Did you know that your hair is the fastest growing tissue documented in a human body? More so, are you aware that your hair can support two elephants? Amazing, right?
Basically, your hair isn’t just for beauty or visual appeal – it has both form and function.
It’s a functional masterpiece that just keeps growing until it reaches that point where it couldn’t happen anymore because of ageing, genetics, or other factors.
Five Amazing Facts about Your Hair
Your hair is more than just a crowning glory, but also a protective gear that can shield you from the direct exposure to sunlight and other harmful elements around.
Get to know the five amazing facts regarding your hair follicles.
You have around 150,000 hair strands in your head
An average person is said to have approximately 100,000 to 150,000 hair strands. This explains why hair shedding of around 40 to 150 hair strands per day is considered normal and not to be worried about.
In addition, natural blondes have more hair strands than the redheads and the dark-haired.
Black is the dominant hair colour in the world
Black is said to be the most common hair colour. Blonde comes in second with 2% of the population being natural blondes. Only 1% of the entire population are redheads, so this is a rare colour.
However, it would be really difficult to take account of everyone because people dye their hair all the time. Back in 1950, around 7% of women are in hair colours, but it has been up to 75% since 2015.
It takes 7 years to grow your hair up to your waist
Cutting your hair is said to help grow it. While cutting alone does not promote hair growth, it actually helps prevent further damage like split ends that can ruin your hair shaft.
Your hair grows to about .3 to .5 millimetres daily or about 6 inches per year.
It takes 3 years to grow your hair up to the shoulders and approximately 7 years to grow it down to your waist. Your hair constantly grows every second. Around 90% of your hair is continuously growing while the remaining 10% is on snooze mode.
This happens in cycles that help promote a natural and healthy hair growth cycle.
So, don’t worry if your hair falls out because it constantly re-grows not unless you are a candidate for male pattern baldness or female pattern hair loss.
A single hair strand is stronger than your average copper wire
As mentioned, your hair can effectively support two elephants. A single hair strand can support a total weight of 6.5 pounds. Your entire head of hair can support up to 2 tons and has a strength of iron wire.
Your hair is composed of 21% oxygen, 50% carbon, 6% hydrogen, 17% nitrogen, and 5% sulfur.
There is also no notable difference from a male’s hair from that of a female in terms of structure and composition or even the growth cycle.
Your Hair follicles aren’t dead. That’s a MYTH.
Some people say your hair is dead. Well, partly. The hair follicles are very much alive, which is hidden inside the scalp. However, the hair shaft or the visible part is considered as dead cells.
Your hair grows the fastest during the summer or when you sleep. However, it is only at an active restorative phase from ages 16 to 24. This slows down with ageing.