<P> The hair cuticle is the outermost part of the hair shaft . It is formed from dead cells, overlapping in layers, which form scales that gives the hair shaft strength and provide protection for it . Although the cuticle is the outermost layer of the hair, it does not give the hair its color because it has no melanin, which is the pigment responsible; the color of a person's hair depends on what type of melanin they have, which is found in the cortex . </P>

The outer layer of the hair is the