Why is Curly Hair Curly?

Everyone’s hair is unique and different. This is due to a host of factors such as absorbency, thickness, fullness, how your hair responds to certain ingredients, your lifestyle, heritage and so much more. Unfortunately, the lack of knowledge we have about our hair can lead us to set hair goals for our hair that we often struggle to reach. If this sounds familiar to you then you’ve come to the right place!  At The Good Hair Co, we aim to help you uncover the mysteries of the hair world to bring you closer to understanding your hair and establishing the perfect routine for your hair’s profile.

Let’s talk about hair patterns!

WHAT IS A HAIR PATTERN?

Hair pattern (or curl pattern) is the specific shape your hair strands make as they naturally grow out of your scalp. If you took a microscope and had a look at your scalp you would see tiny holes (or “pores”) in your skin called follicles. A follicle is a sac-like pit in the dermis layer (second layer) of the skin which grows your hair by packing old cells together. As the hair grows it gets pushed up through the skin before reaching the outermost layer of the skin (epidermis layer). This process is called keratinisation which forms the hair you can see on your head known as the hair shaft (aka hair strand).

HOW IS MY HAIR PATTERN CREATED?

The shapes and textures that are formed as your hair grows out of your head depends on the shape of the hair follicle itself which is determined by your genes. The flatter or more oval-shaped the follicle, the curlier your hair strand will be; the more circular the follicle, the straighter your strands hair will be. Think of the angle of your straightener when you want to straighten or curl your hair. The angle of your straightener, dictate the curliness or straightness of your hairstyle. This goes for your natural curl pattern too. The angle of the hair follicle dictates the curliness or straightness of your hair pattern.

Image source: uk.lush.com

• Straight hair has a perfectly round follicle meaning the follicles tunnel directly vertically down from the skin’s surface into the dermis.

• Wavy hair has an elliptical follicle meaning the follicles tunnel slightlly vertically down from the skin’s surface into the dermis.

• Curly hair has a narrowed elliptical follicle meaning the follicle angles towards the dermis causing it to curl as it grows.

• Coily hair has a flat elliptical follicle meaning the follicle angles into the dermis causing it coil up as it grows.

WHAT DETERMINES MY CURL PATTERN?

As mentioned above, the shape of the hair follicle itself is determined by your genes. When it comes to hair, there are several alleles (i.e a version of a gene), that help to determine your hair type. There are many genes contributing to hair curliness and most of them are unknown, however, the two known versions of the hair type gene are the curly hair alleles (C) and straight hair alleles (s). These two hair type genes can either be dominant (i.e masks or suppresses other traits from appearing) or be recessive (i.e. require two exact copies of the allele to be present for the gene type to be expressed). 

Curly hair is said to be a dominant allele and straight hair is a recessive allele. This means, if one parent carries one allele for curly hair and the other carries an allele for straight hair, their child will likely have curly hair (CC) or wavy hair (Cs) but not straight. However if both parents carry an allele for straight hair then their child will likely have straight hair (ss). Wavey hair comes as a result of incomplete dominance which referes to when the dominant gene doesnt completely surpress the recessive gene from appearing.

The types of genes you get and how much of it is dependent on which genes your parents passed down to you and how many variations you inherit. It is possible for parents to be carriers of a gene without displaying signs of that gene and passing it on to their child instead. This is why not every child’s hair will resemble that of their parents but perhaps their grandparents or great grandparent instead. Since genes can interact with each other and you receive two sets of genetic information from each of your own parents, the genetic traits you inherit are entirely random. 

This is why your hair is so unique.

HOW DOES HAIR PATTERN AFFECT MY HAIRCARE?

Just like the rest of our body, our hair is constantly changing. This is often due to genetics, however, other factors such as styling practices, toxic chemicals and bad nutrition or hormonal changes, environmentals agents and medical conditions can affect how our hair changes too. Knowing your natural curl pattern can help you understand if certain life changes or lifestyle choices are affecting your hair in order to understand why. This enables you to make better product selections, know your styling do’s and don’ts and the techniques to use to bring the best out of your hair. While knowing your curl pattern can point you in the right direction, your curls pattern as well as other hair properties like hair porosity, density, elasticity and texture play a huge part in discovering the best hair care products and routines for your hair. 

WHAT DO I DO NOW?

Now that you have an idea of why your hair might be curly or wavy, why not read our post on how to find your curl pattern? Better yet, book your consultation with one of our certified hair experts. Get a personalised regimen consisting of highly effective product recommendations to solve your hair and scalp concerns. Let us help you discover the expert hair care advice you need to get the healthy hair you want.