Want to know what is one of the most abused areas of your body? Yep, it’s your scalp! Something we rarely if ever see.

Every day your scalp comes into close contact with brushes, chemicals, dyes, bleaches, gels and sprays. Then, as if that isn’t bad enough, we blast it with high heat that we would never dream of exposing to other parts of our body!

According to one dermatologist, the scalp has a really hard time. But apart from the balls of the feet, the heels and back - the scalp is the thickest part of the body. The top layer, or epidermis, is of average thickness. But the dermis, which is the strong layer underneath, is much thicker.

Hair grows from roots or hair follicles. These are “down-growths” of the epidermis. With the scalp, hairs are thick and strong. The roots bud down through the dermis into the underlying subcutaneous fat where they can lie 4 millimeters below the skin’s surface.

There is a rich blood supply around the hair follicles. While the number of follicles varies enormously from person to person, according to a spokesman for the Trichological Society, the thicker the hair shaft, the bigger the hair follicle.

The average follicle will produce a hair that will grow for about a year. It will rest for a month or two and then the hair will fall out. The hair follicle then starts over, producing another hair, it rest then falls out, and so on and so on.

In male pattern baldness, which can also affect the temples of women, the hair follicles of genetically susceptible people, die young on exposure to the male hormone, testosterone. (see previous blog about this)

There are other causes of hair loss such as cancer chemotherapy which interferes with the growing phase and therefore results in loss of 90 percent of the scalp hair for as long as the treatment is taken. Then there is telogen effluvium which is a more common and reversible form of hair loss which may last for a number of months.

This type of hair loss can be triggered and provoked by stressful events. Doctors don’t really know why but suspect it could be due to changes in blood flow, thyroid disorder or iron deficiency.

Hair follicles have their own lubrication system, which comes from sebaceous glands and; too much of this lubrication or flow, results in an oily scalp. The scalp can be washed daily without damage to it or the hair, as log as the cleansing is done gently.

So, even though the scalp is one of the most abused parts of your body, don’t panic! In most cases, it is strong enough to take it!