hair follicle

noun

|Updated on: 29 Jun 2018

Definition of hair follicle

: the tubular epithelial sheath that surrounds the lower part of the hair shaft and encloses at the bottom a vascular papilla supplying the growing basal part of the hair with nourishment — see hair illustration

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Recent Examples of hair follicle from the Web

One principle behind it is to kill fast-growing cells, which include tumor cells but also the healthy tissue lining the gut and mouth and hair follicle.

— maggie fox /, NBC News, "Is chemo obsolete? Not by a long shot, cancer experts say," 24 June 2018
First, Jessie B preps her pubes with a trim, followed by a soak in the bath to soften up the hair follicles.

— leah prinzivalli, Allure, "Beauty Vlogger Jessie B Uses Olive Oil to Shave Her Bikini Line, But Is It Safe?," 12 June 2018
The condition causes painful abscesses and boils to occur near hair follicles, such as the underarms and groin.

— allyson byers, SELF, "I Have a Rare, Chronic Skin Condition, and I Went to Questionable Lengths Looking for a Cure," 1 June 2018
And even though 147 million people worldwide have the condition (which occurs when your immune system mistakenly attacks your hair follicles), there isn’t much alopecia visibility out there.

— giorgina paiella, Allure, "Six Women Open Up About How Having Alopecia Changed Their Outlooks on Beauty," 17 May 2018
Bobby the leopard gecko can store water and food in his tail, while Chilly the chinchilla has up to 80 hairs in each hair follicle.

— sara cardine, latimes.com, "Preschoolers see – and hear – critters up close during wildlife visit," 17 May 2018
Published in the journal PLOS Biology, the research tested more than 40 samples of hair follicles from hair-transplant patients.

— casey quackenbush, Time, "This Osteoporosis Drug Has a Surprising Side-Effect. Scientists Say It Could Cure Baldness," 11 May 2018
After testing it on isolated hair follicles from a human scalp, scientists learned the compound promoted hair growth without the side effects.

— brett molina, USA TODAY, "An osteoporosis drug could hold cure for baldness," 9 May 2018
The cap will trap in steam that opens up hair follicles, so your hair will really soak in the good stuff in the treatment.

— jillian ruffo, Seventeen, "5 Insanely Easy Tips For The Softest Hair Of Your Life," 7 Nov. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hair follicle.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of hair follicle

1838

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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Medical Dictionary

hair follicle

noun

medical Definition of hair follicle

: the tubular epithelial sheath that surrounds the lower part of the hair shaft and encloses at the bottom a vascular papilla supplying the growing basal part of the hair with nourishment