105-429: A wig is a head covering made from human or animal hair , or a synthetic imitation thereof. The word is short for "periwig". Wigs may be worn to disguise baldness, to alter the wearer's appearance, or as part of certain professional uniforms. In Egyptian society men and women commonly had clean-shaven or close-cropped hair and often wore wigs. The ancient Egyptians created the wig to shield shaved, hairless heads from
210-548: A brown-haired person has 110,000, a black-haired person has 100,000, and a redhead has 90,000. Hair growth stops after a human's death. Visible growth of hair on the dead body happens only because of skin drying out due to water loss. The world record for longest hair on a living person stands with Smita Srivastava of Uttar Pradesh, India . At 7 feet and 9 inches long, she broke a Guinness World Record in November 2023, having grown her hair for 32 years. Hair exists in
315-415: A "weft". The wefts are then sewn to a foundation made of net or other material. In modern times, the wefts can also be made (a warp is the vertical thread of a weave, the weft is the horizontal thread) with a specially adapted sewing machine, reducing the amount of hand labour involved. In the 19th century another method came into use. A small hook called a "ventilating needle" or "knotting needle", similar to
420-914: A cotton thread, but is not stiff or rough. It is neither fine nor coarse. Thick strands whose shed strands usually are easily identified. Coarse hair feels hard and wiry. Hair is mainly composed of keratin proteins and keratin-associated proteins (KRTAPs). The human genome encodes 54 different keratin proteins which are present in various amounts in hair. Similarly, humans encode more than 100 different KRTAPs which crosslink keratins in hair. The content of KRTAPs ranges from less than 3% in human hair to 30–40% in echidna quill. Many mammals have fur and other hairs that serve different functions. Hair provides thermal regulation and camouflage for many animals; for others it provides signals to other animals such as warnings, mating, or other communicative displays; and for some animals hair provides defensive functions and, rarely, even offensive protection. Hair also has
525-641: A daily or occasional basis in everyday life. This is sometimes done for reasons of convenience, since wigs can be styled ahead of time. A common practice of wigs for convenience is called protective styling. Many use wigs to avoid damage to their natural tresses, or to create styles that may not be possible otherwise. They are also worn by individuals who are experiencing hair loss for medical reasons (most commonly cancer patients who are undergoing chemotherapy , or those who are suffering from alopecia areata ). Some men who crossdress as women wear wigs in different styles to make their hair seem more feminine. A merkin
630-423: A filler in paint, plaster, adhesives, and pharmaceuticals. It also has a number of uses in the film industry and on stage. The English name reflects the historical use of the material for fulling (cleaning and shrinking) wool, by textile workers known as fullers . In past centuries, fullers kneaded fuller's earth and water into woollen cloth to absorb lanolin , oils, and other greasy impurities as part of
735-431: A fixed character. Nearly all women and many men do so not only for character design, but also to cover their microphone packs. Often the microphone pack goes on the actor's head, mainly to efficiently facilitate quick changes. An actor not wearing a wig needs to change their look every time they go on stage. The wig helps solidify the character's design; natural hair is different day to day. Wigs are worn by some people on
840-435: A flat cross-section, while people of mostly European or Middle Eastern ancestry tend to have hair with a diameter of 70–100 μm and an oval cross-section, and people of mostly Asian or Native American ancestry tend to have hair with a diameter of 90–120 μm and a round cross-section. There are roughly two million small, tubular glands and sweat glands that produce watery fluids that cool the body by evaporation. The glands at
945-461: A good while since, but darst not wear it because the plague was in Westminster when I bought it. And it is a wonder what will be the fashion after the plague is done as to periwigs, for nobody will dare to buy any haire for fear of the infection? That it had been cut off the heads of people dead of the plague. Wigs were not without other drawbacks, as Pepys noted on March 27, 1663: I did go to
1050-473: A long pigtail hanging down the back nearly to waist level. By contrast, in the 1780s Russian General Potemkin abhorred the tight uniforms and uncomfortable wigs and powdered coiffures worn by his soldiers and instigated a complete revision of both. Along with comfortable, practical, well-fitting uniforms, his reforms introduced neat, natural hairstyles for all, with no wigs, powder and grease, or hair-tying evident. Formal military hairstyles lasted until beyond
1155-412: A means of compensating for hair loss or improving one's personal appearance. They also served a practical purpose: the unhygienic conditions of the time meant that hair attracted head lice , a problem that could be much reduced if natural hair were shaved and replaced with a more easily de-loused artificial hairpiece. Fur hoods were also used in a similar preventive fashion. Royal patronage was crucial to
SECTION 10
#17327838413421260-404: A queue according to the old-fashioned style of the 18th century , though Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) wore a powdered wig only rarely and stopped wearing a wig entirely shortly after becoming president in 1801. John Quincy Adams (1767–1848) also wore a powdered wig in his youth, but he abandoned this fashion while serving as the U.S. Minister to Russia (1809–1814), long before his accession to
