What is Your Hair Type?

Everyday you see people with all color and style of hair. But did you know that you have a hair type? Yes! Not all hair has been created the same.

Lets start with the basic structure of hair:

1) Hair grows from the follicle, which is long and bulbous. If you were to pull out a strand of hair you would see the bulge at the tip of the hair. The cells at the base of the follicle divide rapidly and is where you get your hair growth.

2) Each strand of hair consists of three layers, the first being the innermost layer called the medulla. This is only present though in thick hair though.

3) The middle layer is known as the cortex. This layer provides the strength, color and texture of your hair.

4) The outer most layer is called the cuticle and this is what protects the cortex. It is completely colorless.

5) The entire strand of hair is made up of a protein called keratin. And that is hair!

There are 2 basic kinds of hair:

1) Terminal hair is the hair that grows thick and long and is found on the head, armpits, pubic hair face and chest. (Face and chest on men)

2) Vellus hair is soft short hair that you will find over the rest of your body.

The type of hair you have seems to have to do with geography.

1) If you are of Asian descent, then the hair strands are round and thicker than all other types of hair. With the exception of the red head who has the thickest hair of all.

2) If you are of European descent with blonde or dark hair, then your hair strands are thinner. The strands are round to oval shaped.

3) If you are of African descent, then the hair strands are flat and that is the reason for the frizziness and curl.

It's interesting to see when you get a mix of Asian genes with African genes or Caucasian with African. I am a white girl with blonde, curly frizzy hair. My parents came from Holland where there is a high concentration of people with African descent. So it's not hard to see where I got my hair type, which I personally love.

So you can now figure out why your hair is the way it is. You just need to do a bit of research into your family tree and there you'll have it.

Enjoy!

About the Author

Willie Jones
http://www.hairfactor.com

Willie is a researcher and freelance writer who enjoys sharing her views with others. Hair Factor