Why can’t we grow blue hair?

Many modern hipsters often dye their hair in various colors such as blue and purple, but in reality, almost all Chinese people have black hair; Westerners have blond, red, and brown hair; and old people’s hair turns white.

Why can’t humans grow blue hair? How do different hair colors come from? 

Humans are born with only 5 hair colors

In fact, the natural basic colors of human hair are only five kinds of black, brown, gold, red, and white. Based on these five colors, there will only be some changes in the color depth. There may be more than one color of hair on the same person. If you pull it carefully, you may find several blond hairs in one of your black hair.

Hair color is adjusted by genes

The above 5 colors come from the 3 melanins produced by the roots of the hair follicles of the scalp, namely black eumelanin, brown eumelanin and pheomelanin. They are natural “hair dyes” that combine with each other and adjust dosages to form different hair colors, and Overall, the more the dose, the darker the hair color, and vice versa. And how a person’s hair color is adjusted is controlled by genes in the human body, and they are like a hair colorist.

In addition to genes, external factors can also affect hair color, such as mood and age; people who love to get out of the sun have yellowish hair because too strong sunlight can damage their hair. 

Chinese black hair

Black hair is the most common hair color. 75% to 85% of the world’s population has black hair, including Asians and Africans. However, black hair is sometimes not born at birth. People often describe children as “yellow-haired kid” or “yellow-haired girl” because children have a weak ability to synthesize melanin. Many Chinese children’s hair turns yellow when they are young and then grows black.

If you see that your classmate’s hair is dark and brown, it’s because

Iron Man’s Brown Hair

You may think that foreigners have a lot of hair color, but in fact, most Europeans and Americans have brown hair. Many characters in Marvel movies, such as Iron Man, Captain America, Spider-Man, etc. are brown-haired.

Thor’s Blonde

Blondes such as the long-haired Thor are relatively rare, and naturally occurring blondes are mainly distributed in northern Europe. Blond hair has less melanin, only a small amount of pheomelanin and brown eumelanin, so the hair color is very light.

The appearance of this hair color may be related to the local environment. The sunlight in Northern Europe is not strong, so melanin is not needed to protect the skin. On the contrary, light-colored skin and hair are more conducive to receiving sunlight, so light-colored blond hair appears. 

Rare red hair

Red hair is the rarest hair color in the world. Sometimes it is regarded as a fashion and highly sought after, and sometimes it is regarded as the incarnation of evil and causes people to be discriminated against and persecuted. The Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland has red hair. 

People with red hair often have additional problems. For example, their skin is prone to freckles and is more sensitive to pain.

Gray hair without pigment

Gray hair is not formed by any kind of pigment, but due to lack of pigment. 

As the age grows, the pigment in the hair gradually decreases, and gray hair will appear. This is a normal physiological phenomenon. No matter what color the hair is, it will gradually turn white when people are old; and some people have genetic causes.

Gray hair appears early, which is called “shaobaitou” in the folk; some people are born with gray hair because of diseases (such as albinism); some people have gray hair due to excessive mental stress or bad living habits, etc. Appeared. 

Do people really lose their heads overnight?

Studies have shown that when some people face great stress or sadness, they deplete the melanin reserves in their hair prematurely, thereby turning a lot of hair white in a short period of time. Therefore, although white heads overnight is exaggerated, human hair may indeed turn white in a short time.

However, some studies have shown that gray hair caused by stress is expected to recover after the stress is reduced. 

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