TY - JOUR
T1 - Optical properties of the medulla and the cortex of human scalp hair
AU - Kharin, Aleksey
AU - Varghese, Babu
AU - Verhagen, Rieko
AU - Uzunbajakava, Natallia
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - An increasing number of applications, including non- or minimally invasive diagnostics and treatment as well as various cosmetic procedures, has resulted in a need to determine the optical properties of hair and its structures. We report on the measurement of the total attenuation coefficient of the cortex and the medulla of blond, gray, and Asian black human scalp hair at a 633-nm wavelength. Our results show that for blond and gray hair the total attenuation coefficient of the medulla is more than 200 times higher compared to that of the cortex. This difference is only 1.5 times for Asian black hair. Furthermore, we present the total attenuation coefficient of the cortex of blond, gray, light brown, and Asian black hair measured at wavelengths of 409, 532, 633, 800, and 1064nm. The total attenuation coefficient consistently decreases with an increase in wavelength, as well as with a decrease in hair pigmentation. Additionally, we demonstrate the dependence of the total attenuation coefficient of the cortex and the medulla of Asian black hair on the polarization of incident light. A similar dependence is observed for the cortex of blond and gray hair but not for the medulla of these hair types.
AB - An increasing number of applications, including non- or minimally invasive diagnostics and treatment as well as various cosmetic procedures, has resulted in a need to determine the optical properties of hair and its structures. We report on the measurement of the total attenuation coefficient of the cortex and the medulla of blond, gray, and Asian black human scalp hair at a 633-nm wavelength. Our results show that for blond and gray hair the total attenuation coefficient of the medulla is more than 200 times higher compared to that of the cortex. This difference is only 1.5 times for Asian black hair. Furthermore, we present the total attenuation coefficient of the cortex of blond, gray, light brown, and Asian black hair measured at wavelengths of 409, 532, 633, 800, and 1064nm. The total attenuation coefficient consistently decreases with an increase in wavelength, as well as with a decrease in hair pigmentation. Additionally, we demonstrate the dependence of the total attenuation coefficient of the cortex and the medulla of Asian black hair on the polarization of incident light. A similar dependence is observed for the cortex of blond and gray hair but not for the medulla of these hair types.
KW - collimated transmittance measurement
KW - cortex optical properties
KW - hair optical properties
KW - hair total attenuation coefficient
KW - medulla optical properties
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=67650296223&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1117/1.3116712
DO - 10.1117/1.3116712
M3 - Article
C2 - 19405764
AN - SCOPUS:67650296223
VL - 14
JO - Journal of Biomedical Optics
JF - Journal of Biomedical Optics
SN - 1083-3668
IS - 2
M1 - 024035
ER -