The pigment in the cortex that gives natural color to the hair is known as

• A. Melanin
• B. Keratin
• C. Carotene
• D. Hemoglobin

Answer: (A)

Melanin is the pigment produced by melanocytes in the hair follicle and stored in melanosomes that are deposited into the cortex of the hair. This location and pigment type determine the natural color range—from black and brown (eumelanin) to red and yellow tints (pheomelanin). The cortex is where most of the hair’s color resides, while the cuticle is just the outer protective layer, and keratin is the structural protein that makes up the hair, not its color. Carotene can influence a yellowish cast in some lighter hair but isn’t the primary pigment for natural color, and hemoglobin is the red pigment inside blood, not inside hair. As melanin production declines with age, hair loses color and becomes gray or white.