This article is about hair that is black in color. For information regarding hair that is the texture of unprocessed African hair, see Afro-textured hair.
Black hair is the darkest and most common of all human hair colors globally, due to larger populations with this dominant trait. It is a dominant genetic trait, and it is found in people of all backgrounds and ethnicities. Black hair contains a large amount of eumelanin pigmentation, a type of melanin. This hair type contains a much more dense quantity of eumelanin in comparison to other hair colors, such as brown, blonde and red.[1] In English, various types of black hair are sometimes described as soft-black, raven black, or jet-black. The range of skin colors associated with black hair is vast, ranging from the palest of light skin tones to dark skin. Black-haired humans can have dark or light eyes.
Black hair is known to be the most common in the continents of Asia and Africa.[2] Though this characteristic can also be seen throughout Europe as well, it is a bit less common.[3] People of Celtic heritage in Ireland with such traits are sometimes known as the "Black Irish".[4] Black hair can come in a variety of textures, just as any hair color. Generally, the East Asian and Native American population has straight, black hair with a very thick cuticle layer[5] and South Asians have thick, wavy or curly hair,[6] while the general hair type seen in black African hair is thick, curly and dense with more hair growing from the head. The curly quality comes from the shape of the hair follicle, as straight hair grows from more circular hair follicles, and curly hair grows from more oval-like follicles.[7]
Hair is naturally reflective, so black hair is not completely dark in bright light. However, the darkest shade will not have a warm, neutral tone but a sheen which can seem almost blue, like the iridescence of a raven's wing; hence, sometimes referred to as raven-black.[citation needed] Jet black hair appears to have reflective silver color in bright sunlight.
11,000-year-old remains of Cuncaicha and Lauricocha individuals from South America share alleles at the highest rate with present-day Amerindians, indicating that the derived G-allele increased in frequency in parallel with the ancestral A-allele.[11]
One of the most studied genes that produce brown hair is MC1R, which helps the body to produce the melanocortin protein. This protein in turn helps the body’s hair follicles to produce the type of melanin called eumelanin. To have black hair, one must have genetically inherited this gene from both of their parents, and brown hair is achieved when it is inherited from one parent. This gene is demographically common, as 90% of the total world population carries this gene. Black hair, along with brown hair, comes to turn grey in old age as the hair follicles can no longer produce the pigmentation, but the cause of this inability has yet to be determined.[12]
^"Is hair color determined by genetics?: MedlinePlus Genetics". medlineplus.gov. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
^Goodley, Alvin (2019-10-18). "4 Rarest Hair Colors in the World". from the original on 2020-08-06.
^The Distribution of Anthropological Traits in Europe, Bertil Lundman: The Races and Peoples of Europe (New York 1977)
^Hornbeck, Shirley Elro (2000-01-01). This and that Genealogy Tips. Genealogical Publishing Com. ISBN9780806350271.
^Leerunyakul, Kanchana; Suchonwanit, Poonkiat (April 2020). "Asian Hair: A Review of Structures, Properties, and Distinctive Disorders". Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology. 13: 309–318. doi:10.2147/CCID.S247390. ISSN 1178-7015. PMC7187942. PMID 32425573.
^Mettrie, Roland (October 2007). "Shape Variability and Classification of Human Hair: A Worldwide Approach". Human Biology. 79 (3): 265–281. doi:10.1353/hub.2007.0045. PMID 18078200. S2CID 39460005.
^"Why do people of African descent have a unique hair texture?". The Tech Interactive. 2021-12-23. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
^"Native Americans and Asians carry a version of the EDAR gene that is linked to thicker hair shafts". 23 April 2018.
^Kamberov, Yana G.; Wang, Sijia; Tan, Jingze; Gerbault, Pascale; Wark, Abigail; Tan, Longzhi; Yang, Yajun; Li, Shilin; Tang, Kun; Chen, Hua; Powell, Adam (2013-02-14). "Modeling recent human evolution in mice by expression of a selected EDAR variant". Cell. 152 (4): 691–702. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2013.01.016. ISSN 0092-8674. PMC3575602. PMID 23415220.
^Hlusko, Leslea J.; Carlson, Joshua P.; Chaplin, George; Elias, Scott A.; Hoffecker, John F.; Huffman, Michaela; Jablonski, Nina G.; Monson, Tesla A.; O’Rourke, Dennis H.; Pilloud, Marin A.; Scott, G. Richard (2018-05-08). "Environmental selection during the last ice age on the mother-to-infant transmission of vitamin D and fatty acids through breast milk". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 115 (19): E4426–E4432. Bibcode:2018PNAS..115E4426H. doi:10.1073/pnas.1711788115. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC5948952. PMID 29686092.
^Posth, C.; et al. (2018). "Reconstructing the Deep Population History of Central and South America". Cell. 175 (5): 1185–1197.e22. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2018.10.027. PMC6327247. PMID 30415837.
