15 Facts You Didn’t Know About Your Hair

Your hair is one of the most important parts of your overall look. It tells the world who you are and contributes to your overall style. Everyone cares about their hair, but not everyone knows the facts about it. Here are some facts that you probably didn’t know about your hair!

1. Hair is Made Mostly of Keratin

Keratin is the primary protein in your hair, and is the same protein found in animal horns, hooves, claws, feathers, and beaks.

2. Wet Hair Can Stretch

A healthy, wet strand of hair can stretch an additional 30% of its original length.

3. All Hair is Dead

All of their hair on your head is dead. The only exception is the hair that’s still inside the epidermis of the scalp, which is alive as long as it is under the surface.

4. Warm Weather Stimulates Hair Growth

Your hair will grow faster in warmer weather because heat stimulates blood circulation in your scalp. When your scalp receives extra stimulation, your hair will grow faster than normal.

5. Men’s and Women’s Hair are Identical

There is a lot of information about you that can be discovered through your hair, such as what is present in your bloodstream. However, men’s and women’s hair are identical in structure, meaning gender cannot be discovered through your hair.

6. Goosebumps are the Result of Contracted Hair

When your skin feels cold, your hair follicles will contract, causing the hair and surrounding skin to bunch up. This bunching appears on the skin as goosebumps.

7. Black is the Most Common Hair Color

Brown hair is the second most common, with red hair being the rarest hair color.

8. Hair is a Very Fast Growing Tissue

In fact, it is the second fastest growing tissue in the body, next to bone marrow.

9. 90% of Hairs in Your Scalp are Growing at Any Given Time

The other 10% of your hairs are resting while the 90% are growing at once.

10. Blondes Have the Most Hair

On average, blondes have more strands of hair than any other hair color, while red heads, on average, have the least.

11. The Average Person Sheds 50-150 strands of Hair Per Day

When you’re losing your hair it could be more, but everyone sheds their hairs on a daily basis.

12. Your Hair is Very Strong

One strand of hair can support up to 100 grams. Your entire head of hair can support the weight equivalent of 2 elephants.

13. Hair Protects Your Scalp

Your hair isn’t purely for style. It actually maintains your body temperature, insulating heat and acting as a coolant, as well as protecting your scalp from UV rays.

14. You Will Not Notice Signs of Balding Before Significant Hair Loss

In general, a person will lose about 50% of their hair before they notice signs of balding.

15. Your Hair Contains Gold

Each strand of hair contains about 14 different elements. The dominant element is carbon, but there are traces of gold as well.