Hanging question.

[Lipbalmbabe]

Ok, so for the past couple of weeks in the back of my mind I have been wondering, why people have hair on their head. Maybe this is a question I should of saved for high school biology class. But ive been searching and I just can't find the answer. If anyone has the answer please tell me and let me think of other things, haha :) thanks in advanced!

[Madora]

Probably to keep the scalp warm and protect it as well.

[Lipbalmbabe]

Probably to keep the scalp warm and protect it as well.

Thank you so much!

[LauraDay]

I would second Madora, certainlywarmth and also protection from elements like the sun. Plus to provide a reason for the creation of websites such as this one ;)

[Lipbalmbabe]

I would second Madora, certainlywarmth and also protection from elements like the sun. Plus to provide a reason for the creation of websites such as this one ;)
Haha LHC takes up 75% of my day! Gotta <3 it! :D

[heidi w.]

Here's a possible answer.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/human-biology/human-body-hair.htm

Here's a New York Times Science article on why human "fur" disappeared on the human body.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/19/science/why-humans-and-their-fur-parted-ways.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm

Search under "why do humans have hair?"
heidi w.

[Amber_Maiden]

Definitely protection, and probably also a way of display- think about it like this: some birds have very pretty feathers, and everyone has very different hair... same thing... Helps in the mating game.

[Kyla]

Definitely protection, and probably also a way of display- think about it like this: some birds have very pretty feathers, and everyone has very different hair... same thing... Helps in the mating game.

I never even thought of that explanation. That's very interesting. :)

[Tisiloves]

There is also a theory that Human head hair grows long as an indication of status, as well as health. If your hair looked good in the back then, before the invention of mirrors, it meant that someone cared enough to do it for you.

[Savahead]

Long scalp hair most likely evolved due to its ability to attract mates. Hair longer than a few inches serves no real purpose other than vanity.

[HylianGirl]

I'd guess that besides protection, a long time ago it was a way to see if your possible mate is healthy enough. Think about it: hair reflects the state of the body, if you lack vitamins or is sick or weak, the hair will show that. If someone could get and mantain a long healthy hair, that person probably also had very good health.

[holothuroidea]

My theory, not having read anything: Humans evolved in tropical climates and when we started walking upright we needed less hair on our body and more on our head to protect us from the sun.

[maborosi]

My theory, not having read anything: Humans evolved in tropical climates and when we started walking upright we needed less hair on our body and more on our head to protect us from the sun.

I second this, but wonder about people who evolved in colder regions...

If people in really cold regions (ie- Scandinavia) need warmth, why does their hair typically grow much finer than people from other regions? I wonder if sun protection really was why we started growing head hair?

~maborosi~

[holothuroidea]

I second this, but wonder about people who evolved in colder regions...

If people in really cold regions (ie- Scandinavia) need warmth, why does their hair typically grow much finer than people from other regions? I wonder if sun protection really was why we started growing head hair?

~maborosi~

We did most of our evolving in Africa, and it is fairly recently that we have ventured out to colder regions, but this venturing out may account for why races in colder climates lost the curl to their hair and gained thickness and coarseness, to cover the ears, neck and back.

This is all conjecture by the way, based on nothing but my college biology class. :D

[sedonia]

warmth: unlikely because humans evolved in warm dry African Savannas. keeping cool was probably more of an issue. Also, if hair was important for warmth, we'd expect to see people whose ancestors came from cold, northern climates have thicker hair than people from warm tropical climates, and we don't see that.

I'm in the "mating attractiveness" camp.

[Naiadryade]

Long scalp hair most likely evolved due to its ability to attract mates. Hair longer than a few inches serves no real purpose other than vanity.

While I agree on the mate-attracting point, I beg to differ on the second sentence! My hair does a LOT to keep my ears and neck warm, which it would not do if it were only a few inches long. This is my favorite part about having long hair.


We did most of our evolving in Africa, and it is fairly recently that we have ventured out to colder regions, but this venturing out may account for why races in colder climates lost the curl to their hair and gained thickness and coarseness, to cover the ears, neck and back.

This is all conjecture by the way, based on nothing but my college biology class. :D

I concur, maybe not always on the coarseness bit, but straight hair seems to have much more of a tendency to grow down, covering the neck etc, than African-type hair. I have thickish, straight/wavy hair from my father--with English, Polish and Belarusian heritage--that does a lot to keep me warm most of the year here in Massachusetts!

[cocoahair]

O my gosh I have been wondering the exact same thing! So glad I'm not the only one.

