A new study examining the role human hair textures play in regulating body temperature found that tightly curled hair provides the best protection from the sun's radiative heat while minimizing the need to sweat to stay cool.
You see, hair curl is controlled by genes, inherited from your parents. Those genes determine the shape of follicles. If a follicle is symmetric the hair would be round, and grow straight; otherwise, asymmetric follicles produce oval hairs and grow curly.
You see, hair curl is controlled by genes, inherited from your parents. Those genes determine the shape of follicles. If a follicle is symmetric the hair would be round, and grow straight; otherwise, asymmetric follicles produce oval hairs and grow curly.
Curly hair is most common amongst people with African, Mediterranean and Native American ancestry. There's a specific gene that helps shape the hair shaft and determine hair texture, and it's called trichohyalin. Curly hair is caused by a variation in the gene that determines the shape of our hair follicles.
Studies have shown that the morphology of the hair follicle can be influenced by a person's race. Individuals of African ancestry, for example, are more likely to have curly hair due to the oval shape of their hair follicles.
Type 1A: The rarest hair type, this one is very straight and fine with a “wispy” appearance. It's very difficult to get it to hold a curl. Type 1B: Though still straight, this type has a medium (rather than fine) texture and a little more volume.
The gene for curly hair in Caucasians
This means two things: 1) if a person carries one allele for curly hair and another for straight hair, this person will have curly hair; 2) curly hair is a simple trait and is most likely determined by one single gene.
According to Curlkeeper, less than 20% of people have curly hair, making it a rare hair type. However, curly hair comes in all kinds of different styles starting with super coiled curls to slightly wavy. Curly hair requires work to maintain and take care of it, making it hard for some to stick to the routine.
Fluctuating Estrogen Levels Can Bring About Changes in Your Curly Texture. Estrogen levels often fall for curl changes as estrogen is key for maintaining those helical hair follicles. During menopause, plummeting estrogen is linked to the onset of mixed curl patterns and gradual straightening of previously curly hair.
In many societies, curly hair symbolizes vitality, strength, and beauty. Historical icons, artists, and influencers have celebrated their natural curls, paving the way for a global movement that champions authenticity and self-expression.
Men often find curly hair alluring for its unique texture and volume and how it frames a woman's face. Women may also find it attractive because it can be styled in a multitude of ways using a hair curler brush and other tools, from simple and natural looks to extravagant and glamorous styles.
The curls stop the natural flow of oil down to the tips of the strand, preventing your hair from getting the adequate lubrication it needs for protection. The moisture barrier breaks and is unable to retain any moisture, which causes your hair to turn frizzy.
Curly hair may have evolved in early humans living in Africa thousands of years ago to help stay cool and protect from the sun's harmful rays, research suggests. Scientists found that tightly coiled hair provided a barrier against solar radiation to protect the scalp.
Genetic factors appear to play a major role in determining hair texture—straight, wavy, or curly—and the thickness of individual strands of hair. Studies suggest that different genes influence hair texture and thickness in people of different ethnic backgrounds.
Mouth shape: Thick lips have a larger surface area to help evaporate moisture and cool the body. The larger surface also allows cooling by moistening of the lips.
“We suspect that the structure of human curls allows for a lot of air pockets between hair strands. In other words, you can have a lot of depth (from the scalp to the top of the hair) without having a lot of density, which would keep heat in as well as keep heat out,” says Dr Tina Lasisi, PhD, coauthor of the study.
How the hair grows out of the follicle influences the distribution of its proteins. So a straight follicle produces straight hair and a curved follicle produces curly hair. The less evenly distributed the squiggly proteins are, the curlier the hair.
If you have straight hair, your hair may become slightly curlier as you age. This is because the shape of hair follicles changes over time.
Curly hair caused by selenium deficiency in an adult woman.
Curly hair is found across all ethnicities, though its prevalence and type can vary. It is common among people of African descent, who often have tightly coiled hair. Wavy and curly hair types are also prevalent in Middle Eastern, European, South Asian, and Latin American populations due to diverse genetic backgrounds.
Nature's Rarest Palette: Red Hair Standing at the apex of rarity, natural red hair occurs in just 1-2% of the global population. This striking shade results from a specific genetic variant of the MC1R gene, requiring both parents to pass on the recessive trait.
Curly hair is naturally drier than other hair types because the twists and turns of the curls make it difficult for the scalp's natural oils to travel down the hair shaft. This can lead to a dry scalp, which in turn affects the health of your hair.
70 Together with the evidence from studies of heat gain and loss in birds and nonhuman mammals, these findings suggest that short, curly, Afro-textured hair evolved because it can maintain a boundary layer of cooler, dryer air near the scalp, and thereby protect the thermo- genic and thermosensitive brain.
Hair genetics can come from either parent, and multiple genes can determine hair traits, such as color, texture, and growth. Genes can also affect hair loss.
Hormones and hair texture
Hormones are the main culprit responsible for such drastic hair texture changes. During puberty, menopause and pregnancy, many people will find their will go from straight to curly or vice versa over a period of months.