Characterization of Curved Hair of Japanese Women with Reference to Internal Structures and Amino Acid Composition

    July 2009 in “ International Journal of Cosmetic Science ”
    Shinobu Nagase, Masaru Tsuchiya, T. Matsui, Satoshi Shibuichi, Hiroji Tsujimura, Yoshinori Masukawa, Naoki Satoh, Takashi Itou, Kenichi Koike, Kaoru Tsujii
    TLDR Japanese women's curved hair has an uneven internal structure and varied amino acid composition.
    The study quantitatively investigated hair curvature in 230 Japanese women aged 10 to 70 years, finding that 53% had straight hair and 47% had curved hair, with curl radii ranging from 0.6 to 16 cm. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed an inhomogeneous internal structure in curved hair, with differences in amino acid composition between the outer and inner regions. These findings were similar to the differences observed between ortho- and paracortical cells in wool fibers, suggesting a universal structure for curved mammalian hair.
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