Structural Analysis of Human Hair Single Fibers by Scanning Microbeam SAXS

    May 2006 in “ Journal of Structural Biology ”
    Yoshio Kajiura, Shun‐ichi Watanabe, Takashi Itou, Kōichi Nakamura, Atsuo Iida, Katsuaki Inoue, Naoto Yagi, Yuya Shinohara, Yoshiyuki Amemiya
    TLDR Hair curliness is due to uneven distribution of different cortices within the hair fiber.
    The study used scanning microbeam small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) to analyze the nanostructure of keratin fiber arrangement in human hair, revealing that the curliness of hair is due to the inhomogeneous distribution of two types of cortices within the hair fiber. This structural inhomogeneity was consistent across different ethnic groups (African, Caucasian, and Asian), suggesting that the macroscopic curl shape originates from these internal differences. The research highlighted that the arrangement of intermediate filaments varied between the inner and outer sides of the hair's curvature, similar to findings in Merino wool, indicating the presence of different cortical types in human hair.
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