1365-836: A queue as a standard part of the military uniform until 1801. In 1801 James Wilkinson , a Senior Officer of the U.S. Army , issued an order to remove all queues or pigtails , which had been worn in the army since the Revolutionary War (1775–1783). This order applied also to powdered wigs tied in queue and was highly unpopular with both officers and men, leading to several desertions and threats of resignation. Jewish law requires married women to cover their hair for reasons of tzniut (Hebrew: "modesty or privacy"). Some Orthodox Jewish women wear wigs, known as sheitels , for this purpose. Wigs of those who practice Haredi Judaism and Hasidic Judaism often are made from human hair. In Modern Orthodox Judaism , women will usually wear
1470-541: A raw material, im-bab-bár ( Akkadian : 𒅎𒌓 , gaṣṣu : 'gypsum, plaster'), literally "white earth", which was delivered to fullers for the finishing of cloth. There are several Biblical references to fulling (2 Kings 18:17; Isaiah 7:3 and 36:2; Malachi 3:2; Mark 9:3), but the materials used to whiten the fabric are not specified. Pliny the Elder mentions several types of fuller's earth ( creta fullonia in Latin) from
1575-460: A scarf, kerchief, snood, hat or other covering, sometimes exposing the bottom of their hair. One rabbi has declared that long wigs are inappropriate. Another said that it is preferable for a married Jewish woman to expose her hair than to don a wig, for the wig actually increases attraction in the public domain and encourages the notion that Halakha is both irrational and intellectually dishonest. Still another rabbi, who also spoke strongly against
1680-447: A sensory function, extending the sense of touch beyond the surface of the skin. Guard hairs give warnings that may trigger a recoiling reaction. While humans have developed clothing and other means of keeping warm, the hair found on the head serves primarily as a source of heat insulation and cooling (when sweat evaporates from soaked hair) as well as protection from ultra-violet radiation exposure. The function of hair in other locations
1785-614: A structure consisting of several layers, starting from the outside: The word "hair" is derived from Middle English : heer and hêr , in turn derived from Old English : hǽr and hér , with influence from Old Norse : hár . Both the Old English and Old Norse words derive from Proto-Germanic : * hēran and are related to terms for hair in other Germanic languages such as Swedish : här , Dutch and German : haar , and Old Frisian : her . The now broadly obsolete word "fax" refers specifically to head hair and
1890-556: A symbol of the office. Hong Kong barristers and judges continue to wear wigs as part of court dress as a legacy of the court system from the time of British rule. In July 2007, judges in New South Wales , Australia, voted to discontinue the wearing of wigs in the NSW Court of Appeal. New Zealand lawyers and judges have ceased to wear wigs except for ceremonial occasions, such as when newly qualified lawyers are called to
1995-523: A variety of locations, each with different properties and therefore different uses. The first references to fulling mills are from Persia , and by the time of the Crusades in the late eleventh century, fulling mills were active throughout the medieval world. The use of fuller's earth across the Indian subcontinent dates back to at least 1879. While its household use and transportation by local carts in
2100-400: A variety of textures. Three main aspects of hair texture are the curl pattern, volume, and consistency. All mammalian hair is composed of keratin , so the make-up of hair follicles is not the source of varying hair patterns. There are a range of theories pertaining to the curl patterns of hair. Scientists have come to believe that the shape of the hair shaft has an effect on the curliness of
2205-473: A wig. However, the trend revived extravagantly during the Macaroni period of the 1770s. Women mainly powdered their hair grey, or blue-ish grey, and from the 1770s onwards never bright white like men. Wig powder was made from finely ground starch that was scented with orange flower, lavender , or orris root . Wig powder was occasionally colored violet, blue, pink or yellow, but was most often off-white. By
SECTION 20
#17327838413422310-423: Is a method which classifies the hair by curl pattern, hair-strand thickness and overall hair volume. Curliness Strands Thin strands that sometimes are almost translucent when held up to the light. Shed strands can be hard to see even against a contrasting background. Fine hair is difficult to feel or it feels like an ultra-fine strand of silk. Strands are neither fine nor coarse. Medium hair feels like
2415-416: Is a pubic wig often worn as a decorative item or for theatrical and fashion purposes. They are sometimes viewed as erotic and some designs are meant for entertainment or as a form of comedy. From the late 17th to early 19th centuries, European armies wore uniforms more or less imitating the civilian fashions of the time, but with militarized additions. As part of that uniform, officers wore wigs more suited to
2520-460: Is a term for various clays used as an absorbent, filter, or bleaching agent. Products labeled fuller's earth typically consist of palygorskite (also known as attapulgite ) or bentonite . Primary modern uses include as absorbents for oil, grease, and animal waste (cat litter), and as a carrier for pesticides and fertilizers. Minor uses include filtering, clarifying, and decolorizing; as an active and inactive ingredient in beauty products; and as
2625-496: Is a trait that may be associated with neoteny . Primates are relatively hairless compared to other mammals, and Hominini such as chimpanzees, have less dense hair than would be expected given their body size for a primate. Evolutionary biologists suggest that the genus Homo arose in East Africa approximately 2 million years ago. Part of this evolution was the development of endurance running and venturing out during
2730-532: Is altered volcanic ash composed mostly of montmorillonite. In 2005, the United States was the largest producer of fuller's earth with an almost 70% world share followed at a distance by Japan and Mexico. In the United States fuller's earth is typically derived from deposits of volcanic ash of Cretaceous age and younger (glacial clays do not form fuller's earth). Fuller's earth deposits have been mined in 24 states. The first discovery of fuller's earth in
