According to a talk presented here last week at the annual meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics, a single genetic variant may explain why East Asians have thicker hair fibers than other populations. The discovery is part of a wave of newly found genes that determine what individuals look like.
A gene variation of EDAR that arose about 30,000 years ago seems to give some people thicker strands of hair. More than 90% of Han Chinese, 70% of Japanese and Thai people, and 60% to 90% of Native Americans carry the “thick hair" version of the gene.
Caucasians have the highest hair density among the ethnicities studied. Black people have the lowest. Asian people have hair density that falls somewhere in between.
Caucasian hair usually appears thicker since it is more difficult to see through the scalp than other ethnic hair types. However, Asian hair is the thickest and coarsest hair of any ethnic group.
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.
Type 1B hair is thicker – it is still very straight, but has medium texture so it has more volume. Hair that is type 1C is very thick and coarse, but still straight and shiny so it can be hard to make curls last. Type 2 hair is naturally wavy, with more curl than some types of hair but less than others.
To find out your hair's density, take a front section of your hair and pull it to the side. If you can visibly see sections of your scalp underneath or through the hair, then your hair is thin. If you barely see your scalp at all, your hair is thick. If it's somewhere in-between, then your hair has a medium density.
Follicles that are more oval in shape cause curlier hair to grow. Very tightly coiled hair is due to the nearly flat, ribbon-like structure of their follicles. This hair texture is very common in people of African ancestry. Not only is African hair often coiled, it also has a unique texture.
More circular-shaped follicles cause hair to grow straighter, while more curly hair is caused by more elongated, oval-shaped hair follicles. Hair follicles can also affect the thickness of hair strands. African hair is seen to be much thicker and more dense meaning that the hair follicles are larger.
Caucasian, Asian and Indian hair samples were put to the test for the World's Best Hair study. Their results put an end to any splitting of hairs over the issue: in terms of health, the Indian hair is the best, topping other ethnic groups on all four counts.
Thicker strands of hair are more likely to have a defect, making them more prone to breakage, the researchers believe. Lustrous, thick hair may be desirable but it is not necessarily the strongest. Scientists said thin hair tends to be stronger than thicker locks, after looking at the way they break.
Hair Curvature
In contrast to African hair that is more flattened and often has twists and turns, Asian hair tends to be round in shape, straight, and more cylindrical. The low values of average curvature in Asian hair suggest a relatively straight hair.
Genetics. Native Americans, East Asian, Southeast Asian, Southwest Asian, Middle Eastern, Far East Russian, South Asian and Himalayan black-haired people have thicker and straighter hair due to the derived EDAR gene allele that is linked to thicker and straighter hair and shovel-shaped incisors.
The thickest strand of human hair is 772 micrometres (0.03 inches) and was plucked from the beard of Muhammad Umair Khan (Pakistan), in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, as verified on 3 March 2021.
Geneticists at the University of Tokyo and several other institutions in Japan, Thailand, and Indonesia have now used the HapMap to explore why Japanese and Chinese people have thick hair: The cross-sectional area of East Asian hair fibers averages about 30% larger than that of Africans and 50% larger than that of ...
Thick hair is when there's a lot of hair per square inch of scalp (either due to width or follicle count). Thin hair is the opposite.
Hair follicles come in different shapes and sizes, affecting hair texture and width. Some people have wider follicles-and therefore, thicker hair strands-than other people. Genetics influence hair thickness, but other factors like hormones and age are important factors, too.
Curly hair is not certain to a race or ethnicity, it appears all over the world in many forms. White, brown, black and everything inbetween! There is also a scale on which curly hair is classified (2a-4c).
Because of our multicultural heritage, there isn't anyone typical “type” of African American hair. Its texture can vary from fine to medium to coarse; its curl pattern from straight to softly wavy to excessively tight; its colors from blonde to red, to all sorts of browns, to black.
Specifically, the average density of afro-textured hair was found to be approximately 190 hairs per square centimeter.
So, why is Afro-textured hair so fragile? With its tight curls and twists, is more prone to breakage for several reasons. Its shape increases tangling and makes combing harder. The shape also creates internal stresses when the hair is unbent, untwisted or stretched that lead to fracturing.
People with dark hair appear to have thicker, denser hair. What is less know is that some people with naturally black hair, in fact, have thicker hair. The easiest way to have low-maintenance hair is to keep it as natural as possible. The pigment that gives hair its colour is known as Eumelanin or melanin.
To get thicker hair, eat a healthy diet with omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins, iron, and vitamin D. For thicker hair, it's important to use a sulfate-free shampoo and to stop using heat styling products like flat irons or curling irons.
Long Layers
As Trace Henningsen, a celebrity hairstylist and ambassador for Leonor Greyl explains, “The secret weapon to thick hair is long layers because they create movement and make your hair feel lighter.”
It's caused by excess hormones called androgens. For women, the hair may grow in places where men often have a lot of hair, but women often don't.