Hairy Doings

A Trivia Quiz for Your Coif

Everyone has one of those friends who seems to know everything about everything. You never want to play Trivial Pursuit with them, they always win the trivia games at the local bar and they always know the answers when watching Jeopardy.

I could be one of those people, if only they had more categories about hair. I know a little about movies, a little about science, but if there was a trivia quiz on hair, I’d be king of the hill. So, today, I thought I’d indulge myself and make my own trivia quiz, and give you the benefit of my encyclopedic knowledge of hair. So follow along and take the quiz -- if you’re not careful, you might learn something before it’s done.

Question 1: Who has the least amount of hair on their heads?

A. Blondes

B. Black Hair

C. Redheads

D. They all have the same

The truth is, redheads typically have only 90,000 strands of hair on their heads, as compared to those with black hair who have about 110,000 strands and blondes, who lead the pack with 140,000 strands. So, blondes not only have more fun -- they have more hair. Maybe that’s why.

Question 2: True or False -- Women’s hair grows faster than men’s hair?

The answer is false. Women’s hair grows slower than men, on the average, primarily because women have longer hair. Longer hair tends to grow slower, but there are also genetic markers at the cause, as well.

Question 3: How much hair do people typically lose every day?

A. 50 strands

B. 100 strands

C. 1,000 strands

D. 5,000 strands

The answer is that it is normal to lose about 100 strands of hair naturally each day. This is typically because the lifespan of a strand of hair is usually about anywhere from 2 to 7 years. When that lifespan is over, that strand will fall out, but we grow new hair all the time. Now, many people will lose more hair than that because of certain habits. Those who brush their hair too much will lose more strands to the strain of brushing. Combing hair is always easier on both the hair and the scalp, and will result in less natural hair loss.

Question 4: How much of your hair must you lose before it is noticeable to others?

A. 10 Percent

B. 20 Percent

C. 50 Percent

D. 70 Percent

The good news is that the answer is 50 percent. Men are the ones who typically suffer from baldness, and as many as 50 percent of all men over the age of 50 will experience it. However, men have more dense hair than women, so that density will compensate somewhat for the loss of hair over the years. As a result, men will have to lose about 50 percent of their hair before the loss is readily noticeable to others.

Question 5: True or False -- Cutting your hair more often will make make it grow faster.

The answer is false -- it is an old wive’s tale and persistent myth that cutting hair more frequently will result in more rapid hair growth. The hair follicle is a very simple gland, and it operates on basic rules based on genetic markers and how the hair is treated. Frequent coloring, bleaching or sun damage will influence the rate of hair growth, along with heredity and other inherited traits. Cutting the hair has nothing to do with the follicle. It’s not like the tip of the hair that is being cut sends a message to the follicle that it’s time to grow. There is no such function in hair, but I wish there was -- hair stylists would be the busiest service professionals in the world!. Sadly, the typical rate of growth for hair is 12 centimeters per year. Cutting it will not influence that rate one bit.

Well, that was fun (for me, at least). I hope you learned a little something and I encourage you to come into the salon and bring me all your fun facts about hair -- and ask me your questions. There are a lot of myths out there about haircare, and I like to think of myself as the Alex Trebek of hair. If you’ve got hair questions, I’ve got hair answers.