Such a familiar part of the body, like hair, rarely causes questions. And indeed, what is so about them? They have been with us all their lives, what could be surprising in them? But scientists with this point of view do not agree, arguing that about the hair, you can voice a whole selection of curious facts. And indeed, if you think about it, they are not so simple as they seem at first glance.
In an adult, about 91-93% of the hair on the head is in the growth stage, while the rest die at the same time. This is a natural process. Blondes have the thickest hair. They have more hair follicles on the scalp than those with hairs of a different color. And least of all – at redheads. On average, hair grows at a rate of about 1 cm per month, although many factors affect its rate of growth. American scientists conducted a thorough study and refuted the stereotype of “stupid blondes”, finding that hair color is not related to intellectual abilities. Contrary to the Hollywood films, it is impossible to determine the sex of the person to whom it belongs by hair. The study of even a single hair allows to establish whether there were drugs or other potent substances in human blood, as well as what he had been eating lately.
On average, an adult’s head has between 100 and 130 thousand hairs. With age, hair begins to grow slower and slower. From stress or deep depression a person can completely turn gray in two weeks. A person has about 5 million hair follicles on his body, counting both living and already inactive. The longer the hair, the slower it grows. The norm is the loss of about hundreds of hairs per day. A single hair can withstand weight up to 0.1 kg. Curly hair – a consequence of curved hair follicles. Hair contains many chemical elements, including gold. Follicles are formed in the human embryo approximately 4 months before birth. Hair absorbs oil easily.
About 1/7 of the population of Scotland – owners of red hair. During human life, a single hair follicle grows to 25-30 hairs. Hair covers 95% of the body. They are not only on the feet and palms. However, this is a well-known fact. During the day on the head of an adult person grows about 35 meters of hair. In sum, of course – a lot of hair. Frequent haircuts or shaving can not make hair thicker – this is a myth. Once upon a time medallions woven from the hair of a loved one were popular in Europe and Russia. In men, facial hair grows much faster than on the head. The most expensive hairstyle in history, made by the famous stylist Stewart Phillips, cost the client 16 thousand US dollars. Wet hair is 25-30% longer than dry hair. The most common hair color in the world is black.
Of all the tissues of the human body, only the bone marrow grows faster than the hair. In ancient Greece there was a belief that red-haired people after death become vampires. And in medieval Europe, redheads were often considered witches and sorcerers. Hair is 3% water. Eyelashes are hair too, but their life cycle is much shorter. They are fully updated in about 80-90 days. For the first time, residents of ancient Egypt began to remove hair from unwanted places on their bodies. Red-haired people in the world are half as much as natural blondes – about 1%. Scientists believe that due to globalization and confusion of representatives of different nationalities, over a hundred years on the planet more than 99.5% of the population will be black-haired. In the warm hair grows faster than in the cold.
