What is hair made of?

Before anything, I think it is important for you to know what your hair is made of, knowledge about your hair is the best thing to start out with if you are thinking about taking care of your hair.

We may have different hair textures or hair color, but one thing is for sure, and that is that all human hair consist the same materials, and these are

• A protein called keratin
• Oils for texture
• A pigment called melanin

Keratin

Your hair main ingredient is Keratin, it’s a strong protein that is made up of amino acids and cysteine disulfide. Cysteine disulfide is what makes sulfur atoms form a firm structure that’s called disulfide bridges, it’s the presence of sulfur bridges in hair that determines whether the hair will be straight or curly. Keratin is a protein that is found in your fingernails, toenails and skin.

Natural oil

Sebum is an oily, waxy substance that is produced by sebaceous glands that are mainly located in the dermis where there is also hair. Sebum is a natural oil that your skin produces, its main function is to protect your hair and skin from moisture loss.

Melanin

Did you know that your hair is actually white, it’s because of a pigment called melanin that your hair get its color? Our hair has 2 types of pigments, dark {eumelanin} and light {phaeomelanin}, it’s a mixture of these two together that determines your hair color. That’ s why your hair turns white when you get older because your melanin starts to reduce.