The Wide World of Human Hair

Hair, or the lack of it, is an important part of our overall physical appearance, and one of the first things that you might notice about it is that everyone’s is different. Whether it is in terms of shade, structure or shine, every head of hair boasts a range of distinctive characteristics. These characteristics aren’t unique by any means, but the sheer range of combinations possible allows for all of the variety seen amongst the people of the world.

Hair texture and structure

We all know that there are a variety of different types of hair ranging from straight to curly. What is less well known is that these differences are due to the natural structure of the hair shafts themselves, and that this varies according to racial background. Straight hair, such as that boasted by Asian people, is completely round, while the wavy hairs that are more common amongst Caucasians are slightly flatter. Very curly hairs such as those of people of African descent are flatter still.

Disulphide bonds

Hair is primarily composed of the protein keratin. Like all proteins, keratin has the ability to bond with other protein molecules, and even to itself, in a way that has a drastic effect on its structure. Sulphur atoms within keratin have the ability to bond to one another, creating disulphide bridges. These bonds are so strong that they bend the rest of the molecule, causing the hair itself to change shape, becoming curlier and rougher. Many of the changes in the shape of our hair is due to these bonds forming or being broken. A “bad hair day” is the result of humidity interacting with these chemical bonds, while certain kinds of hair style such as the perm or “permanent curl” - require the stylist to chemically alter the structure of our hair in order to disrupt and reform disulphide bridges that will help hold the desired look. But try as we might, because the natural shape of our hair is genetically coded, permanently changing the structure of a hair strand will not have any effect whatsoever on new hairs that grow out from the follicles.

Doesn’t matter if you’re black or white

Given the obvious differences between racial hair types, it might seem likely that people of different backgrounds will require different kinds of hair loss treatment, but nothing could be further from the truth. Although certain triggers for hair loss are more common in some ethnicities than others, the same hormonal and environmental factors can cause hair loss in everyone, irrespective of race, and it is these factors that our specialists are trained to address. At The Belgravia Centre, we can provide hair loss treatments for people of all races regardless of the effect your genes might have on the structure of your hair.

So don’t surrender to hair loss without investigating the possibility of treatment. Contact us today on 0800 077 6666 or contact us online to book a no-obligation appointment. Alternatively, fill out our online diagnostic form to have your symptoms assessed remotely by one of our experts.

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