Changes in hair chromium concentrations with increasing distances from hair roots

Abstract

Chromium concentrations in the hair shaft have been measured at increasing distances from the scalp. The results have indicated that the concentration is not dependent on the time the hair has been exposed to the external environment, and it is, therefore, concluded that external factors do not normally affect hair chromium levels. Large variations in chromic levels along the lengths of the shaft in individual examples are similar in magnitude to changes observed in newly grown hair of the same individual over a period of many months. These changes are considered to reflect past fluctuations in the chromium nutritional status of the individual.