Cuticle (hair)

The hair cuticle is the outermost part of the hair shaft. It is a hard shingle-like layer of overlapping cells, some five to twelve deep. It is formed from dead cells which form scales that gives the hair shaft strength and do the best job of providing protection for it. The hair cuticle is the first line of defense against all forms of damage; it acts as a protective barrier for the softer inner structure including the medulla and cortex. The cuticle is responsible for much of the mechanical strength of the hair fiber. A healthy cuticle is more than just a protective layer, as the cuticle also represents the structure that controls the water content of the fiber. Much of the shine that makes healthy hair so attractive is due to the cuticle. The hair cuticle is also said to be water resistant.

Cuticles are often damaged by excessive mechanical manipulation such as brushing, using heat (like using curling irons) or chemical processing (like perms or texturizers). Everyday elements, such as the sun or wind can cause wear and tear on hair and damage the hair cuticles as well. Although the cuticle is the outermost layer of the hair, it does not give the hair its color because it has no melanin, which is the pigment responsible; the color of a person's hair depends on what type of melanin they have, which is found in the cortex. Also cuticle cells may be elongate, acuminate (gradually tapering to a point), ovate (egg shaped), or flattened.

Hairé

Hairé is a rural commune in the Cercle of Douentza of the Mopti Region of Mali. The commune contains around 32 villages and in the 2009 census had a population of 29,741. The main village (chef-lieu) is Boni.

References

Hair (disambiguation)

Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles in the skin.

Hair may also refer to:

People

Biology

Art, entertainment and media

Music

Musical

Television

Other uses

Hair (Lady Gaga song)

"Hair" is a song recorded by American singer Lady Gaga for her second studio album, Born This Way (2011). Written and produced by Gaga and RedOne, "Hair" was released worldwide digitally on May 16, 2011, as a promotional single from the album, as part of the iTunes Store's "Countdown to Born This Way" release. This was after the previous promotional release, "The Edge of Glory", was made the third single from the album. Nevertheless, Gaga explained that "Hair" was not planned to be a single, but may be released as one if it sells well at the iTunes Store, like "The Edge of Glory".

According to Lady Gaga, the melody of "Hair" resembles the work of metal bands Kiss and Iron Maiden, and is also influenced by Bruce Springsteen. The song is an uptempo club record inspired by Gaga's experience as a teenager, when her parents forced her to dress in a certain way. Gaga found that the only way to express herself was through her hair, and she described it as a song about liberation and her ability to change her ways. The lyrics talk about embracing one's hairstyle as their ultimate expression of freedom. "Hair" was recorded while Gaga was on tour with The Monster Ball throughout Europe. The song features a saxophone solo performed by saxophonist Clarence Clemons, a prominent member of The E Street Band. She personally wanted Clemons to play saxophone on the song, which he did by recording his part at a Manhattan studio at midnight, after he had just flown there from his home in Florida.

Cuticle

A cuticle /ˈkjuːtɪkəl/, or cuticula, is a term used for any of a variety of tough but flexible, non-mineral outer coverings of an organism, or parts of an organism, that provide protection. Various types of "cuticle" are non-homologous, differing in their origin, structure, function, and chemical composition.

Human anatomy

In human anatomy, cuticle (sometimes confused with eponychium) refers to several structures. It refers to the layers of epidermal cells or keratinocytes that produce the horn protein keratin, and also to the superficial layer of overlapping cells covering the hair shaft (cuticula pili) that locks the hair into its follicle (See also Cuticle (hair)).

Invertebrate zoology

In zoology, the invertebrate cuticle or cuticula is a multi-layered structure outside the epidermis of many invertebrates, notably roundworms and arthropods, in which it forms an exoskeleton (see arthropod exoskeleton).

The main structural components of the nematode cuticle are proteins, highly cross-linked collagens and specialised insoluble proteins known as "cuticlins", together with glycoproteins and lipids.

Arthropod cuticle

The cuticle forms the major part of the integument of the Arthropoda. It includes most of the material of the exoskeleton of the insects, Crustacea, Arachnida, and Myriapoda.

Morphology

In arthropods, the integument, the external "skin", or "shell", is the product of a single layer of ectodermal epithelium. That layer is attached to the external or distal surface of the deepest layer, the non-cellular internal membrane of the integument. That non-cellular membrane is called the basement membrane. The layer of epithelium on the basement membrane produces the cuticle, which begins as a tough, flexible layer of chitin. Such thin, flexible chitin is the major structural part of the integument where flexibility is necessary, such as in bodily parts that must stretch to contain accumulated liquids, or that form joints between rigid parts of the exoskeleton. In other parts of the cuticle the function of the integument demands more rigid materials, such as armoured regions or the biting parts of the jaws, or where the exoskeleton forms the tubular limbs of most Arthropoda. To achieve such rigidity the outer chitin layer of the cuticle is impregnated, thickened, and reinforced with harder, more brittle materials such as sclerotinised proteins or calcite. This main chitinous layer of the cuticle is called the procuticle.

Cuticle (disambiguation)

Cuticle, or cuticula (Latin for "covering"), may refer to: