Page 54 - Cosmetology

Increased body hair on women following the male pattern can be referred to as hirsutism.
An excessive and abnormal hair growth on the body of males and females is defined as
hypertrichosis. Considering an individual occurrence of body hair as abnormal does not
implicitly depend on medical indications but also on cultural and social attitudes.

Individual hairs alternate periods of growth and dormancy. During the growth portion of

the cycle, hair follicles are long and bulbous, and the hair advances outward at about a
third of a millimeter per day. After three to six months, body hair growth stops (the pubic
and armpit areas having the longest growth period). The follicle shrinks and the root of
the hair grows rigid. Following a period of dormancy, another growth cycle starts, and

eventually a new hair pushes the old one out of the follicle from beneath. Head hair, by
comparison, grows for a long duration and to a great length before being shed. The rate of
growth is approximately 1.25 centimeters, or about 0.5 inches, per month.

Texture

A person with extremely curly hair

Hair texture is measured by the degree of which one's hair is either fine or coarse, which

in turn varies according to the diameter of each individual hair. There are usually four
major types of hair texture: fine, medium, coarse and wiry. Within the four texture ranges
hair can also be thin, medium or thick density and it can be straight, curly, wavy or kinky.
Hair conditioner will also alter the ultimate equation and can be healthy, normal, oily,
dry, damaged or a combination. Also, an expert hairdresser can change the hair texture

with the use of special chemicals.