Curly hair may have evolved to
tl;dr In hot climates, curly hair allows for more “dead air” insulating the skull from overhead heat, so it's an evolutionary advantage. It probably costs something, so in cooler climates that energy (that's used to cause hair to be curly) gives an advantage to those who use it for some other means of survival.
Curly hair is dominant, so someone is more likely to have curly or wavy hair if at least one of their parents does. Recent research points to trichohyalin, a protein in hair follicles, as having primary influence over hair curl. However, there are many genes contributing to hair curliness, most of them unknown.
It is associated with the newly emerged alleles in both the TCHH gene and EDAR gene. The distributions of these straight hair related alleles (see figure) support the hypothesis that our human ancestors had curly hair; the straight hair found in East Asians and Caucasians likely developed independently.
Individuals of African ancestry, for example, are more likely to have curly hair due to the oval shape of their hair follicles. Additionally, the Keratin Associated Protein (KAP) cluster genes, responsible for the structure of keratin fibers, have been found to have variations in many African populations.
The story of human migration and evolution is written in hair DNA. In sub-Saharan Africa, genes favour tight, curly hair. But in east Asia, mutations have led to straighter, thicker hair. In Europe, other mutations brought wavy and straw-coloured hair.
We believe one of the reasons is that super-straight hair — also known as type 1a hair — is so rare. In fact, it's the rarest hair type. Only 2% of the world's population has 1a hair. It's mostly found in people of Asian descent.
Less than 20% of people have naturally curly hair.
Your hair is naturally voluminous
Curls adds volume to your hair effortlessly, and you never have to worry about it being flat, limp and lifeless like those with straight hair. Even on days when you straighten your curls, there is always going to be that little amount of volume that will make others go green with envy.
Fibres in the latter group were thicker, stronger and stiffer, with a greater scalp density. This means that curlier hair was found to be thicker, stronger and more resilient under mechanical forces than the near-straight hair.
Over 60% of the world's population has curly hair, yet most research to date has clumped hair into three catchall types - African, Asian, and Caucasian.
Uniqueness: Curly hair is less common than straight hair, which can make it stand out and be viewed as unique and interesting. Texture and volume: Curly hair has a distinct texture and tends to have more volume than straight hair, which can be visually appealing and add dimension to a person's appearance.
And while the results did vary, in the end we found that 58% of the fellas agreed that curlier is sexier.
What is the biggest disadvantage of curly hair? The biggest disadvantage is brushing and detangling curly hair. Dry brushing can cause frizziness while wet hair is at its weakest state. You need to brush curly hair when it's damp that too in a down-to-upward motion.
According to an article by evolutionary biology professor Mark Elgar, PhD, of the University of Melbourne, blue-eyed redheads are the absolute rarest, with 0.17% of the population having that combination of hair and eye color. So if that describes you, you're most likely one in a million (or more!).
The rarest natural hair colour is red, which makes up only one to two percent of the global population. You commonly see these hair colours in western and northern areas of Europe, especially Scotland and Ireland. However, natural redheads may not exist for much longer.
The average diameter, or thickness, of Asian hair is from 80 to 120 µm, compared to 65 µm in Caucasian hair and 55 µm in Black hair. The average diameter of Hispanic/Latino hair tends to fall between that of Asian and Caucasian. Caucasians have the highest hair density among the ethnicities studied.
The terms 'European hair' and 'Caucasian hair' are often used interchangeably and are taken to denote 'wavy' to 'straight' hair; 'East Asian' hair is taken to mean 'pin-straight' hair; and 'African' or 'ethnic' hair is taken to signify 'curly' or 'very curly' hair.
Another common trait of South France people is darker, curlier hair. Again, this is a blend of the cultural influences that have made up France over the years.
There is something about the effortlessness with which she tousles her tresses and they way the curls choose their own way to lay, or to stick up. There is a wildness about a curly haired woman, because she, like her hair, is not always easily tamed.
Women with curly hair are also generous and tend do everything, like completing tasks, faster than other people. They have a "fire personality," whose traits include leadership, love, passion, insight, dynamism, aggression, intuition, reason, and expressiveness.
Women with curly, textured hair tend to look younger than straight-haired counterparts as they age. Because of the natural volume that comes with having curly hair, thinning is less noticeable. Consider your frizz and volume to be a blessing in disguise! Are you looking for a new young, fresh look for fall?
Yes, only 11% of the population have curly hair.