Hair Ethnicity 200 50–75 kDa. Despite differences or similarities in protein content, there may be variations in the configuration of the proteins. In order to look at the protein configuration, X-ray analysis was conducted on hairs from African, Caucasian and Chinese subjects. Bands at 5.0, 5.15, 9.8, 67.0, and 90.0 (å) related to the alpha helix, protofibrils and the packing of the IFs into the matrix were monitored there were no detectable differences.4 The protein results from the X-ray analysis indicate that there are no differences in the keratin structure, while the 2D gel results show a difference in KAPs that make up the matrix. Another method often used to study the internal chemical composition in hair is amino acid analysis. The issue with the comparison of amino acids is that the history of the hair at the time of analysis is critical. Hair treatments, environmental exposure, diet and age all affect the amino acid content of hair. Therefore, it is important to understand the history of the hair at the time of Figure 2 2D gel electrophoesis of hair from different countries n=23-25 fibers/ subject. The presence and the intensity of spots give insight about specific proteins. IF = Intermediate filaments KAPs = Keratin associated proteins.