Hair Growth-Hair Follicle

HAIR

Any of the fine thread-like strands

growing from the skin of humans,
mammals, and some other animals.
Structure of Hair Follicle
 Hair Follicle is a dynamic region,
wherein division, differentiation
and migration of cells occurs in
various tissues of which it is
composed.
 Attached to follicle is the
‘Arrector Pilli Muscle’, one or
more ‘Sebaceous Glands’.
 The combination of follicle and
sebaceous gland is called
‘Pilosebacepus Unit’.
 The size of follicle depends on a
no. of factors i.e Region of body
and whether it is primary or
secondary and stage of hair cycle.
The Hair Follicle consists of several
cylindrical and concentric cell layers:
- Outer sheath layer
- Inner sheath layer( Henle, Huxle and IRS
Cuticle layer)
The mature hair contains atleast two cell types:
- Cuticle
- Medulla
-Cortex
 Functions of the hair shaft and
follicle Functions of the hair shaft
Decoration; social communication and camouflage Protection
against trauma and insect penetration Protect against electromagnetic
radiation
Provide a sensory “antennae” to feel the environment Insulation
against heat loss and heat gain Mechanism of cleansing skin surface
of squames, dirt, and
Parasites Mechanism of outward transport of environmental signals:
sebum, pheromones Functions of Psilosebaceous follicle
Produce and moor the shaft Provide epithelial and dermal reservoir
for normal renewal and reparative response Provide sensory
apparatus for detecting shaft movement Provide melanocyte
reservoir for shaft pigmentation and epidermal regimentation
Produce and release sebum for shaft processing and epidermal
surface protection Provide reservoir of Langerhans cells
Hair Growth Patterns
In Foetus, all hairs are Lango hairs
They begin to shed in utero from the face and head of
foetus between 7th and 8th month and are replaced by
new hairs growing from the same follicle.
The new hairs are mostly Vellus hairs, shed during the
first 4 months after birth, and then for the next 10 years
there are no gross changes.
 At puberty, secondary terminal hairs begin to appear.
Pubic hair- approx. equal in both sexes.
The transformation of some hair follicles at puberty to
produce terminal hair characteristic of their body site is
related to changes in ‘Androgen Hormone Levels’
Anagen phase
Anagen is the active growth phase of hair follicles during which the root of the hair is
dividing rapidly, adding to the hair shaft. During this phase the hair grows about 1 cm
every 28 days. Scalp hair stays in this active phase of growth for 2–7 years; this period
is genetically determined. At the end of the anagen phase an unknown signal causes the
follicle to go into the catagen phase.
Catagen phase
The catagen phase is a short transition stage that occurs at the end of the anagen
phase. It signals the end of the active growth of a hair. This phase lasts for about 2–3
weeks while the hair converts to a club hair. A club hair is formed during the catagen
phase when the part of the hair follicle in contact with the lower portion of the hair
becomes attached to the hair shaft. This process cuts the hair off from its blood supply
and from the cells that produce new hair. When a club hair is completely formed, about
a 2-week process, the hair follicle enters the telogen phase.
Telogen phase
The telogen phase is the resting phase of the hair follicle. When the body is subjected to
extreme stress, as much as 70 percent of hair can prematurely enter a phase of rest,
called the telogen phase. This hair begins to fall, causing a noticeable loss of hair. This
condition is called telogen effluvium.The club hair is the final product of a hair follicle
in the telogen stage, and is a dead, fully keratinized hair. Fifty to one-hundred club hair
are shed daily from a normal scalp.
Hair growth cycle times
 Scalp: The time these phases last varies from
person to person. Different hair color and follicle
shape affects the timings of these phases.
 Anagen phase, 2–8 years (occasionally much
longer)
 Catagen phase, 2–3 weeks
 Telogen phase, around 3 months
 Eyebrows etc.:
 Anagen phase, 4–7 months
 Catagen phase, 3–4 weeks
 Telogen phase, about 9 months
Diagrammatic Representation of
Hair Growth Cycle
 Recent studies
1- Influence of Body Mass
Index on Hair Ethyl
Glucuronide Concentrations
2- Terminal restriction fragment length
polymorphism profiling of bacterial flora derived
from single human hair shafts can discriminate
individuals
3- Deposition of diazepam and
its metabolites in hair
following a single dose of
diazepam
Thank
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