Hair is very important in my life. I recently cut all my hair off in hopes of growing it back more healthy and stronger. My family has a good hair system . All of our hair at the least passes our shoulders. But length does not mean that it is healthy. My G-mom has thin hair due to her thyroid condition and my mom’s hair is also thin. My hair is thin too but hopefully because I went natural there will be a change. Based on my family hairline it could go either way. Only time will tell me if my genetics are more dominate or less dominate in relation to my mom and G-mom.
Genetics determine how a person will look physically. We inherit certain characteristics from our parents such as eye color, height, body structure , hair color and so on. If a parent has short hair most likely their child will have short hair if they inherit that specific gene but there are a variety of other outcomes. A great grandparent could have had long hair which caused the child to have long hair despite the parents hair length.
Genetics plays a huge factor in determining how your hair will grow , how long, the thickness and color. Hair growth is dependent on how long an individual’s hair will stay in the growth phase. Some people stay in hair phase for 2-3 years and others lasts over a longer period of time. Every person is different but you can kind of predict what your time span will be based on your parents, grandparents and even farther down the line. Although I have a twin sister our hair textures are different. My hair is thicker and softer than hers but she has longer hair than me even before I decided to cut my hair off. Genetics works in mysterious ways.
For ethnic hair , growth depends on genetics and how we maintain and care for our hair. For instance chemicals are not good for our hair. These chemicals include perms, hair dye and texturizers. They damage our hair, cause breakage, and a permanent new texture of hair. Heat is also a factor that controls hair growth. Heat only singes our hair follicles and leaves them permanently straight with excessive use. Our hair is kinky, course and sometimes naturally dry. Moisturizers, conditioners, protective hair styles and hot oil treatments are good ways to promote hair growth. Genetics and hair care are factors that control ethnic hair growth. The longer we leave our hair alone there will be a higher chance of growth this is why protective styles are heavily used by the black community.
Every person is different because they will have different hair types, different inherited genes and different life events that effect hair growth. Stress, physical activity , hair care and genetics are all factors that control hair growth however genetics is the more dominate factor.
References:
http://blackgirllonghair.com/2013/05/is-long-hair-genetic/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/5173315
Yea that is exactly why I probably will never dye my hair. So many things can change the natural state of your hair . It is really hard to maintain and care for your hair because it changes so much at different times in life. I commend hairdressers because they have a lot of work to do whether the hair is healthy or not.
Sometimes a person cannot actually get their true hair type back. When you talked about people getting their hair dyed and etc., a persons hair follicle can actually be damaged completed and their true hair pattern can never be returned, or back to its strongest form ever again. The chemicals that are in these products are so strong that the hair follicle can not take it at all.