15 MYTHS AND FACTS ABOUT YOUR HAIR
The scalp is so strong that it can carry 2 to 3 elephants. And does it really grow faster in the summer? Is it made of the same material as your nails and is it simply a matter of bad luck for them to turn gray? We have listed 16 facts and fables about the year for you.
1.HAIR GENDER IS FEMALE
Answer: Wrong! The only thing you can’t find in your hair is your gender. The hair of a man or woman has exactly the same structure. So what if you stand with a lock of hair in your hand and wonder if it belongs to a man or a woman? No one will be able to give you the answer.
2.HAIR HAS A FUNCTION EVEN AFTER DEATH
Answer: Right! It was very common in the Victorian era to make hair jewelry or stuff it with the hair of a deceased loved one. So people could be walking around with necklaces, bracelets and earrings made of hair.
3.BRUNETTES HAVE MORE HAIR
Answer: Wrong! Blondes usually have the most hair: 146,000. Black hair consists of an average of 110,000 hair strands. This is followed by brunettes with 100,000 hairs. At the bottom of the list are redheads with an average of 86,000 strands of hair.
4.THERE IS NOTHING AS STRONG AS HAIR
Answer: Right! Then in what we grow ourselves to be. Did you know that hair is strong enough to support the weight of 2 to 3 elephants on an entire head? Hair is stronger than nylon or even copper wire in terms of tensile strength. Hair is the fastest growing tissue in our body after bone marrow. Each hair grows independently. If they all grew at the same time, they would shed at the same time. We lose about 40 to at least 150 hairs every day. Fortunately, we have an average of about 100,000 years in our heads.
5.SHAVING HAIR HAS ALWAYS BEEN NORMAL
Answer: Wrong! Hair clipping or clipping had been around for a long time, but until the 20th century it was an elite phenomenon. Since the advent of the small, double-edged razor at the beginning of the 20th century, removing body hair has become a regularly repeated action. How often do you really need to go to the hairdresser? It all depends on your hairstyle!
6.YOUR HAIR GROW FASTER IN SUMMER
Answer: Right! In the summer, your hair grows much faster. This is because your body contains more vitamins through sunlight and therefore takes an extra step.
7.WE WASH OUR HAIR REGULARLY
Answer: Right! About half of people wash their hair two to three times a week. 38% do this 5 times a week and only once in 13 weeks.
8.PREGNANT WOMEN HAVE FULL HAIR
Answer: Right! You will have fuller hair during pregnancy, from the 5th month, the hair will shed less and become fuller. One downside: you have to catch up after giving birth, hair falls out anyway. Women who use birth control often have to deal with hair thinning.
9.HAIR WHITENING IS A PROBLEM OF OLD PEOPLE
Answer: Wrong! As we age, hair becomes thinner and more fragile. Also, the hair eventually turns gray. This is the result of gradually slowing cell regeneration. As a result, less color pigment is produced in the hair follicles. First the hair turns gray and eventually becomes discolored: white. The age at which your hair turns white is inherited.
10.FIRST HAIRDRESSER IS IN THE NETHERLANDS
Answer: Wrong! The first famous men’s hairdresser came from France. In the 17th century, hairdresser Monsieur Champagne created the first hairstyles that actually became a trend! Did you know that hair is a reflection of health? So live healthy and hair radiates it. Fun fact: You’ll get goosebumps. It is a remnant of the once insulating effect of body hair.
11.RED AND PURPLE DYE IS EASIER TO LEVE FROM HAIR
Answer: Right! They come off your hair faster than other dye colors. Red and purple are made up of larger molecules than other paint colors. They can penetrate the hair less, so they disappear from your hair faster, which causes discoloration.
12.THERE ARE FEW NATURAL TONES
Answer: Wrong! People’s natural hair color can vary in 12 natural shades. These hues range from black to light yellow. The more eumelanin you have in your hair, the darker it will be. The less this pigment, the lighter the hair color. Your hair shaft consists of 3 different layers. This is from the outside to the inside: the Cuticle, which mainly provides protection from the outside, the Cortex, which contains, among other things, the pigment of your hair color, and the Medulla, which acts as the marrow of your hair.
13.THE LONGEST HAIR IS IN JAPAN
Answer: Wrong! The woman with the longest hair record in the world is Chinese Xie Qiuping. In 2004, the hair length was measured as 5,627 meters. It hadn’t cut it since 1973.
14.HAIRS ARE MADE OF THE SAME MATERIALS AS NAILS
Answer: Right! A hair consists of 5% sulfur, 6% hydrogen, 17% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and at least 50% carbon. About 90% of a hair is keratin. Hair is made of the same material as nails.
15.HAIR IS VALUABLE IN A SMALL AMOUNT
Answer: Wrong! Former American Football Player Troy Polamalu insured his hair for an incredible $1 million. As a tribute to his Samoan ancestors, Troy hasn’t had his hair cut since 2000, and his hair length was determined to be about one meter under insurance.
