What makes our hair curly? Let’s get on with the answer. The curliness or straightness of hair depends on the shape of the hair follicles. These are tiny openings in the skin through which hair grows. Different people have different shaped follicles.
As hair grows, the hair shafts come through the follicles round or flat. If the follicles are round, the hair will grow out straight. If they are like little ovals, the hair will grow out curly. The flatter the hair shaft, the curlier the hair.
Curly hair grows unevenly, and some parts of it grow faster than others. This causes the hair to “twist” and curl.
A curled hair can also be described according to its composition and structure. Even if you’re born with round follicles, there are some ways in which straight hair can turn wavy.
Scientists have found that a cellular receptor called EGFR clusters on the outer root sheath of a follicle and appears to regulate the growth of hair. Certain cancer drugs that inhibit these receptors may cause a patient to develop wavy hair as a side effect.
Is curly hair attractive? Depends, but in general according to several studies backed by statistics, wavy haired people are indeed considered more attractive than people with straight hair. Several experiential studies were conducted in which most people preferred wavy haired people over straight hair especially on men.
What race has the most curly hair? Usually, black Americans and Africans tend to always have “le Afro” hair. Indians and any other similar looking ethnicity have wavy, or straight hair.
Content for this question contributed by Caryn Amodeo, resident of Albany, New York, USA
