Hair Structure and Hair Anatomy: 4 Cool Facts You Didn't Know

Hair structure and hair anatomy are what you need to understand to be able to take care of your hair perfectly. Want shiny and smooth hair in the exact shade you want it? Learn about hair and you'll be managing it like an expert!

1. Healthy cuticles mean shiny, silky hair. Here's the lowdown on that vital layer in your hair structure: The cuticles in your hair draw the line between great hair and dull hair, between hair that is unhealthy and hair that is at the peak of health.

A cuticle is made up of six to eight layers of flattened overlapping cells that are "sealed in" by an invisible water-resistant lipid layer. Each of your hair strands is wrapped in a cuticle. The outermost lipid layer of the cuticle--scientists call this the F-layer--acts as a natural conditioner, keeping your hair smooth, shiny, and silky. It reflects light and limits friction between the hair shafts, giving you fantastic hair.

Unhealthy cuticles--damaged from chemical processes such as coloring, perming, and rebonding or excessive heat from hair irons and blow dryers--don't have an F-layer. This would mean that your hair needs extra support to be able to do what it was meant to do.

So how do you make sure your hair structure--specifically your cuticles--stay healthy? Use the right products. Pantene Pro-V Advanced Care shampoos, conditioners, and treatments are specially formulated for color treated and/or damaged hair and can restore a great deal of your hair’s natural softness, luster and manageability.

2. The cortex (the thickest layer in your hair anatomy) is stronger than steel if you match them by weight. That's great news for your healthy hair, since the cortex is responsible for just about all of the defining properties of your hair anatomy, including strength, elasticity, shape, moisture content, and color.

The cortex in your hair structure is so strong that it can be stretched to almost 30 percent of its length before it breaks. The chemical processes that could damage the cuticle can also damage the cortex, removing its ability to retain moisture. Therefore, damaged cortex means a dry, unhealthy hair.

3. There are two types of melanin in your hair anatomy that dictate what color your hair will be. We're talking natural hair color here.

Most Filipinos' hair type have eumelanin, which accounts for black and dark brown hair colors. Elsewhere around the world, redheads' hair contain Phaeomelanin. Blondes and everyone in between have a mixture of these two hair pigments. Certainly, pigmentation plays an important role in your hair structure.

4. Natural hair pigment, just like ink, fades over time. That's why most older people's hair go gray. As time passes, the cells in your hair that produce your unique color of melanin (pigment) produce less and less of it. In other words, pigment cell renewal in your hair fizzles out as you age. Hair experts describe this phenomenon with this: by age 50, 50 percent of people have 50 percent gray hair.

The good news is that the market is filled with outstanding coloring products you can use to keep your hair shiny, smooth, and in the exact shade you want it. Don't go gray if you don't want to.

Now that you know four cool facts about your hair anatomy and hair structure, remember: keep chemical treatments for your hair at a minimum to let your cuticles stay healthy; air dry instead of blow dry; and use products that have been proven to take care of your hair. Try Pantene Pro-V Nature Care shampoo and conditioner. These are designed to revitalize your strands and lock moisture in your hair. Go on, your hair deserves some TLC!