Human hair

Peruvian bag
MFA# 31.709

Description

Egyptian wig
MFA# 21.930

Hair primarily grown from the scalp of humans (Homo sapiens). Human hair is a cylindrical tube composed mostly of Keratin. The shaft is covered with thin, flat scales and the central core often contains pigments of red, black, or brown. Commercially, human hair has often been used for wigmaking. A small amount of long, black, human hair has also been used for brushmaking.

Physical and Chemical Properties

Growth rate = 1 cm/month

Human hair is strong (a single strand can hold 100g)

Additional Images

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  Human hair

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  Caucasoid Head hair at 200x

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  Caucasoid Head hair at 500x

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  Mongoloid Head hair at 500x

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  Negroid Head hair at 500x

Resources and Citations

• Encyclopedia Britannica, http://www.britannica.com Comment: hair" [Accessed October 16, 2003].

• Zora Sweet Pinney, 'A Handle on the Terms used for Artists' Brushes', unpublished glossary, 1999

• Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hair (Accessed Nov. 9, 2005)

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998