129 Hair Facts

Hair is one of the most individually unique, expressive parts of our bodies –but whether your hair is short, long, straight, wavy, or coily, these 129 Hair Facts:

1. Do you ever see a lot of hair in the drain after showering? That’s normal–we shed between 40 and 150 strands of hair a day.
2. Now for some cultural statistics: 90% of Japanese people wash their hair twice a day, 80% of North Americans wash their hair twice a day, and only 25% of the European population washes their hair daily. Do you think we should wash our hair every day?
3. When you are born, you have about 1000 hair follicles per square centimeter. This number drops as you age.
4. 50% of men have male pattern hair loss by the age of 50.
5. Hair is mostly made up of keratin, which can also be found on the outer layer of our skin and nails.
6. The earliest form of chemical hair removal dates back to the ancient Turks, who used a concoction known as “rusma”. Rusma is a combination of yellow sulfide of arsenic, quicklime, and rose-water.
7. Beauty can take time. The average time a woman spends to wash, dry and style her hair is 1 hour and 53 minutes a week. By the time she is 65, she will have spent 7 months of her life doing her hair.
8. In the Victorian Era, hair was used as jewelry! People had brooches, pendants and watch fobs made from the hair of lost loved ones as a stylish way of paying homage.
9. The process of removing unwanted body hair dates back to the ancient Egyptians.
10. Everybody sheds between 40-150 strands of hair per day.
11. On average, women’s hair is half the diameter of men’s hair.
12. A single hair strand has a thickness of .02 – .04 mm.
13. Hair structure is the same, no matter whose head it is on.
14. The growing phase of hair is called “anagen,” and the resting phase is called “catagen.”  When hair goes into the “telogen” phase, it will shed.
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16. Less than 4% of the world’s population has natural red hair.
17. The scientific term for split ends is “Trichoptilosis.”
18. Gender is the one thing that scientists cannot identify by a strand of hair.
19. Scientists can tell what you ate or drank, or the environment you live in, by examining a small piece of your hair.
20. African hair grows slower and is more fragile than European hair.
21. How much hair do we have on our scalps? More than you’d think. The average person has 100,000 - 150,000 strands of hair on her head (so don’t worry too much about the 40 - 150 you lost today).
22. The innermost layer of hair is called the medulla. Fine hair usually does not have a medulla. The purpose of the medulla has not yet been determined.
23. Crash dieting can cause temporary hair loss.
24. Men might be from Mars, and women from Venus, but there is absolutely no difference between male and female hair in terms of growth cycle and structure.
25. The word “shampoo” comes from the Hindi word “champna” which means “to knead”.
26. Hair grows the fastest during the summer, sleep, or between the ages of 16 to 24.
27. The average American woman spends between 10-23 thousand dollars in a lifetime on unwanted hair removal.
28. Alopecia is the medical term for hair loss.
29. If a man never shaved his beard, it would grow to over 30 feet in a lifetime.
30. The natural part is caused by a condition called a hair stream. It refers to the effect that is created when hair follicles slope in the same direction. When two hair streams slope in opposite directions, a natural part occurs.
31. Different textures of hair have different cross-section shapes under a microscope. Straight hair is usually round and curly hair is usually oval.
32. Next to bone marrow, hair is the fastest growing tissue in the human body.
33. When did it become popular to color hair? In 1950, only about 7% of women colored their hair, but in 2015, it’s up to about 75%.
34. 40% of women have female pattern hair loss by the time they go through menopause.
35. Hair is mostly made of keratin, which our outer layer of skin and fingernails are also made of.
36. The color of hair depends on how much melanin each strand has.  Furthermore, there are two types of melanin: eumelanin and phomelanin.
37. At one time, in Russia, there was a random tax for wearing a beard.
38. In animals, horns, hooves, claws, feathers, beaks, quills (porcupines), and baleen (whales) are all also made of keratin.
39. The outermost layer of hair is called the cuticle. It consists of overlapping scale-like segments, and it protects the inside layers of hair. The segments of the cuticle lay flat if the hair is healthy, and are usually open on dry or damaged hair.