[Bedhead]

So here's one for you! ;)

There's an article out there I read about a month ago that talks about a study about hair and it being somewhat like whiskers. The study was based on top Native American warriors who seemed to lose their sense of what was around them, and therefore lose much of their warrior skills, when their hair was cut to fit into the white man's army.

Sorry, but I don't have the link, but I'm sure google can help you there.

[holothuroidea]

warmth: unlikely because humans evolved in warm dry African Savannas. keeping cool was probably more of an issue. Also, if hair was important for warmth, we'd expect to see people whose ancestors came from cold, northern climates have thicker hair than people from warm tropical climates, and we don't see that.

I'm in the "mating attractiveness" camp.

What about protection from the sun? African hair is like an awesome personal natural parasol.

[Naiadryade]

So here's one for you! ;)

There's an article out there I read about a month ago that talks about a study about hair and it being somewhat like whiskers. The study was based on top Native American warriors who seemed to lose their sense of what was around them, and therefore lose much of their warrior skills, when their hair was cut to fit into the white man's army.

Sorry, but I don't have the link, but I'm sure google can help you there.

I read that too! Here's the link:

http://www.sott.net/articles/show/234783-The-Truth-About-Hair-and-Why-Indians-Would-Keep-Their-Hair-Long

Thanks for reminding me of a great reason to have long hair, and to keep it healthy! Perhaps those of us with damaged hair, split ends etc. may also have a damaged sixth sense/intuition... Just speaking for myself here, pondering what the ramifications of healing my hair may be for the rest of my experience of life!

[long&blonde]

I read the same article:about long hair assisting in sensing what is around you.

[holothuroidea]

That article was awesome. I don't know how true it was but I loved it. :D

[Bedhead]

I read that too! Here's the link:

http://www.sott.net/articles/show/234783-The-Truth-About-Hair-and-Why-Indians-Would-Keep-Their-Hair-Long

Thanks for reminding me of a great reason to have long hair, and to keep it healthy! Perhaps those of us with damaged hair, split ends etc. may also have a damaged sixth sense/intuition... Just speaking for myself here, pondering what the ramifications of healing my hair may be for the rest of my experience of life!

Thanks for finding it!!! :beercheer:

I do find it interesting that every time I ended up focussed on things expected of me by society, I had very short hair, and each time I brought my consciousness back to my connection to the earth etc. I had grown out my hair.

I've never had split ends, but I did have damaged hair which brought me on this hair journey and to LHC, during which my intuition seemed to work pretty well. ;)

What I'm wondering is, if this is actually true how does that apply to the east where the great Shaulin warriors shaved their heads?

[rena]

It makes a whole lot of sense to have African hair to keep cool, and straight hair to keep warm, but how do we explain South East Asians and Indians who live in warm climates, but seem to have cold climate hair instead?

Another thing thats puzzling to me is long curly hair. I know when curly hair is short, it can mimic an afro, but when it gets too long to stand up, it turns into something akin to a blanket if its both thick and long. I think its because of all the curling strands interweaving with each other to form a barrier, like a knitted fabric. I'm sure many of us here can attest to the difficulty of separating tangled curls or working knots out of very textured hair that is long.

Yet I notice that with straight hair, its very slippery and separates and slides when the person moves around, which seems to mean that it wouldn't do so well keeping someone warm unless they were standing perfectly still, and out of the wind. This is unless it was just that thick and heavy that the wind could not easily lift it off their body and it was abundant enough to cover them even in movement. If anything, it seems like it would be useful keeping someone warm indoors rather than out.

[sfgirl]

I'd say fertility indication. A lot of stuff in nature that is impractical is because of that. :)

[Long_Curls]

Great replies so far.

Another reason is that the ability to grow strong and long hair is a health indicator, especially for women.

Back in our very nomadic origins, women needed to be able to grow long hair so that their children could cling to it. Long and strong hair would serve the toddler to grab, as one would do with a rope, when the woman had to move around, run for survival or had to go through water. Thus, the ability to grow long hair to at least breast length and also grow strong strands would be correlated with better survival of the offspring.

Of course, this is speculation but I like to read nerdy stuff and this was one of the ideas proposed by a reputable researcher on human genetics (I have the webpage bookmarked in my other computer). It does make a lot of sense though and it would serve as a health cue as also does wide shoulders or wide hips when selecting a mating partner. There are also some interesting ideas for woolly (black african) hair too and there is some cool reading stuff if you dig around.



It makes a whole lot of sense to have African hair to keep cool, and straight hair to keep warm, but how do we explain South East Asians and Indians who live in warm climates, but seem to have cold climate hair instead?

Migration.