2835-419: Is debated. Hats and coats are still required while doing outdoor activities in cold weather to prevent frostbite and hypothermia , but the hair on the human body does help to keep the internal temperature regulated. When the body is too cold, the arrector pili muscles found attached to hair follicles stand up, causing the hair in these follicles to do the same. These hairs then form a heat-trapping layer above
2940-514: Is focused on hair growth , hair types, and hair care , but hair is also an important biomaterial primarily composed of protein , notably alpha-keratin . Attitudes towards different forms of hair, such as hairstyles and hair removal , vary widely across different cultures and historical periods, but it is often used to indicate a person's personal beliefs or social position, such as their age, gender , or religion . The word "hair" usually refers to two distinct structures: Hair fibers have
3045-423: Is found in compounds such as Fairfax and Halifax . It is derived from Old English : feax and is cognate with terms such as Old Norse and Norwegian : fax . Each strand of hair is made up of the medulla , cortex , and cuticle . The innermost region, the medulla , is an open and unstructured region that is not always present. The highly structural and organized cortex , or second of three layers of
3150-469: Is interpreted in the neocortex , a section of the brain that expanded markedly in animals like Morganucodon and Hadrocodium . The more advanced therapsids could have had a combination of naked skin, whiskers , and scutes . A full pelage likely did not evolve until the therapsid-mammal transition. The more advanced, smaller therapsids could have had a combination of hair and scutes, a combination still found in some modern mammals, such as rodents and
3255-478: Is more complex, since not all hair grows at once. Scalp hair was reported to grow between 0.6 cm and 3.36 cm per month. The growth rate of scalp hair somewhat depends on age (hair tends to grow more slowly with age), sex, and ethnicity. Thicker hair (>60 μm) grows generally faster (11.4 mm per month) than thinner (20-30 μm) hair (7.6 mm per month). It was previously thought that Caucasian hair grew more quickly than Asian hair and that
Wig - Misplaced Pages Continue
3360-455: Is not just one method to discovering one's hair type. Additionally it is possible, and quite normal to have more than one kind of hair type, for instance having a mixture of both type 3a & 3b curls. The Andre Walker Hair Typing System is the most widely used system to classify hair. The system was created by Oprah Winfrey 's hairstylist, Andre Walker . According to this system there are four types of hair: straight, wavy, curly, kinky. This
3465-709: Is the main source of hair. It has been reported from time to time that for global human hair trade, women from the ASEAN region are being exploited. Hair from this region has a significant commercial value in the international market. Particularly in India , the women are forced by their husbands into selling their hair, and slum children were being tricked into "having their heads shaved in exchange for toys". Scrap pickers are another source of hair in India, these people find hair in miscellaneous places such as hair brushes, clothes, or in
3570-409: Is the outer covering. Its complex structure slides as the hair swells and is covered with a single molecular layer of lipid that makes the hair repel water. The diameter of human hair varies from 0.017 to 0.18 millimeters (0.00067 to 0.00709 in). Some of these characteristics in humans' head hair vary by race: people of mostly African ancestry tend to have hair with a diameter of 60–90 μm and
3675-650: The Sindh region of Pakistan predates the 1800s, export by rail was first recorded in 1929 in British India . The value of fuller's earth is a plot point in the Sherlock Holmes story " The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb " (1892). In the story, an engineer is paid an outlandish sum to repair a hydraulic press, accepting his client's explanation that the potential profit from fuller's earth warrants both
3780-557: The Upper Permian , shows smooth, hairless skin with what appears to be glandular depressions, though as a semi-aquatic species it might not have been particularly useful to determine the integument of terrestrial species. The oldest undisputed known fossils showing unambiguous imprints of hair are the Callovian (late middle Jurassic ) Castorocauda and several contemporary haramiyidans , both near-mammal cynodonts , giving
3885-441: The anagen , catagen , and telogen phases. Each strand of hair on the human body is at its own stage of development. Once the cycle is complete, it restarts and a new strand of hair begins to form. The growth rate of hair varies from individual to individual depending on their age, genetic predisposition and a number of environmental factors. It is commonly stated that hair grows about 1 cm per month on average; however reality
3990-409: The epidermis called the hair follicle . The bulb of hair consists of fibrous connective tissue, glassy membrane, external root sheath, internal root sheath composed of epithelium stratum ( Henle's layer ) and granular stratum ( Huxley's layer ), cuticle, cortex and medulla. All natural hair colors are the result of two types of hair pigments. Both of these pigments are melanin types, produced inside
4095-526: The epidermis . This process is formally called piloerection , derived from the Latin words 'pilus' ('hair') and 'erectio' ('rising up'), but is more commonly known as 'having goose bumps ' in English. This is more effective in other mammals whose fur fluffs up to create air pockets between hairs that insulate the body from the cold. The opposite actions occur when the body is too warm; the arrector muscles make