40. Every inch of the human body is covered in hair besides the palms, soles of the feet, and lips.
41. On average, hair grows .3 – .5 mm per day.
42. A natural blonde usually has more hair strands on their head then dark or red-haired people. Towheads generally have 120,000 strands; brown/black-haired people have 100,000 strands, and redheads average about 80,000 strands.
43. Hair is the fastest growing tissue in the body. The only thing that grows faster is bone marrow.
44. The first men’s hair product was called “Brylcreem”, was produced in 1928, and was made of mineral oil, beeswax and water.
45. Body hair is generally shorter because the growing phase is a lot shorter than the growing phase of hair on the scalp.
46. Keratin is composed mostly of an amino acid called cysteine, which is what gives the hair its shape.
47. The scientific term for grey hair is “canities.”
48. For whatever reason, studies show that men without hair on their chests are more likely to get cirrhosis of the liver than men with hair.
49. Research shows that hair becomes drier with age.
50. A whole head of hair could support up to 2 tons.
51. Healthy hair, when wet, can stretch to 30% its original length.
52. The human body has approximately 5 million hair follicles which is the same as that of other great apes.
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54. Marcel Grateau invented the curling iron in 1875 France.
55. The werewolf legend is believed to have originated from an abnormality called Hirsutism, which causes excess body hair or facial hair to grow in places it is not supposed to.
56. Hair can grow just about anywhere on the body, except for the palms of your hands, the soles of your feet, and on your lips and mucous membranes.
57. The anticipation of sex makes hair grow faster.
58. Almost all hair extensions come from people of the Chinese and Indian heritage.
59. Humans have the same amount of hair follicles per square inch as a chimpanzee.
60. The middle layer of hair is called the cortex, which is made of long proteins twisted together.
61. Dark hair contains higher levels of carbon than light hair.
62. Most shampoos are slightly acidic to restore the pH of damaged hair and smooth the cuticle.
63. When a hair falls out, it will usually re-grow. It can do this up to 20 times in a lifetime.
64. “Trichotillomania” is the name of the disorder where you pull out your hair, eyelashes, and/or eyebrows compulsively. It is more common in women and usually stress related.
65. Hair is more elastic than you think! It can expand by up to 30% of its original length when wet.
66. The average person has roughly between 100,000 and 150,000 strands of hair on their head.
67. At any random time, 90% of the hair on a head is in a growing phase, while the other 10% is in a resting phase.
68. In Ancient Rome, women used to dye their hair blonde with pigeon dung. Thank goodness for modern-day hair dyes!
69. The outer layer of hair is called the cuticle, and its purpose is to protect the inside layers. In healthy hair, the cuticle lays flat. In damaged hair, they are more open
70. Every hair follicle is completely independent of neighboring follicles.
71. On average, hair grows .3 – .5 mm per day, 1.25 centimetres or 0.5 inches per month, and 15 centimetres or 6 inches per year.
72. You can tell a lot about a person from her hair. It’s often used by forensic scientists to learn everything in a person’s bloodstream: medicine, drugs, alcohol, vitamins and minerals.
73. A lock of Elvis’ hair once sold at an auction for 15,000$.
74. Hair is stronger than a copper wire of the same diameter.
75. The first liquid shampoo on the market was called “Dop” and came out in 1952.
76. Blow-drying your hair works by changing hydrogen bonds to alter the shape. Water also changes hydrogen bonds; hence the reason women hate humidity.
77. It takes about 7 years to grow your hair to your waist, and 3 years to grow to your shoulders.
78. The scientific name of grey hair is canities and a split end is known as trichoptilosis.
79. For it to be apparent that you are balding, you would have to lose 50% of your hair.
80. Our hair is constantly growing, and has a lifespan of around 5 years. 90% of our hair is growing at any given time, while the other 10% is taking a break.
81. A strand of hair is actually stronger than a copper wire with the same diameter.
82. Hair turns grey as a result of the pigment cells in the hair follicle not working properly. The hair bulb slows melanin production as a result of age or stress.
