The African hair is generally curly or frizzy, and grows almost parallel to the scalp. It has the slowest growth rate of 0.9 centimeters per month due to its spiral structure which causes it to twist on itself as it grows. African hair has a flattened shape.
Category 4: Kinky/Coily
This category has the African human hair type because it is largely seen in black people. This category can also be referred to as types of afro hair because it has a lot of people showcasing a fro! This is naturally very dry and wiry or soft and fine hair.
Black hair is literally different than all other hair.
While other races can have straight, wavy, or curly strands, most black people have varying degrees of tightly curled strands.
African hair is seen to be much thicker and more dense meaning that the hair follicles are larger. Density represents the amount of hairs that grow from the head, with denser hair resulting from more hairs growing closer together from the scalp. An individual with high-density hair creates a fuller appearance of curls.
Type 1 hair: Straight hair with no natural curls. Type 2 hair: Wavy hair with no complete curls characterized by bumps and waves. Type 3 hair: Appears curly and has a definite “S” shaped curl pattern. Type 4 hair: It's a Kinky hair texture that has a definite “Z” shaped curl pattern.
Follicles that are more oval in shape cause curlier hair to grow. Very tightly coiled hair is due to the nearly flat, ribbon-like structure of their follicles. This hair texture is very common in people of African ancestry. Not only is African hair often coiled, it also has a unique texture.
The hairs appear as a tight coiled springlike structure. Many shafts exhibited knots (10%-16% vs 0.15%) and appear broken compared with hair shafts from other ethnic groups. SEM of African hairs showed features consistent with repeated breaks of the shaft.
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.
You are at higher risk for fragile hair if:
Hair follicles in most people of African descent are shaped like an oval, giving way to many possible breaking points along the hair shaft. This results in hair curling and twisting when coming out of the scalp.
Frizz occurs on afro hair and curly hair more than any other types. Afro hair produces plenty of protective oils called sebum, but the oil struggles to spread evenly along the hair fibre due to the curly nature of afro hair.
Many people of European and Asian descent have curly hair, and curl patterns vary greatly among people of African descent. As the combining of ethnicities becomes more common in an increasingly global world, these historical ways of describing hair may become increasingly less accurate.
The African hair is generally curly or frizzy, and grows almost parallel to the scalp. It has the slowest growth rate of 0.9 centimeters per month due to its spiral structure which causes it to twist on itself as it grows.
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.
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.
There are two reasons why we believe African hair texture is genetic. Firstly, the texture is universal in Africans, while nearly absent from other ethnic groups. Secondly, it is consistently passed down to the children in each new generation.
Hair type 1A is super-straight. It doesn't even hold a curl! 1A is the rarest hair type.
African hair has the lowest growth rate. Hair growth rate and hair diameter were reported to be associated with cuticle interscale distance. Hairs with larger cross-sectional area grow faster and have a shorter cuticle interscale distance, and vice versa.
Depending on your hair's natural porosity, you may find your cuticle is raised, tightly bound, or in between. If your hair is highly porous, it loses moisture easily and is likely to have less sheen, as uneven surfaces refract rather than reflect line.
Certain races have higher rates of hair loss compared to others. Caucasians have the highest rates out of all the ethnic groups. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Native American Indians, Inuits, and Chinese have the lowest rates.
Japan, Spain and Sweden are widely known for having people with healthy hair, but there are also other countries like India, France and Russia that are also known for helping people keep their hair natural and not messing with any artificial coloring.
According to a global study based on 4 characteristics that determine healthy hair – thickness, tensile strength, shine, and smoothness – Indian women have the best hair in the world.
African Americans have the lowest hair density, averaging around 130 hairs per square centimeter and about 60,000 hair follicles on an adult scalp.
Higher Concentration of Melanin
Most Africans have high levels of melanin that results in yellow eyes. Melanin determines the color of your skin, sclera and eyes. When this concentration increases, the eye color becomes light yellow or muddy brown.
While black hair is attractive on a woman, lighter and longer hair makes women look more attractive in some circumstances, research finds.