4200-423: The hygiene and cosmetology of hair including hair on the scalp , facial hair ( beard and moustache ), pubic hair and other body hair. Hair care routines differ according to an individual's culture and the physical characteristics of one's hair. Hair may be colored, trimmed, shaved, plucked, or otherwise removed with treatments such as waxing, sugaring, and threading. Fuller%27s earth Fuller's earth
4305-406: The opossum . The high interspecific variability of the size, color, and microstructure of hair often enables the identification of species based on single hair filaments. In varying degrees most mammals have some skin areas without natural hair. On the human body, glabrous skin is found on the ventral portion of the fingers , palms , soles of feet and lips , which are all parts of
Wig - Misplaced Pages Continue
4410-420: The tambour hooks used for decorating fabric with chain-stitch embroidery at that period, is used to knot a few strands of hair at a time directly to a suitable foundation material. This newer method produces a lighter and more natural looking wig. High quality custom wigs, and those used for film and theatrical productions are usually done this way. It is also possible to combine the two techniques, using weft for
4515-596: The 1660s . Wig-wearing remained a dominant style among men for about 140 years until the change of dress, affected by the French Revolution , in the 1790s . Perukes or periwigs for men were introduced into the English-speaking world with other French styles when Charles II was restored to the throne in 1660, following a lengthy exile in France. These wigs were shoulder-length or longer, imitating
4620-496: The 1780s, young men were setting a fashion trend by lightly powdering their natural hair, as women had already done from the 1770s onwards. After 1790, both wigs and powder were reserved for older, more conservative men, and were in use by ladies being presented at court. After 1790, English women seldom powdered their hair. In 1795, the British government levied a tax on hair powder of one guinea per year. This tax effectively caused
4725-512: The 18th century, men's wigs became smaller and more formal with several professions adopting them as part of their official costumes. This tradition survives in a few legal systems. They are routinely worn in various countries of the Commonwealth . Until 1823, bishops of the Church of England and Church of Ireland wore ceremonial wigs. The wigs worn by barristers are in the style favoured in
4830-465: The EDAR locus, a region of the modern human genome that contributes to hair texture variation among most individuals of East Asian descent, support the hypothesis that (East Asian) straight hair likely developed in this branch of the modern human lineage subsequent to the original expression of tightly coiled natural afro-hair . Specifically, the relevant findings indicate that the EDAR mutation coding for
4935-503: The Japanese film and television genre Jidaigeki , wigs are used extensively to alter appearance to reflect the Edo period when most stories take place. Only a few actors starring in big-budgeted films and television series will grow their hair so that it may be cut to the appropriate hair style, and forgo using a wig. In the theater, especially on Broadway, wigs are used to give a performer
5040-523: The Swan; and there sent for Jervas my old periwig-maker and he did bring me a periwig; but it was full of nits , so as I was troubled to see it (it being his old fault) and did send him to make it clean. With wigs virtually obligatory garb for men with social rank, wigmakers gained considerable prestige. A wigmakers' guild was established in France in 1665, a development soon copied elsewhere in Europe. Their job
5145-866: The United States was near Quincy, Florida , in 1893; previously it was imported from England. In 1939 mines near Quincy produced half the U.S. production. In the United Kingdom, fuller's earth occurs mainly in England. It has been mined in the Lower Greensand Group and the Vale of White Horse , Oxfordshire . The Combe Hay Mine was a fuller's earth mine operating to the south of Bath, Somerset , until 1979. Other sites south of Bath included Frome , Lonsdale, Englishcombe , Tucking Mill , and Duncorn Hill . Although these sites had been used since Roman times, William Smith developed new methods for
5250-445: The age as no later than ≈220 ma based on the modern phylogenetic understanding of these clades. More recently, studies on terminal Permian Russian coprolites may suggest that non-mammalian synapsids from that era had fur. If this is the case, these are the oldest hair remnants known, showcasing that fur occurred as far back as the latest Paleozoic . Some modern mammals have a special gland in front of each orbit used to preen
5355-681: The bar . In Canada lawyers and judges do not wear wigs. A number of celebrities, including Donna Summer , Dolly Parton , Sia , Nicki Minaj , Katy Perry , Lady Gaga , Diana Ross & The Supremes , Tina Turner and Raquel Welch , popularized wigs. Cher has worn all kinds of wigs in the last 40 years, from blonde to black, and curly to straight. They may also be worn for fun as part of fancy dress ( costume wearing), when they can be of outlandish color or made from tinsel . They are quite common at Halloween , when "rubber wigs" (solid bald cap -like hats, shaped like hair), are sold at some stores. Wigs are used in film, theater, and television. In
SECTION 50
#17327838413425460-414: The belly and lower tail of a pelycosaur , possibly Haptodus shows the basal synapsid stock bore transverse rows of rectangular scutes , similar to those of a modern crocodile , so the age of acquirement of hair logically could not have been earlier than ≈299 ma, based on the current understanding of the animal's phylogeny. An exceptionally well-preserved skull of Estemmenosuchus , a therapsid from
5565-493: The body most closely associated with interacting with the world around us, as are the labia minora and glans penis . There are four main types of mechanoreceptors in the glabrous skin of humans: Pacinian corpuscles , Meissner's corpuscles , Merkel's discs , and Ruffini corpuscles . The naked mole-rat ( Heterocephalus glaber ) has evolved skin lacking in general, pelagic hair covering, yet has retained long, very sparsely scattered tactile hairs over its body. Glabrousness
