Is Hair Part of Skin? By Monica C. At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Whoever said that hair is just something that you flip when the sun is beating down mercilessly has never truly looked at the anatomy of the hair and skin.

Complexity Means Uniqueness

The hair is unique: it’s formed similarly to skin, but it is definitely not like skin and is formed separately from the skin. With this in mind, it would be interesting if we were to study the hair and skin from the microscopic point of view.

When we look at the skin and the hair from a magnified point of view, we’ll realize that the hair is actually some sort of skin product. The hair forms, grows and extend upward, away from the membrane to which it is attached. Medical science makes use of the term “dermal appendage”.

However, make no mistake about it: the hair is not the only appendage on the largest organ in the body. There are sebaceous glands and sweat glands, too. These small organic factories maintain the skin and keep hair supple and moist. Without these glands, hair would become brittle and you will never be able to grow your hair long and luxuriant.

Some Parts of the Skin

To know your skin more, here’s a short breakdown of the basic parts of the human skin. Acquaint yourselves with them, as they would be sticking with you until old age. The largest organ in the human body nearly never quits.

The outermost part of the skin, which receives the most sun damage, is the epidermis. The epidermis is the tough outer layer of the skin that experiences small tears on a daily basis. This layer is also composed of non-living dermal tissues that are continually being shed on a daily basis.

The second layer of the skin is the dermis. The dermis is the part of the skin you see when you cut yourself with the corner of a paper folder. This layer is about three millimeters thick, and is already vascular in nature. This simply means that it has capillaries running through its entirety. This is why you bleed when you have a relatively deep cut already.

The final layer before you hit the human muscle is the fat and other connective tissues. When surgeons make an incision, this is what usually confronts any spectator. The smooth, seemingly clear sheet of white before the muscles.

Where’s the Hair?

The bulbs or hair follicles actually traverse three different skin layers: the epidermis, dermis and subcutaneous fat. The follicles can be found on the upper region of the fat. Which would explain why it’s painful to remove a healthy strand of hair before it’s ready to really fall out.

As we’ve mentioned earlier, several glands exist to regulate this whole system of dermal layers. Oil glands or sebaceous glands make sure that moisture is trapped, while sweat glands alternately cools and warms the skin. Without these glands, the human body would not be able to survive at all. On these small glands, we are dependent for body heat maintenance.

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