• Question: why do some people have curly hair ?

    Asked by 894genp45 to Remsha, Oliver, Lisa, Kieran, Fiana, David on 7 Nov 2018.
    • Photo: Kieran

      Kieran answered on 7 Nov 2018:

      Hi, I am not really sure of the answer to this but it could be genetic. Some people probably produce more elastin (a protein in hair) or less elastase (an enzyme which breaks down elastin) and teh growing hair is springier (or curlier) as a result. Just a guess!

    • Photo: Remsha Afzal

      Remsha Afzal answered on 7 Nov 2018:

      Hi Lola! As far as I know hair type (curly or straight) is largely genetic! It depends on the genes you inherit from your parents. Hair is made up of two main parts. There is the “strand” which is the visible part of the hair we see and then there is the “follicle”, the part under the scalp that we don’t see where the hair is coming out of. The shape of the follicle has a direct effect on how your hair will turn out. If the follicles are symmetrical, then the hair turns out to be straight, and if its not symmetrical then it will be curly. Another thing that affects how your hair is gonna turn out (and is also encoded by your genes inherited from parents) is the shape of a protein in your hair strand called “keratin”. Uneven distribution of keratin in hair fibers causes curly hair. 🙂

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