Hair on skin. Coloured scanning electron micro- graph (SEM) of a hair on the surface of human skin. At centre is a shaft of hair (brown) which has emerged from a follicle in the skin. Epidermal cells of the skin (pink) form concentric layers around the hair, with some dead cells of the epidermis peeling off. Hair is made up of a fibrous protein called keratin. The hair shaft is covered with overlapping keratin scales or plates (as seen) which, it is thought, prevent hairs from matting together. Each hair follicle is located in the epidermis of the skin, forming a deep root which anchors the hair. Magnification: unknown.