Discoveries

March 16, 2023

Curly Is Cool

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People with curly hair have a slight evolutionary advantage when it comes to staying cool, according to a new study on scalp hair.

Scientists conducted a series of experiments using thermal manikins and wigs of human hair to understand the evolutionary function of head hair, Science Alert reported.

In a climate-controlled chamber, they put a wig of human hair on the manikin and placed them under the hot lights of lamps. The researchers used different types of wigs, including ones with straight hair, loose curls and tight curls.

Their findings showed the wigs would prevent the manikin from absorbing a lot of heat, while the opposite would happen when it was completely bald.

But while wigs performed similarly, it was the ones with tight curls that performed the best in keeping the manikin cool from the simulated “solar” radiation.

The team explained that the results suggest that scalp hair evolved in response to our species’ upright posture and our increasingly large brains.

But the performance of tightly curled hair showed that it was more evolutionary advantageous in helping humans remain cool in areas with scorching sun and heat.

Tight curls don’t lie flat and can allow the scalp to “breathe” while still protecting the scalp from the sun. This means that the scalp will sweat less, resulting in the conservation of more energy and water.

Even so, the authors noted that more research is needed, particularly on human volunteers to replicate the findings.

This story originally appeared in the March 16, 2023 newsletter, The Proxy Peace.