My hair
About a hundred thousand hairs cover the top of my head. I can pull out
a hair and a new one will grow to take its place. The hair grows and is
cut and grows some more. Where does all that hair come from?
Each hair grows out of a tiny hole in my skin. At the bottom of each
hole are tiny veins and arteries. They bring blood to the root of the
hair. The hair takes food and oxygen from the blood. This makes the hair
grow.
Around each hair is a little pocket of oil. The oil makes my hair shine.
Each tiny hole has a muscle, too. If I’m scared I may say that my hair
stands on end. It doesn’t—it just feels that way! What I’m feeling are
the tiny muscles moving the skin on the top of my head.
Some hair is straight. Some is curly. A straight hair is like a round
toothpick. A curly hair is round, but it has little flat places in it. I
can feel this by rolling a straight hair and a curly hair between my
fingers. The straight hair rolls smoothly, but the curly hair feels more
rough between my fingers.
Some hair doesn’t grow long. Eyelashes and eyebrows never grow very
much. But the hair on my head can grow as much as six inches (15
centimeters) a year.
Mike’s hair is red.
Black hair covers Zuki’s head.
Jane’s hair is brown.
Blond hair grows on Peter’s crown.
