Hair Type, Hair Density and Ethnicity
Contrary to popular belief, people are not created equally-at least with respect to hair.
Your race and ethnicity play a major role in determining hair density and type.
Of course, as with almost everything else about us, there will be exceptions to this because of the myriad variations that may exist, including but not limited to our DNA and the migration patterns of our ancestors.
While it is understood that hair types reflect their geographic origin along with other organs like the skin, here again there are inexplicable variations.
For instance, it is thought that the dark skin of Africans protect them from the sun and their coiled hair act like heat diffusers to keep the head cool.
Similarly, the high density of hair on Northern Europeans probably were to protect them from the extreme cold, sort of like fur.
However, there is no explanation for the relatively low density of hair on Asians.
Here are the major ethnic groups: Caucasians in general have the most hair on their scalp with a density of about 200 hairs per square centimeter which gives them about 100,000 hair follicles on a healthy Caucasian scalp.
This is in spite of the fact that Caucasians generally appear to have the least amount of hair because they have the thinnest hair and the contrast in the color of their skin and hair may produce a see-through effect.
In comparison, the rest of the human body has about 5 million hair follicles that produce the finer vellus hair.
Asians have fewer hairs than Caucasians, about 140 to 160 hairs per square centimeter for an average of about 80,000 hair follicles on a healthy Asian's scalp.
The hair is usually straight but can be coarse and thick, which may offset the visual effect of relatively low coverage that is presented with lower density and also the high contrast in the color of the skin and hair.
Africans have the lowest density of hair with about 120 to 140 hairs per square centimeter or about 60,000 hair follicles per healthy scalp and they also have the finest hairs.
This may seem at variance with what we think because visually, African hair seems to be thick and dense.
But this is because of their hairs being curlier, kinkier and more closely bunched together along with the fact that their normally dark skin does not provide much color contrast between the hair and skin.
This also explains why Africans' hair appears short when in fact it is not.
It is simply curled together more tightly than either the Caucasians' or the Asians'.
Your race and ethnicity play a major role in determining hair density and type.
Of course, as with almost everything else about us, there will be exceptions to this because of the myriad variations that may exist, including but not limited to our DNA and the migration patterns of our ancestors.
While it is understood that hair types reflect their geographic origin along with other organs like the skin, here again there are inexplicable variations.
For instance, it is thought that the dark skin of Africans protect them from the sun and their coiled hair act like heat diffusers to keep the head cool.
Similarly, the high density of hair on Northern Europeans probably were to protect them from the extreme cold, sort of like fur.
However, there is no explanation for the relatively low density of hair on Asians.
Here are the major ethnic groups: Caucasians in general have the most hair on their scalp with a density of about 200 hairs per square centimeter which gives them about 100,000 hair follicles on a healthy Caucasian scalp.
This is in spite of the fact that Caucasians generally appear to have the least amount of hair because they have the thinnest hair and the contrast in the color of their skin and hair may produce a see-through effect.
In comparison, the rest of the human body has about 5 million hair follicles that produce the finer vellus hair.
Asians have fewer hairs than Caucasians, about 140 to 160 hairs per square centimeter for an average of about 80,000 hair follicles on a healthy Asian's scalp.
The hair is usually straight but can be coarse and thick, which may offset the visual effect of relatively low coverage that is presented with lower density and also the high contrast in the color of the skin and hair.
Africans have the lowest density of hair with about 120 to 140 hairs per square centimeter or about 60,000 hair follicles per healthy scalp and they also have the finest hairs.
This may seem at variance with what we think because visually, African hair seems to be thick and dense.
But this is because of their hairs being curlier, kinkier and more closely bunched together along with the fact that their normally dark skin does not provide much color contrast between the hair and skin.
This also explains why Africans' hair appears short when in fact it is not.
It is simply curled together more tightly than either the Caucasians' or the Asians'.
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