African hair is seen to be much thicker and more dense meaning that the hair follicles are larger. Density represents the amount of hairs that grow from the head, with denser hair resulting from more hairs growing closer together from the scalp. An individual with high-density hair creates a fuller appearance of curls.
Compared to silkier hair African-American hair contains more lipids, or fats, but the lipids are less bonded which is why the hair loves oils so much. Along with that, the follicle size is much thicker and it has a flattened elliptical cross section causing it to be curlier than other hair types.
Robbins (2012) suggests that afro-textured hair may have initially evolved because of an adaptive need amongst humans' early hominid ancestors for protection against the intense UV radiation of the sun in Africa.
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.
Scientifically, black hair is the slowest growing hair type due to its elliptical shape and only grows about one third of an inch per month. Alongside slow growth, you'll likely also encounter issues such as breakage, thinning and shedding whilst trying to grow your afro hair; typically, this is due to dehydration.
Asian hair shows the fastest growth rate in comparison to the other two hair types. African hair has the lowest growth rate.
You should ideally wash your natural black hair once every seven to fourteen days. Use a mild cleansing shampoo and a gentle conditioner. You may opt for sulfate-free shampoo to cleanse your hair gently without stripping it of natural oils.
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.
Hair density.
According to HealthGuidance, Caucasians have the highest hair density, averaging approximately two hundreds strands of hair per square centimeter.
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.
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.
Fros don't absorb as much moisture as our caucasian cousins' hair, added to this the structure of our hair (curls and kinks, and increased density) means that nutrients often don't travel along the length of our strands as well as we'd like.
Black Hair is Easier to Maintain
The darker the hair, the higher the concentration of melanin, therefore, black hair has the highest concentration. The benefit of having excess melanin in hair is it's less prone to sun damage, which is important to Sri Lankans as we are constantly under the sun.
Thick, glossy strands go a long way toward making hair look healthy—even when it's not. "Because the hairs are thicker naturally, dark hair is better at camouflaging damage than light hair; it weighs down flyaways and split ends," notes Adrian Wallace, senior colorist at Rita Hazan Salon in NYC.
White (nonpigmented) hair is thicker than black (pigmented) hair. The growth rate of white hair is also significantly higher than that of black hair.
Afro hair produces plenty of protective oils called sebum, but the oil struggles to spread evenly along the hair fibre due to the curly nature of afro hair. Without lubrication, the fibres become very dry which causes the hair to become frizzy and brittle.
In general, however, the highest rates of male pattern baldness are found among Caucasian men. The second highest rates belong to Afro-Caribbeans. Native Americans, on the other hand, do not struggle much with male pattern baldness. As mentioned, pattern baldness is genetic, that is, hereditary.
Certain races have higher rates of hair loss compared to others. Caucasians have the highest rates out of all the ethnic groups. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Native American Indians, Inuits, and Chinese have the lowest rates.
This may be related to differences in body composition, which is known to differ between ethnic groups. 62, 105 More specifically, black adults were found to have a relatively higher muscle mass (leading to a lower sarcopenia prevalence) compared to whites and Asians.
Most people of East Asian descent have thick, straight hair. This corresponds with a SNP (rs3827760) in the EDAR gene which is involved in hair follicle development. The ancestral allele of this SNP is the A-allele. The G-allele is the newly derived allele that leads to the thick, straight hair.
While no two heads of hair are the same, there are three main classifications of hair type based on race Asian hair, Afro hair and Caucasian hair (which can also be referred to as European hair).
What race is known for straight hair? Caucasian. Caucasian people have rounder hair follicles, resulting for the most part in straight or wavy hair.
Wash your Black hair once every 7 to 14 days.
To keep your hair clean and protected, dermatologists recommend washing your hair once a week or once every 2 weeks. If you exercise a lot, feel free to wash your hair once every 5-7 days instead.
In fact, African hair actually produces more oils than Caucasian and Asian hair. However, due to the tight curls, the oil doesn't spread evenly along the hair fiber. Without lubrication, the fibers can become dry. This causes the strands to become more brittle, which contributes to the hair's texture.
A rule of thumb is that afro hair should be washed every 7 – 10 days, or more often if you have an active lifestyle Every 4 - 5 days. It is important to cleanse the scalp and hair of flakes and product build up to ensure optimum health and hair growth.