When designing a makeup that will need postiche in addition to the other physical characteristics and landmarks we’ve already discussed, it is important to have at least some understanding of the external structure of hair. Postiche is a French word meaning a covering or bunch of human or artificial hair used for disguise or adornment.22 [20] The term has come to describe any article of hair work, from false eyelashes to a full wig. I mention it because it is part of the language and vocabulary of special makeup effects.
Three types of hair are common to all humans:
■ Lanugo, which is a very fine fair that covers nearly the entire body of a fetus
■ Vellus hair, which is the short, fine "peach fuzz" body hair that grows in most places on the body of both males and females
■ Terminal hair, which is fully developed hair and generally grows longer, thicker, coarser, and darker than vellus hair[21]
Different parts of the body exhibit different types of hair. From early childhood onward, vellus hair covers the entire body regardless of gender, except for the lips, soles of the feet, palms of the hands, scar tissue, the navel, and certain external genital areas.[22] At the onset of puberty, hormonal transformations cause some vellus hair on the body to transmute into terminal hair; because the hair is responding to hormonal influence, this hair is known as androgenic hair.[23]