Failure of intercellular adhesion in hair fibers with regard to hair condition and strain conditions.

Although adhesion failure in hair fibers can occur inside cells, it occurs more frequently in the cell membrane complex (CMC), often involving the rupture of interlayer bonds. Therefore, a model of the CMC is presented, based on prior research in which we propose interconnecting bonds between the layers to assist in our interpretation of hair-fracturing mechanisms for cuticle chipping, deep transverse cuticle cracks, cracks during heat drying, scale lifting by surfactants, and catastrophic failure. Failure in the wet state generally involves hydrophilic layers, e.g., the contact zone of the CMC or the endocuticle or bonding to these hydrophilic layers, whereas failure in the dry state generally involves bonding between hydrophobic layers, e.g., beta-delta failure. Chemical damage by perms, bleaches, and sunlight, by breaking specific chemical bonds, influences the sites of initial failure and increases the number of routes for crack propagation, leading to more complex fracture patterns.