A to Z of hair beauty Hair is the crown of a woman's beauty. The general condition and style of hair are a vital part of her charm. Right style makes women more attractive and makes people notice and admire them. Your hair is very delicate. So to give it regular care and attention you should know more about hair.

Hair is made of keratin, a protein substance, growing out of a pore opening in the scalp. This pocket or opening is called follicle. The base of the follicle is called the papilla, from where the growth of hair begins. Hair itself is a dead substance, but the papilla is alive. It produces and nourishes new hair.

The shape of hair follicles determines the hair type. Round follicles give out straight hair, while flatter, oval shaped follicles give out curly hair. Children's curly hair become straighter later on because scalps and follicles expand with the years and so the follicles become rounder in shape.

If you pull out a hair from its root, a new hair takes its place.

Hair gets its colour from the papilla. The pigment cells in it transfer the colouring matter to hair.

Grey hair is usually a mixture of white or colourless hair with dark hair. When pigment cells stop passing the colouring matter, light passes through the cortex cells which are transparent. It is this reflected light which makes the hair appear white. Otherwise hair does not have any white pigment. Usually hair colour is inherited.

Hair is made up of three layers, of which the outer layer is called a cuticle. A cuticle is made up of tiny transparent scales which protect the hair and hold the oil which keeps the hair shining. Your hair will have a smooth, shiny and healthy look like the girl's in advertisements¬of shampoo, only if the scales lie flat. Back combing ruffles up the scales and makes them porous. So hair starts looking rough and does not reflect light. The result is dull hair with splits and breaks. Heat; sun, bleaches, perms and straighteners also lift and disturb cuticle scales.

So in order to have shiny hair, the cuticle layer should be kept strong and smooth. Gentle brushing helps to smooth down the scales and lubricates hair.

You should avoid too much of 'back combing, scratchy combs and spiky rollers. A gentle massage and a really good shampoo also help in keeping the cuticle scales in good shape.

The middle layer or cortex contains colouring pigment. Bleaches, colourants and perms work on this layer only. So perming lotions lift the scales.

The inner layer or medulla consists of spongy, cellular tissues and might be missing in fine hair. This layer remains unaffected from most hair products.

Sebaceous glands, which are near the top of each hair, follicle, produce natural oil called sebum. If these glands are overactive, greasy hair is the result, whereas a glandular deficiency causes dry hair.

You have roughly 1,000 hair on each square inch of scalp. That means nearly 85,000 to 1,55,000 hair is covering your entire scalp. So losing 50 to 60 hair each day is quite normal. The life span of each hair is about four to five years. But lost hair is quickly replaced by fresh hair, unless there is some deficiency.