You get hair traits (color, texture, thickness) from both your mom and dad, as you inherit half your genes from each parent, but the specific mix is complex and many genes influence these traits, including some associated with hair loss. While genes for baldness (androgenetic alopecia) have a maternal link (X chromosome), numerous other genes from both parents contribute, meaning you can get them from either side.
Hair genes can be inherited from both parents. The genetic contribution for traits like hair color, texture, and other characteristics comes from a combination of genes inherited from both the mother and the father.
Ultimately, hair loss isn't as simple as inheriting it from one side of the family. Instead, it's a blend of genetic influences that come from both parents. If you have a family history of hair loss on either side, it may increase your likelihood of experiencing it yourself, but it's not a guarantee.
Both parents contribute to your hair genetics, with the AR gene from the mother and other influential genes from the father. Hair traits such as balding, color, and greying are polygenic, meaning multiple genes contribute rather than a single source.
One popular myth is that hair loss in men is passed down from the mother's side of the family while hair loss in women is passed down from the father's side; however, the truth is that the genes for hair loss and hair loss itself are actually passed down from both sides of the family.
Your biological father can pass on physical traits such as your biological sex, eye color, height, puberty timing, fat distribution, dimples, and even risk factors for certain health conditions.
The short answer is that genes inherited from both sides of your family affect your chances of going bald. While we often hear that a man's chance of going bald is inherited from the maternal side, that's only partially true. The estimates vary, but about 60-70% of balding risk can be explained by someone's genetics1.
Every cell we have descends from a the first human cell, a zygote. And zygote mitochondria comes only from egg cells, never from sperm cells. So every gene that belongs to us from mitochondria is only inherited from our mom's side. So, taking this into account, you could say that we have more mom genes than dad genes.
Asian hair generally exhibits the strongest mechanical properties, and its cross-sectional area is determined greatly by genetic variations, particularly from the ectodysplasin A receptor gene.
It can, and often does. One of the most common questions we hear is, "Can baldness skip a generation?" The short answer is yes.
The "Big 3" hair loss treatments, popular in forums, are Minoxidil, Finasteride, and Ketoconazole shampoo, often combined to tackle hereditary hair loss (androgenetic alopecia) by boosting growth, blocking hormones, and reducing inflammation. Minoxidil (Rogaine) widens blood vessels, Finasteride (Propecia) blocks DHT, and Ketoconazole fights scalp fungus and inflammation, with microneedling sometimes considered a fourth addition.
The AR gene controls the sensitivity of your hair follicles to dihydrotestosterone, a male sex hormone or androgen. Dihydrotestosterone, or DHT, binds to the androgen receptors in your follicles and causes them to shrink. So if your androgen receptors are highly sensitive to DHT, you're more likely to go bald.
Many of the genes responsible for baldness and hair loss tend to come from your maternal grandfather, even though genes from both of your parents and all of your grandparents can also play a role. If your maternal grandfather is bald or is losing their hair, you are a likely candidate for hair loss problems yourself.
Eventually, hair growth in certain parts of the scalp stops entirely, which causes the typical pattern of hair loss. Contrary to the folk wisdom that baldness is inherited from one's mother's family, the condition seems to depend on genes contributed by both parents.
The rarest hair type is generally considered Type 1A, which is extremely fine, straight, and wispy, lacking any natural bends or waves, making it difficult to hold a curl but naturally sleek and prone to oiliness. While curly hair types (Type 3 & 4) are less common globally, 1A stands out as the least voluminous and textured straight hair, often seen in people of East Asian descent, though it's considered rare across all populations due to its unique fineness.
Your brother's unique DNA, being slightly different to yours, explains why brothers the world over can have totally different volumes of hair.
“The ethnicity with the least amount of terminal hair is Asian, whereas people of Hispanic and Middle Eastern descent typically have the most. Other ethnicities fall somewhere in between. So what's normal, hair-wise, for you might not be normal for someone of a different ethnic background.”
Asian hair has the highest hardness and elasticity. It is resistant to stretching and can withstand a traction force of 60 to 65 grams.
African hair has an average diameter of 55µm, the smallest of all hair subgroups. It also has the most significant variability of diameter in a single strand. The density of scalp hair of African ethnicity is less than that of Caucasian and Asian ethnicities, and the density of African hair decreases with age.
Fathers will always pass their X chromosome to their daughters and their Y chromosome to their sons.
Mitochondrial DNA Disease Inheritance
Most cases of mitochondrial DNA disease will have been maternally inherited which means the mutation has been passed down from the mother to child. This is because we inherit our mitochondrial DNA from our mothers only.
Superfecundation is the fertilization of two or more ova from the same menstrual cycle by sperm from the same or different males, whether through separate acts of intercourse or during a single sexual encounter with multiple males. This can potentially result in twin babies that have different biological fathers.
What are the best vitamins for hair growth? The available evidence supports the routine use of only three supplements: Vitamin D, Iron, and Vitamin C, mostly for its effects on improving iron absorption.
Why am I balding if my parents aren't bald? If baldness doesn't run in your family but you're still losing hair, it's possible that you're affected by non-genetic hair loss. This could be related to stress, weight loss, illness, hormones, or any number of reasons you're losing hair.
Nutritional deficiency may impact both hair structure and hair growth. Effects on hair growth include acute telogen effluvium (TE), a well-known effect of sudden weight loss or decreased protein intake [1], as well as the diffuse alopecia seen in niacin deficiency [2].