11 Insane But True Things About Natural Hair

Hair.  It’s boring and lifeless, right?  You couldn’t be more wrong to think that!  Your hair is dynamic and responsive, and here are 11 insane but true things about natural hair.

1. Hair is the second fastest growing tissue in the body, right behind bone marrow. On average, hair grows about half inch per month. This means that you gain a whole six inches of new hair growth in a year.

2. We all have an average of 100,000 to 150,000 hair strands on our heads.  That’s a lot of strands, all of which can easily tangle into each other.  So detangle regularly!

3. Cutting the ends of your hair doesn’t make your hair grow.  All of the action is going on at the root, but if you want to retain length, it makes sense to cut split ends.

4. Sickness and stress do show up in your hair, so breakage may stem from your mental state even if you seem to be taking care of your hair. Have a good look at your lifestyle and try to cut out any unnecessary stressors.

5. African textured hair only seems to grow more slowly than that of other ethnicities.  The truth is that all hair grows at about the same rate, but natural hair appears shorter due to shrinkage and the the high rate of breakage that happens to natural hair.

6. Every day we lose between 50 to 100 hairs.  This is normal.  If your hair starts falling out in clumps, however, go to your doctor.

7. The core of the human hair shaft can be used for forensic drug testing. A single strand of your hair can provide a wealth of information in an investigation.

8. Hair is generally very elastic. When it is wet, it can stretch in length by up to 30% without becoming damaged.  Some say that natural African textured hair is not as elastic, but this speculation is up for debate.

9. Women and men have completely identical hair in terms of its structure and growth cycle.

10. Your hair grows faster in warm weather because the warmth stimulates hair growth.  This is another reason to do regular hot oil treatments!

11. Your gender is one thing about you that cannot be revealed by a strand of your hair.  But lots of other things can be!

Pretty neat, right?  Your hair isn’t just dead cells on your head.