5670-425: The circulation of cool air onto the scalp. Further, wet Afro-hair does not stick to the neck and scalp unless totally drenched and instead tends to retain its basic springy puffiness because it less easily responds to moisture and sweat than straight hair does. In this sense, the trait may enhance comfort levels in intense equatorial climates more than straight hair (which, on the other hand, tends to naturally fall over
5775-729: The cloth finishing process. The original spelling was without an apostrophe, but the apostrophe became more common in the 19th century, both before or after the s . Fuller's earth is the most common spelling today, but both fullers earth and fullers' earth remain in wide use. Fuller's earth is also known by the following other names: Fuller's earth consists primarily of hydrous aluminum silicates (clay minerals) of varying composition. Common components are montmorillonite , kaolinite , and attapulgite . Small amounts of other minerals may be present in fuller's earth deposits, including calcite , dolomite , and quartz . In some localities fuller's earth refers to calcium bentonite , which
5880-453: The condition of the strand. Fine hair has the smallest circumference, coarse hair has the largest circumference, and medium hair is anywhere between the other two. Coarse hair has a more open cuticle than thin or medium hair causing it to be the most porous. There are various systems that people use to classify their curl patterns. Being knowledgeable of an individual's hair type is a good start to knowing how to take care of one's hair. There
5985-421: The contemporary non-Jewish style and because it was immodest, in their eyes, for a woman to sport a beautiful head of hair, even if it was a wig." Other options include: In the 18th and 19th centuries, wigmakers were called perruquiers. There are two methods of attaching hair to wigs. The first and oldest is to weave the root ends of the hair onto a stretch of three silk threads to form a sort of fringe called
6090-461: The decade between 1910 and 1920, but they seem to have gone out of fashion during the 1920s. In the 1960s a new type of synthetic wig was developed using a modacrylic fiber which made wigs more affordable. Reid-Meredith was a pioneer in the sales of these types of wigs. The art of wigs became a billion dollar industry in the 21st century. Three main processes happen within the industry: the collection of material, manufacturing, and distribution. India
6195-632: The demise of both the fashion for wigs and powder. Granville Leveson-Gower , in Paris during the winter of 1796, at the height of the Thermidorian Directory , noted "The word citoyen seemed but very little in use, and hair powder being very common, the appearance of the people was less democratic than in England." Among women in the French court of Versailles in the mid-to-late 18th century, large, elaborate and often themed wigs (such as
6300-411: The drawing rooms of Europe than its battlefields. The late 17th century saw officers wearing full-bottomed natural-coloured wigs, but the civilian change to shorter, powdered styles with pigtails in the early 18th century saw officers adopting similar styles. The elaborate, oversized court-styles of the late 18th century were not followed by armies in the field however, as they were impractical to withstand
6405-506: The ears and neck to a degree that provides slightly enhanced comfort levels in cold climates relative to tightly coiled hair). Further, it is notable that the most pervasive expression of this hair texture can be found in sub-Saharan Africa; a region of the world that abundant genetic and paleo-anthropological evidence suggests, was the relatively recent (≈200,000-year-old) point of origin for modern humanity. In fact, although genetic findings (Tishkoff, 2009) suggest that sub-Saharan Africans are
SECTION 60
#17327838413426510-457: The edges of the eyelid and protects the eye from dirt. The eyelash is to humans, camels, horses, ostriches etc., what whiskers are to cats ; they are used to sense when dirt, dust , or any other potentially harmful object is too close to the eye. The eye reflexively closes as a result of this sensation . Eyebrows and eyelashes do not grow beyond a certain length (eyelashes are rarely more than 10 mm long). However, trichomegaly can cause
6615-587: The end of the 18th century and it was the French Revolution which spelled the end of wigs and powdered, greased hairstyles in modern, Western armies. Powdered hair and pigtails made a brief return during Napoleon 's reign, being worn by infantry of his Foot Grenadiers and Foot Chasseurs of the Old Guard and the Horse Grenadiers of the Guard. United States Army soldiers wore powdered wigs tied in
6720-628: The end of the 18th century. The elaborate form of wigs worn at the coronation of George III in 1761 was lampooned by William Hogarth in his engraving Five Orders of Periwigs . Powdering wigs and extensions was messy and inconvenient, and the development of the naturally white or off-white powderless wig (made of horsehair) for men made the retention of wigs in everyday court dress a practical possibility. By 1765, wig-wearing went out of fashion except for some occupational groups such as coachmen and lawyers. During this period, people tended to simply wear their natural hair, styled and powdered to resemble
6825-560: The equator, straight hair may have (initially) evolved to aid the entry of UV light into the body during the transition from dark, UV-protected skin to paler skin. Jablonski's assertions suggest that the adjective "woolly" in reference to Afro-hair is a misnomer in connoting the high heat insulation derivable from the true wool of sheep. Instead, the relatively sparse density of Afro-hair, combined with its springy coils actually results in an airy, almost sponge-like structure that in turn, Jablonski argues, more likely facilitates an increase in
