples decorated their hair and modeled it. It served as an expression of their status or social belonging. Nothing has changed in a couple of thousand years: gorgeous and long hair remains desirable for each of us, baldness is still feared, and gray hair, which in the Middle Ages, now spoils our mood and drives some into depression, informs Ukr.Media.
The nature of the hair follicle holds many mysteries. Just half a century ago, no one knew that stem cells were stored there. And now it is not so easy for a criminal to cover his tracks: gloves or careful removal of his fingerprints from the crime scene will not save him, forensic scientists learn a lot about him through his hair.
If you read a few scientific papers in the field of trichology at your leisure, you can learn so much about hair in just half an hour that you start to love and appreciate it more than before. But more on that later, today we will touch on the topic of hair aging.
For the curious, we have collected some interesting facts from the scientific works of trichologists who examine the patterns of hair follicle aging.
Hair follicle can become a source of new organs
Have you heard of the structural protein Nestin? It's found in adult stem cells. And Robert Hoffman, a professor of biology at the University of California, in one of his studies, found that nestin is highly concentrated in human hair follicles.
The nestin protein is very interesting: it can be differentiated in the laboratory into keratinocytes (the main cells of our outer layer of skin), neurons, smooth muscle cells, glial cells (they are in our nervous system), and melanocytes. The abilities of this protein can help in the formation of adult stem cells. Then not only will they learn to stop hair aging, but they will also start creating new organs from hair follicle stem cells. This is very cool!
The hair follicle and hair shaft age
Moreover, hair shaft aging occurs only under the influence of external factors: photoaging (ultraviolet + smoking) and atmospheric conditions. There are no other reasons for hair shaft aging.
The hair follicle undergoes internal (physiological) aging. There are many reasons for this: from genetics to free radicals. The most interesting and most difficult for doctors and scientists to understand is the cause of hair aging – a multimorbid condition in old age (this is when a person has several diseases, but their causes are not related to each other). In old age, the hair follicle is attacked by several troubles at once: taking medications, endocrine system disorders, nutritional deficiencies, psychological disorders and dermatoses. This whole “bouquet of problems” suggests that the genetics of good hair is a weak guarantee that a person will not go bald at 50-60 years old or, for example, will not turn gray at 30 years old.
Six beneficial ingredients will prolong the youth of your hair
As is life in general. (Maybe.) The thing is, there is one theory of aging in which the main role is given to telomeres – these are the end sections of chromosomes. Over time, the length of telomeres shortens and we age. To turn back time, you need to preserve or lengthen telomeres.
The theory is very serious, it's too long to write. Whether or not the constant length of telomeres will make us immortal is not yet known. But one thing is known for sure: shortening of telomere length provokes hair aging.
The following useful components have a beneficial effect on the length of telomeres: vitamins B12, D, E and K, as well as omega-3 and zinc. You can find out for yourself which products contain them. The strongest of these six is vitamin D. So love sunbathing. And hair care products with B12 and E should be bought without thinking. And the higher their concentration (this is easy to determine if they are no further than fifth on the list in the composition), the better. For your hair.
After birth, a person does not develop new hair follicles on their head throughout their life.
They are formed only during the development of the embryo. And there can be from two to five million of them. But this does not mean that absolutely all follicles will give dense pigmented hair. With age, the diameter of the hair shaft decreases, the phase of active hair growth is shortened, this is very clearly manifested in men.
Melanocytes are responsible for hair color.
Which have their own internal biological clock. After reaching the age of 30, every 10 years they become smaller by 10-20%.
The process of graying is inherited
It is genetically controlled. Unfortunately, we cannot “rewrite the code” for melanocytes during our lifetime. The main thing is to understand, accept and not worry.
Gray hair first affects the temples, and lastly the back of the head.
From the temporal zone to the crown, from the top to everything else except the back of the head. The back of the head is the dessert in the sitting position. The gray hair spreads in waves.
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