Integral Lipid in Human Hair Follicle
December 2005
in “
The journal of investigative dermatology. Symposium proceedings/The Journal of investigative dermatology symposium proceedings
”
lipid distribution hair follicles integral hair lipid sebaceous lipid hair cuticle keratinized inner root sheath transmission electron microscopy high-performance thin-layer chromatography lamellar granules epidermal lipid layer hair barrier hair lipid inner root sheath electron microscopy thin-layer chromatography lipid layer skin lipid layer
TLDR The lipid in human hair follicles acts as a barrier, similar to the skin's lipid layer.
Researchers examined the lipid distribution in human hair follicles and found that the integral hair lipid, distinct from sebaceous lipid, was primarily located in the hair cuticle and keratinized inner root sheath. Using transmission electron microscopy with a new fixative (Lee's fixative) and high-performance thin-layer chromatography, they observed numerous lamellar granules near the lipid layer. The chemical composition of this lipid differed from epidermal and sebaceous lipids, suggesting it functions similarly to the epidermal lipid layer as a barrier. They proposed the term "hair barrier" to describe this function.