6930-466: The film Mr. Skeffington (1944), Bette Davis 's character has to wear a wig after a bout of diphtheria , which is a moment of pathos and a symbol of her frailty. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century hairdressers in England and France did a brisk business supplying postiches , or pre-made small wiglets, curls, and false buns to be incorporated into the hairstyle. The use of postiches did not diminish even as women's hair grew shorter in
7035-491: The first years of life. Hair grows everywhere on the external body except for mucous membranes and glabrous skin, such as that found on the palms of the hands, soles of the feet, and lips. The body has different types of hair, including vellus hair and androgenic hair , each with its own type of cellular construction. The different construction gives the hair unique characteristics, serving specific purposes, mainly, warmth and protection. The three stages of hair growth are
7140-425: The fur, called the harderian gland . Imprints of this structure are found in the skull of the small early mammals like Morganucodon , but not in their cynodont ancestors like Thrinaxodon . The hairs of the fur in modern animals are all connected to nerves, and so the fur also serves as a transmitter for sensory input. Fur could have evolved from sensory hair (whiskers). The signals from this sensory apparatus
7245-420: The growth rate of women's hair was faster than that of men. However, more recent research has shown that the growth rate of hair in men and women does not significantly differ and that the hair of Chinese people grew more quickly than the hair of French Caucasians and West and Central Africans. The quantity of hair hovers in a certain range depending on hair colour. An average blonde person has 150,000 hairs,
7350-514: The hair follicle and packed into granules found in the fibers. Eumelanin is the dominant pigment in brown hair and black hair , while pheomelanin is dominant in red hair . Blond hair is the result of having little pigmentation in the hair strand. Gray hair occurs when melanin production decreases or stops, while poliosis is white hair (and often the skin to which the hair is attached), typically in spots that never possessed melanin at all, or ceased for natural reasons, generally genetic, in
7455-415: The hair follicle include the oil producing sebaceous gland which lubricates the hair and the arrector pili muscles, which are responsible for causing hairs to stand up. In humans with little body hair, the effect results in goose bumps . The root of the hair ends in an enlargement, the hair bulb , which is whiter in color and softer in texture than the shaft and is lodged in a follicular involution of
7560-423: The hair follicle shape determines curl pattern, the hair follicle size determines thickness. While the circumference of the hair follicle expands, so does the thickness of the hair follicle. An individual's hair volume, as a result, can be thin, normal, or thick. The consistency of hair can almost always be grouped into three categories: fine, medium, and coarse. This trait is determined by the hair follicle volume and
7665-520: The hair lie flat on the skin which allows heat to leave. In some mammals, such as hedgehogs and porcupines , the hairs have been modified into hard spines or quills. These are covered with thick plates of keratin and serve as protection against predators. Thick hair such as that of the lion's mane and grizzly bear's fur do offer some protection from physical damages such as bites and scratches. Displacement and vibration of hair shafts are detected by hair follicle nerve receptors and nerve receptors within
7770-535: The hair, is the primary source of mechanical strength and water uptake. The cortex contains melanin , which colors the fiber based on the number, distribution and types of melanin granules. The melanin may be evenly spaced or cluster around the edges of the hair. The shape of the follicle determines the shape of the cortex, and the shape of the fiber is related to how straight or curly the hair is. People with straight hair have round hair fibers. Oval and other shaped fibers are generally more wavy or curly. The cuticle
7875-501: The hot times of the day that required efficient thermoregulation through perspiration . The loss of heat through heat of evaporation by means of sweat glands is aided by air currents next to the skin surface, which are facilitated by the loss of body hair. Another factor in human evolution that also occurred in the prehistoric past was a preferential selection for neoteny , particularly in females. The idea that adult humans exhibit certain neotenous (juvenile) features, not evinced in
7980-519: The identification of deposits of fuller's earth to the south of Bath . Other English sources include a mine near Redhill, Surrey (worked until 2000), and Woburn, Bedfordshire , where production ceased in 2004. Hills, cliffs, and slopes that contain fuller's earth can be unstable, since this material can be thixotropic when saturated by heavy rainfall. Fulling is an important step in the production of woolen garments, and can be traced back to ancient times. Cuneiform texts from Mesopotamia mention
8085-466: The impression of a powdered wig. Later in the century, hair was likewise tied back, greased and powdered, but false hair pigtails were adopted, kept in a tubular queue and tied back with ribbons to the soldier's own hair. The overall effect was that of a wig with a long tail and bow. The Prussian army took personal hairstyles to an extreme during the time of Frederick the Great , each soldier commonly having
8190-438: The individual's hair. A very round shaft allows for fewer disulfide bonds to be present in the hair strand. This means the bonds present are directly in line with one another, resulting in straight hair. The flatter the hair shaft becomes, the curlier hair gets, because the shape allows more cysteines to become compacted together resulting in a bent shape that, with every additional disulfide bond, becomes curlier in form. As
8295-429: The lashes to grow remarkably long and prominent (in some cases the upper lashes grow to 15 mm long). Hair has its origins in the common ancestor of mammals, the synapsids , about 300 million years ago. It is currently unknown at what stage the synapsids acquired mammalian characteristics such as body hair and mammary glands , as the fossils only rarely provide direct evidence for soft tissues. Skin impression of