^"Is hair color determined by genetics?: MedlinePlus Genetics". medlineplus.gov. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
External links
Media related to Black hair at Wikimedia Commons
Black Hair, Still Tangled in Politics
May 17, 2023
black, hair, this, article, about, hair, that, black, color, information, regarding, hair, that, texture, unprocessed, african, hair, afro, textured, hair, darkest, most, common, human, hair, colors, globally, larger, populations, with, this, dominant, trait, . This article is about hair that is black in color For information regarding hair that is the texture of unprocessed African hair see Afro textured hair Black hair is the darkest and most common of all human hair colors globally due to larger populations with this dominant trait It is a dominant genetic trait and it is found in people of all backgrounds and ethnicities Black hair contains a large amount of eumelanin pigmentation a type of melanin This hair type contains a much more dense quantity of eumelanin in comparison to other hair colors such as brown blonde and red 1 In English various types of black hair are sometimes described as soft black raven black or jet black The range of skin colors associated with black hair is vast ranging from the palest of light skin tones to dark skin Black haired humans can have dark or light eyes Female black hair from behind Contents 1 Distribution 2 Genetics 3 Gallery 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksDistribution EditThis article possibly contains original research Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations Statements consisting only of original research should be removed October 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message Black hair is known to be the most common in the continents of Asia and Africa 2 Though this characteristic can also be seen throughout Europe as well it is a bit less common 3 People of Celtic heritage in Ireland with such traits are sometimes known as the Black Irish 4 Black hair can come in a variety of textures just as any hair color Generally the East Asian and Native American population has straight black hair with a very thick cuticle layer 5 and South Asians have thick wavy or curly hair 6 while the general hair type seen in black African hair is thick curly and dense with more hair growing from the head The curly quality comes from the shape of the hair follicle as straight hair grows from more circular hair follicles and curly hair grows from more oval like follicles 7 Hair is naturally reflective so black hair is not completely dark in bright light However the darkest shade will not have a warm neutral tone but a sheen which can seem almost blue like the iridescence of a raven s wing hence sometimes referred to as raven black citation needed Jet black hair appears to have reflective silver color in bright sunlight Genetics EditThe neutrality of this article is disputed Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page Please do not remove this message until conditions to do so are met November 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Native Americans East Asian Southeast Asian Southwest Asian Middle Eastern Far East Russian South Asian and Himalayan black haired people have thicker hair due to the derived EDAR gene allele that is linked to thicker and potentially straighter hair in some parts of Asia and shovel shaped incisors The derived EDAR gene arose approximately 30 000 years ago in China 8 9 10 One study which shows that Paleo Indians had both variants of the EDAR gene the derived G allele and the ancestral A allele When they who tested ancient DNA remains found in the Americas of the individuals named USR1 Anzick 1 and Laranjal 6700 the results showed that they carried the ancestral A allele citation needed 11 000 year old remains of Cuncaicha and Lauricocha individuals from South America share alleles at the highest rate with present day Amerindians indicating that the derived G allele increased in frequency in parallel with the ancestral A allele 11 One of the most studied genes that produce brown hair is MC1R which helps the body to produce the melanocortin protein This protein in turn helps the body s hair follicles to produce the type of melanin called eumelanin To have black hair one must have genetically inherited this gene from both of their parents and brown hair is achieved when it is inherited from one parent This gene is demographically common as 90 of the total world population carries this gene Black hair along with brown hair comes to turn grey in old age as the hair follicles can no longer produce the pigmentation but the cause of this inability has yet to be determined 12 Gallery EditThe neutrality of this article is disputed Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page Please do not remove this message until conditions to do so are met November 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Chinese girl with black hair A Circassian woman with black hair Amerindian with black hair with the derived G allele Amerindian with black hair from North America with the ancestral A allele Amerindian with black hair from South America with the derived G alleleSee also EditBrown hair Hair dye Human hair color Human skin color Melanin Moreno Mustache Pigment SkinReferences Edit Is hair color determined by genetics MedlinePlus Genetics medlineplus gov Retrieved 2022 11 17 Goodley Alvin 2019 10 18 4 Rarest Hair Colors in the World Archived from the original on 2020 08 06 The Distribution of Anthropological Traits in Europe Bertil Lundman The Races and Peoples of Europe New York 1977 Hornbeck Shirley Elro 2000 01 01 This and that Genealogy Tips Genealogical Publishing Com ISBN 9780806350271 Leerunyakul Kanchana Suchonwanit Poonkiat April 2020 Asian Hair A Review of Structures Properties and Distinctive Disorders Clinical Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology 13 309 318 doi 10 2147 CCID S247390 ISSN 1178 7015 PMC 7187942 PMID 32425573 Mettrie Roland October 2007 Shape Variability and Classification of Human Hair A Worldwide Approach Human Biology 79 3 265 281 doi 10 1353 hub 2007 0045 PMID 18078200 S2CID 39460005 Why do people of African descent have a unique hair texture The Tech Interactive 2021 12 23 Retrieved 2022 11 17 Native Americans and Asians carry a version of the EDAR gene that is linked to thicker hair shafts 23 April 2018 Kamberov Yana G Wang Sijia Tan Jingze Gerbault Pascale Wark Abigail Tan Longzhi Yang Yajun Li Shilin Tang Kun Chen Hua Powell Adam 2013 02 14 Modeling recent human evolution in mice by expression of a selected EDAR variant Cell 152 4 691 702 doi 10 1016 j cell 2013 01 016 ISSN 0092 8674 PMC 3575602 PMID 23415220 Hlusko Leslea J Carlson Joshua P Chaplin George Elias Scott A Hoffecker John F Huffman Michaela Jablonski Nina G Monson Tesla A O Rourke Dennis H Pilloud Marin A Scott G Richard 2018 05 08 Environmental selection during the last ice age on the mother to infant transmission of vitamin D and fatty acids through breast milk Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 115 19 E4426 E4432 Bibcode 2018PNAS 115E4426H doi 10 1073 pnas 1711788115 ISSN 0027 8424 PMC 5948952 PMID 29686092 Posth C et al 2018 Reconstructing the Deep Population History of Central and South America Cell 175 5 1185 1197 e22 doi 10 1016 j cell 2018 10 027 PMC 6327247 PMID 30415837 Is hair color determined by genetics MedlinePlus Genetics medlineplus gov Retrieved 2022 11 17 External links Edit Media related to Black hair at Wikimedia Commons Black Hair Still Tangled in Politics Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Black hair amp oldid 1154390245, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
