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Why is human hair so wild?

Travis

Misanthrope of the Mountains
Travis
Joined
Mar 31, 2007
Messages
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Whilst debating a creationist the other day they brought up something I hadn't really thought of before: the fact that humans, unlike other primates, seem to have head hair that is only controllable through technology. While I countered that as evidence of "creation"--noting that it would only take a minor mutation for such a thing to happen and that because it did happen in a species that happened to have technology to control it there wasn't any natural selection pressure to get rid of it--I really couldn't think of a reason why natural selection might have led this to happen in the first place.

A quick Google seemed to bring up some woo explanations so does anyone here have any insight into this?
 
Travis said:
Whilst debating a creationist the other day they brought up something I hadn't really thought of before: the fact that humans, unlike other primates, seem to have head hair that is only controllable through technology. While I countered that as evidence of "creation"--noting that it would only take a minor mutation for such a thing to happen and that because it did happen in a species that happened to have technology to control it there wasn't any natural selection pressure to get rid of it--I really couldn't think of a reason why natural selection might have led this to happen in the first place.

A quick Google seemed to bring up some woo explanations so does anyone here have any insight into this?
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My google-fu fails as well, but I have two guesses:

1: Sexual selection. Once our hair/fur became irrelevant to our survival, hair as we know it was sexually preferred for whatever reason we like the things we like.

2:"Racial" distinction: Are you just focused on white hair? Black people's hair tends to be a lot less 'wild' than white people's hair. Maybe if you look at whatever caused the other divergences, you'll find the hair answer too.
 
What do you mean by "controllable"? The tendency to grow extremely long unless cut?
 
Hair doesn't stop growing, but it does reach a maximum length, because each individual hair follicle only grows its hair strand for a certain time and then enters a dormant cycle that causes the strand to fall out. The duration of the cycle and the rate of growth differ on different parts of the body.

Some dog breeds such as poodles and miniature schnauzers also have hair that grows long unless cut (and not just on their heads but on their entire coats), which clearly would be a disadvantage in the wild.

It appears, therefore, to not take much of a genetic leap to cause such changes in hair growth behavior, which is not surprising considering that only a timing factor has to change. The change in some dogs happened during the span of recorded human civilization, so it wouldn't be surprising if changes in humans have occurred in the longer time period during which humans have had knives.

Respectfully,
Myriad
 
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I too do not understand what is meant by technology needed to control hair.

One of my neighbors, a blonde woman, did nothing at all to her hair and it matted itself into dreadlocks. No technology required.
 
Amapola said:
I too do not understand what is meant by technology needed to control hair.

One of my neighbors, a blonde woman, did nothing at all to her hair and it matted itself into dreadlocks. No technology required.
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I knew a girl in college that grew her hair till it was pretty much down by her ankles. She had to tie it up whenever she had to jog. Does that only happen if you encourage it? What might happen to such a person if they have no tools to shear it?
 
Travis said:
I knew a girl in college that grew her hair till it was pretty much down by her ankles. She had to tie it up whenever she had to jog. Does that only happen if you encourage it? What might happen to such a person if they have no tools to shear it?
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I think the weight on the folicle would cause the strand to fall out
 
Personally, I'm more bothered by the lack of growing hair on areas of my head rather than what hair I do have going 'wild.' ;)
 
Bonobo chimps have long hair on their head that has a part in the middle, it's weird when you see it up close, they all look like they are wearing wigs.
 
Travis said:
I knew a girl in college that grew her hair till it was pretty much down by her ankles. She had to tie it up whenever she had to jog. Does that only happen if you encourage it? What might happen to such a person if they have no tools to shear it?
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No you need to have the right genes. If you don't cut your hair it will reach some length and then stay that long because of hairs falling out and the like. For her that length was very long, but for others it is shorter.
 
If you stop using shampoo and conditioner your hair will go back to a more natural state. I haven't used shampoo or conditioner since the early 80s and only use a little soap if I actually get dirt in it (like if I'm digging or crawling around under the floor) or maybe if I sweat profusely and I need a quick turn around. Ever see a woman's hair after she's been swimming all day? I love that look.

There was a show on when I was in England (this was many years ago and pre-internet) where they challenged about six people not to use anything on their hair. They said for the first few months it was matted, it stank, tangled like crazy, but then it started to even out and eventually they had full heads of hair that they loved. Some said they'd never use shampoo again. I was shaving my head at the time but when it started to grow back this show is what convinced me to try going without, and if you can make it through those first few months I'd really recommend it.
 
I would suspect it's just a genetic fluke that has no consequences one way or another. Humans who have long, matted, "wild" hair have simply learned to deal with it.

What conceivable evolutionary advantage could accrue to someone like myself who's ear-hair now grows more enthusiastically than my head hair!

'Tain't fair, I says.
 
ponderingturtle said:
No you need to have the right genes. If you don't cut your hair it will reach some length and then stay that long because of hairs falling out and the like. For her that length was very long, but for others it is shorter.
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Yep. My wife tries to grow her hair as long as possible, but it barely reaches her waist. Just stops.

I'm surprised we've forgotten in just a few generations what it was like up until about a hundred years ago in the US and similar western cultures, when most women tried to grow their hair as long as they could and didn't use as much or any shampoos/soaps.
 
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