The nature of cuticular "ruffles" on slowly plucked anagen hair roots.
When an anagen hair is slowly plucked, the root's surface near the distal end of the keratogenous zone shows rings of 'ruffles' which are cuticular scales rolled back towards the root tip in a tight curl. During extraction, the rachet-like cuticle of the inner root sheath tears apart the almost differentiated cuticular scales on the root's cortex. Further extraction rolls up the cuticle because of the friction with the inner root sheath cuticle and because the torn intercellular cement reconstitutes so that the ruffle's curl is stabilized by cohesion (self-gluing). No evidence was found for pretensioning in the root's cuticle as an explanation for the curling.
Chapman
D M
DM
Department of Biology, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.
D006197:Hair / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D018859:Hair Follicle / Q000293:injuries* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006204:Hair Removal; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008875:Middle Aged; D012535:Scalp; D013909:Thorax