83. The hair follicle contains its own muscle, nerve and blood supply.
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85. Many store-bought hair colors contain random metallic salts. These salts accumulate on the hair shaft and can cause breakage or severe discoloration if colored or permed by a professional hairstylist.
86. The strength of your hair is equivalent to an iron wire. It rips after having a force equivalent to 60 kg after stretching it 70%.
87. Hair can be useful in interesting ways. It can be used as a natural sponge, and it was used during the 2007 Cusco Busan oil spill in the San Francisco Bay to absorb oil from the water.
88. Stress can make dandruff worse.
89. All of the hair follicles in the human body are formed by the time we are just five months old in the womb.
90. Humans are born with all of their hair follicles and there is no possible way to increase the amount of hair follicles you have.
91. The major cause of dandruff is a fungus called Malassezia Globosa, which pushes dead skin cells to the surface quicker than normal.
92. Cutting your hair does not affect its growth, but it does help to avoid split ends, which can work their way up the hair shaft and make the individual shafts thinner, giving your hair the appearance of not growing.
93. Most drugs cause hair loss.
94. Trying to grow out your hair? It takes about 7 years to grow it to your waist, and 3 years to grow it to your shoulders!
95. Hair is like a chemistry project–here is its composition: 50 percent carbon, 21 percent oxygen, 17 percent nitrogen, 6 percent hydrogen, and 5 percent sulphur.
96. The average man spends 5 months of his life shaving.
97. Asian hair is almost always straight and black/dark brown.
98. In 2004, the longest hair ever documented was measured. It belonged to Xie Qiuping from China, and measured 18.5 feet long.
99. The only way to get rid of “split ends” is to cut them off. There is no way to completely repair them.
100. Each hair follicle grows a completely new hair about 20 times in a lifetime.
101. On an average adult scalp, 25 meters of hair fiber is produced every day.
102. Women lose a lot of hair after giving birth. This is due to their hormones regulating back to normal.
103. 90% of right-handed people grow cowlicks in a clockwise direction.
104. Hair is produced in the hair shaft beneath the skin; therefore it takes 13 days to see grey/white hair after it is produced.
105. The first hair dye was invented in 1907 by French chemist Eugene Schueller and it was called “Aureole.”
106. Black is the most common hair color in the world. Red, which only exists in about 1 percent of the world’s population, is the rarest. Blonde hair comes in a close second, with only 2 percent of the population.
107. Iron deficiency causes hair loss.
108. The purpose of hair is to act as a thermal protection, due to our head lacking the thermal insulation fat layers.
109. Facial hair grows faster than any other type of body hair.
110. One sixteenth century doctor claimed you could restore hair by applying a random concoction made of boiled slugs, olive oil, honey, saffron, soap and cumin on the scalp.
111. A single strand of hair can support up to 6.5 pounds of weight.
112. Hair transplantation is the only permanent solution for hair loss.
113. The growing phase of hair lasts between 3-5 years on average.
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115. Madam CJ Walker invented the first African-American hair products and became the first African-American woman to become a millionaire.
116. The size of a hair follicle determines the thickness and length of hair.
117. Hair can absorb its weight in water.
118. Scientists have discovered that people with a higher IQ, have more zinc and copper in their hair.
119. Africans and Europeans are more prone to balding than Asians.
120. Human hair and fingernails continue to grow in death.
121. The length of the growing phase of hair shortens as you age.
122. Cutting hair does not influence how fast or slow it will grow, which a lot of people seem to believe.
123. Men tend to grow hair faster than women.
124. Thyroid imbalance causes hair loss.
125. Hair is composed of 50.65% carbon, 20.85% oxygen, 17.14% nitrogen, 6.36% hydrogen, and 5.0% sulfur. Hair also contains trace amounts of magnesium, arsenic, iron, chromium and other metals and minerals.
126. The average life span of a strand of hair is 4-7 years.
127. Asian hair grows the fastest and has the best elasticity.
128. If you pluck one hair, a new one will start growing from the follicle.
129. The only part of hair that is not dead is the hair that is inside your scalp.