8400-562: The late eighteenth century. Judges' wigs, in everyday use as court dress , are short like barristers' wigs (although in a slightly different style), but for ceremonial occasions judges and also senior barristers ( KCs ) wear full-bottomed wigs. In the 18th century, wigmaking was a craft guild in multiple cities. The guilds, government, and others were constantly concerned about quality. The Lyon Wigmaker Guild petitioned local magistrates to uphold statutes banning bleached human hair, as well as wild goat and lamb hair. The guild officers claimed that
8505-428: The long hair that had become fashionable among men since the 1620s. Their use soon became popular in the English court. The London diarist Samuel Pepys recorded the day in 1665 that a barber had shaved his head and that he tried on his new periwig for the first time, but in a year of plague he was uneasy about wearing it: 3rd September 1665: Up, and put on my coloured silk suit, very fine, and my new periwig, bought
8610-413: The main part of the wig and ventilating hair at the edges and partings to give a fine finish. Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis . Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals . The human body , apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and fine vellus hair . Most common interest in hair
8715-510: The most genetically diverse continental group on Earth, Afro-textured hair approaches ubiquity in this region. This points to a strong, long-term selective pressure that, in stark contrast to most other regions of the genomes of sub-Saharan groups, left little room for genetic variation at the determining loci. Such a pattern, again, does not seem to support human sexual aesthetics as being the sole or primary cause of this distribution. A group of studies have recently shown that genetic patterns at
8820-607: The most successful species on the planet (and which also is very vulnerable at birth) was arguably a more urgent issue (axillary hair in the underarms and groin were also retained as signs of sexual maturity). Sometime during the gradual process by which Homo erectus began a transition from furry skin to the naked skin expressed by Homo sapiens , hair texture putatively gradually changed from straight hair (the condition of most mammals, including humanity's closest cousins—chimpanzees) to Afro-textured hair or 'kinky' (i.e. tightly coiled). This argument assumes that curly hair better impedes
8925-406: The opening of the hair produce a fatty secretion that lubricates the hair. Hair growth begins inside the hair follicle . The only "living" portion of the hair is found in the follicle. The hair that is visible is the hair shaft, which exhibits no biochemical activity and is considered "dead". The base of a hair's root (the "bulb") contains the cells that produce the hair shaft. Other structures of
9030-600: The other great apes, is about a century old. Louis Bolk made a long list of such traits, and Stephen Jay Gould published a short list in Ontogeny and Phylogeny . In addition, paedomorphic characteristics in women are often acknowledged as desirable by men in developed countries. For instance, vellus hair is a juvenile characteristic. However, while men develop longer, coarser, thicker, and darker terminal hair through sexual differentiation , women do not, leaving their vellus hair visible. Jablonski asserts head hair
9135-423: The passage of UV light into the body relative to straight hair (thus curly or coiled hair would be particularly advantageous for light-skinned hominids living at the equator). It is substantiated by Iyengar's findings (1998) that UV light can enter into straight human hair roots (and thus into the body through the skin) via the hair shaft. Specifically, the results of that study suggest that this phenomenon resembles
9240-426: The passage of light through fiber optic tubes (which do not function as effectively when kinked or sharply curved or coiled). In this sense, when hominids (i.e. Homo erectus ) were gradually losing their straight body hair and thereby exposing the initially pale skin underneath their fur to the sun, straight hair would have been an adaptive liability. By inverse logic, later, as humans traveled farther from Africa and/or
9345-626: The predominant East Asian 'coarse' or thick, straight hair texture arose within the past ≈65,000 years, which is a time frame that covers from the earliest of the 'Out of Africa' migrations up to now. Ringworm is a fungal disease that targets hairy skin. Premature greying of hair is another condition that results in greying before the age of 20 years in Europeans, before 25 years in Asians, and before 30 years in Africans. Hair care involves
9450-449: The presidency in 1825. Unlike them, the first president, George Washington (1732–1799), never wore a wig; instead, he powdered, curled and tied in a queue his own long hair . Women's wigs developed in a somewhat different way. They were worn from the 18th century onwards, although at first only surreptitiously. Full wigs in the 19th and early 20th century were not fashionable. They were often worn by old ladies who had lost their hair. In
9555-433: The process of bleaching damaged the hair too much, thereby forcing a wigmaker to sell a faulty product to consumers. As for the wild goat and lamb hair, they claimed it was too coarse to style. 18th century French wigmakers used an interesting technique to ensure that the hair retained moisture: baking hair into dough. In Paris, gingerbread bakers would routinely bake hair dough for wigmakers, although in other French cities, it
9660-440: The revival of the wig. Queen Elizabeth I of England famously wore a red wig, tightly and elaborately curled in a "Roman" style, while among men King Louis XIII of France (1601–1643) started to pioneer wig-wearing in 1624 when he had prematurely begun to bald. This fashion was largely promoted by his son and successor Louis XIV of France (1638–1715), which contributed to its spread in Europe and European-influenced countries in
