What happens to hair as it ages? (BioE80 Spr2015)
May 25, 2015 • 9:06 PM UTC
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kwelgan
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I wanted to investigate the question “what happens to hair as it ages?” I’ve noticed that the tips of my own hair look lighter in color and feel more brittle than the new hair at the top of my head. I wanted to see what observations I could make on a small scale to explain these broader observations. Besides the fact that it’s longer, does anything happen to our hair over time that makes us need to cut the old hair off?
I examined several of my own hairs, beginning by looking at the newest part of the hair, right near the root. The hair was thick, dark brown, smooth-looking, and not very translucent. There were some spots of the hair that were darker than others—these darker spots formed a streak-like pattern down the hair.
Next, I looked further down the hair to a slightly older segment. Here, I noticed that the hair was a lighter brown and allowed more light to pass through it. This picture shows the hair at a higher magnification than the last, but it was thinner than the newer hair segment. The streak-like spots were lighter and more rare, and I also noticed small tabs of fiber beginning to flake off from the main hair.
Finally, I examined the very tip of my hair. The end of the hair was very thin and split into two segments. The spit end was a very light, translucent color and appeared to have small dents in it, as if small pieces of the hair had flaked off and left indentations behind.
Overall, my observations led me to conclude that hair loses pigment over time, becoming lighter in color and more translucent. Hair also seems to lose mass over time as pieces flake away. The hair eventually spits in two, which leads me to suspect that the outer material that is lost is responsible for holding a bundle of thin, long fibers together to form a thick hair. As this material flakes away, the hair gets thinner. When this outer layer is no longer strong enough to hold the fibers together, the hair splits.
Post by Katie Welgan
Overall, my observations led me to conclude that hair loses pigment over time, becoming lighter in color and more translucent. Hair also seems to lose mass over time as pieces flake away. The hair eventually spits in two, which leads me to suspect that the outer material that is lost is responsible for holding a bundle of thin, long fibers together to form a thick hair. As this material flakes away, the hair gets thinner. When this outer layer is no longer strong enough to hold the fibers together, the hair splits.
Post by Katie Welgan
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