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Biology of Hair

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Ethnic Skin and Hair and Other Cultural Considerations

Part of the book series: Updates in Clinical Dermatology ((UCD))

Abstract

Hair, a shared feature of all mammals, plays an important role in environmental protection, sensory enhancement, temperature regulation, and debris removal. Human hair has been historically classified into three ethnic subgroups: Asian, African, and Caucasian. While these groupings are grossly unscientific and fail to recognize the complex phenotypic diversity of hair, they continue to persist in scientific literature due to ease of reader comprehension and challenges classifying hair. This chapter explores the anatomy of hair, hair follicle immune privilege, the hair cycle, hair pigmentation, the science of hair curl, and alternative ways to classify hair beyond ethnicity.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA

    Jessica Dawson

  2. Tulane Medical Center, Tulane University, Department of Dermatology, New Orleans, LA, USA

    Andrea T. Murina

Authors
  1. Jessica Dawson
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  2. Andrea T. Murina
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jessica Dawson .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermatology, Howard University Hospital, Washington, DC, USA

    Becky S. Li

  2. Department of Dermatology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Howard I. Maibach

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Dawson, J., Murina, A.T. (2021). Biology of Hair. In: Li, B.S., Maibach, H.I. (eds) Ethnic Skin and Hair and Other Cultural Considerations. Updates in Clinical Dermatology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64830-5_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64830-5_3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-64829-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-64830-5

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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