9765-403: The rigours of military life and simpler wigs were worn. While officers normally wore their own hair short under a powdered wig, the rank and file of the infantry was not afforded such luxury. Instead of wigs, the men grew their hair long and according to the prevailing fashion in a nation's army, hair was either allowed to grow long with simple modeling, as in the French army of the 1740s, or else
9870-602: The skin. Hairs can sense movements of air as well as touch by physical objects and they provide sensory awareness of the presence of ectoparasites . Some hairs, such as eyelashes , are especially sensitive to the presence of potentially harmful matter. The eyebrows provide moderate protection to the eyes from dirt , sweat and rain . They also play a key role in non-verbal communication by displaying emotions such as sadness, anger, surprise and excitement. In many other mammals, they contain much longer, whisker-like hairs that act as tactile sensors. The eyelash grows at
9975-425: The stereotypical "boat poufs") were in vogue. These combed-up hair extensions were often very heavy, weighted down with pomades, powders, and other ornamentation. In the late 18th century these coiffures (along with many other indulgences in court life) became symbolic of the decadence of the French nobility, and for that reason quickly became out of fashion from the beginning of the French Revolution in 1789. During
10080-472: The sun. They also wore the wigs on top of their hair using beeswax and resin to keep the wigs in place. Wealthy Egyptians would wear elaborate wigs and scented head cones of animal fat on top of their wigs. Other ancient cultures, including the Assyrians , Phoenicians , Jews in ancient Israel and Judea , Greeks , and Romans , also used wigs as an everyday fashion. In China , the popularization of
10185-473: The trash. While manufacturing and processing mainly takes place in China, where the hair is sorted through and constructed into wigs, the final product exported abroad, with the top countries being the United States and the United Kingdom. In the United Kingdom, most Commonwealth nations and Ireland, special wigs are also worn by barristers , judges and certain parliamentary and municipal or civic officials as
10290-401: The wearing of wigs, said specifically, "You must go with a hat or kerchief on your head", but did not permit leaving hair "exposed". Most Orthodox women cover their hair, whether with wigs, hats or scarves. The rejection by some rabbis of wigs is not recent, but began "in the 1600s, when French women began wearing wigs to cover their hair. Rabbis rejected this practice, both because it resembled
10395-691: The wig started in the Spring and Autumn period . In Japan , the upper classes started wearing wigs before the Nara period . In Korea , gache were popular among women during the Goryeo dynasty until they were banned in the late 18th century. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire , the use of wigs fell into disuse in the West for a thousand years until they were revived in the 16th century as
10500-584: Was a skilled one as 17th century wigs were extraordinarily elaborate, covering the back and shoulders and flowing down the chest; not surprisingly, they were also extremely heavy and often uncomfortable to wear. Such wigs were expensive to produce. The best examples were made from natural human hair. The hair of horses and goats was often used as a cheaper alternative. Several contemporary writings which have survived noted that some viewed men who wore wigs as looking deformed and emasculated. It especially attracted disapproval from Puritans, and during times of plague, it
10605-478: Was elaborately coiffured as in Prussian and British armies. In the case of British soldiers of the 1740s, contemporary artwork suggests that they cut their hair short, which was not the case. Instead, the men used tallow or other fat to grease the hair, which was then fashioned into pigtails and tied back into the scalp hair to give the impression of short hair. It was then liberally dusted with powdered chalk to give
10710-410: Was evolutionarily advantageous for pre-humans to retain because it protected the scalp as they walked upright in the intense African (equatorial) UV light . While some might argue that, by this logic, humans should also express hairy shoulders because these body parts would putatively be exposed to similar conditions, the protection of the head, the seat of the brain that enabled humanity to become one of
10815-472: Was largely abandoned in the newly created republics , the United States and France , by the start of the 19th century , though formal court dress of European monarchies still required a powdered wig or long powdered hair tied in a queue until the accession of Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821) to the throne as emperor in 1804. In the United States, only four presidents , from John Adams (1735–1826) to James Monroe (1758–1831), wore curly powdered wigs tied in
10920-455: Was not necessarily gingerbread. Taxes on hair dough baking were proposed in 1705. In Grenoble , wigmakers complained that such tax obligations "destroy the liberty of commerce; because no baker is obliged to bake wigmakers' hair dough, instead doing it for them as a courtesy." Due to the association with ruling classes in European monarchies , the wearing of wigs as a symbol of social status
11025-585: Was said that wigs were made of hair of plague victims. Wigs required cleaning using fuller's earth , and the powder used to freshen it was made from low grade flour and scented with pomatum . In the 18th century, men's wigs were powdered to give them their distinctive white or off-white color. Women in the 18th century did not wear wigs, but wore a coiffure supplemented by artificial hair or hair from other sources. Powdered wigs (men) and powdered natural hair with supplemental hairpieces (women) became essential for full dress occasions and continued in use until almost
#341658