All About Hair and Nails
The skin is our largest organ, and our hair and nails are simply another form of skin. It protects our entire bodies, and so skin care is extremely important. Our eyelids have the thinnest skin, the soles of our feet the thickest. Nail care and your hair care is an extremely important part of your health.
Untangling the Facts About Hair
Hair is actually a modified type of skin. Hair grows more quickly in summer than winter, and more slowly at night than during the day. Each strand of hair grows from a follicle rooted in your skin's subcutaneous tissue. At the bottom of each hair follicle lies a structure called the papilla (puh-PIL-uh), which is nourished by tiny blood vessels. On top of this structure is the root (hair bulb); this is where your hair starts to grow.
Cells in the hair and nails divide faster than any other cells in your body. Newly formed hair cells make their way up the follicle as newer cells form behind them. As they become further removed from their source of nourishment, the cells dry out, harden and die. The dead, hardened keratin cells protruding from your skin's surface are called the hair shaft.
Nails and Their Role
Like hair, nails are a type of modified skin (it is all made of keratin)- and they're not just for beauty. Each nail grows forward from a root (matrix) that lies beneath the skin-nail fold. Nails protect the sensitive tips of our fingers and toes.
Human nails aren't necessary for living, but they do provide support for the tips of the fingers and toes, protecting them from injury. Hair and nails are also some of our most attractive features… so keep them healthy! Hair and nails should be cared for routinely, and of course a bath and body shop will have all of the special items you need to do so.
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