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Article: Hair 101 : Understanding the architecture of a hair shaft can help in formulating treatment products.
- Article from:
- Global Cosmetic Industry
- Article date:
- September 1, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 Advanstar Communications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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COSMETICS CAN be defined as "products for the treatment of dead body parts," since neither the stratum corneum nor hair shafts are vibrant with life. Of the two, hair is the least vital, since a haircut prompts neither pain nor blood flow. The skin keeps the rest of the body from oozing out, but hair is little more than decoration. Despite its superficial importance, hair treatment products generated $26 billion in worldwide sales in 2000, so making lifeless protein attractive has very real rewards.
The basic building block of hair, responsible for 91 percent of its dry weight, is keratin. This protein is a biopolymer built of amino acid units. Wool, horns, ...