Everything you need to know about afro hair

Afro hair is curly hair, which can be subdivided into 4 groups: Afro hair type 4A, 4B, 4C, and 5. This curly hair mainly serves as protection for the scalp, like a natural hat, due to the

intertwining strands of hair. Throughout African history, hair has always indicated a person's social position, beauty, ethnic identity, religion, origin and even wealth.

• How is afro hair growth compared to others?

There are hundreds of Afro hair myths, such as…

Is it pushing or not pushing? Is it hair or wool? Is it stronger or more abundant than the others? etc… To answer all these questions, let’s see…

Hair studies have shown that Afro-textured hair grows at an average rate of about 250 micrometers per day (0.7 centimeters per month), while straight hair grows at about 398 micrometers per day (1.2 centimeter per month).

Apart from the genetic factor, this is due to the fact that Afro hair has a curved hair follicle and an irregular cuticle which makes it sensitive and slows down its ability to grow.

• Do people with afro hair have more hair than those with straight hair?

At first glance, afro hair gives the impression of having more hair fibers, but hair studies have shown that classic afro texture hair (4b and 4c) is not as thick on the scalp as other types follicular. Following this study, the average density of Afro-textured hair is around 190 hairs per square centimeter. This is significantly lower than straight hair, which, on average, has around 230 hairs per square centimeter.

• Why does afro hair curl and frizz so much?

As we mentioned earlier, each individual's genetic information is responsible for determining the degree of hair thinning. From here, the sulfate bonds between the keratin chains run almost vertically in Afro hair, a phenomenon that determines its shrinkage and length, making it look much more frizzy and short when coiled or naturally tapered. .

Why do people have thick afro hair?

Regarding the genetic transmission of hair shape, we can specify that the gene that determines frizzy hair is dominant over the gene that determines straight hair. If a person inherits one gene for curly hair from their mother and another from their father, their hair will be curly.

In conclusion

This article was intended to answer some questions that many people ask very often regarding afro hair. If you would like to learn more about different hair types and their care, feel free to browse other articles on this site, and contact us if you have any questions.