10 Mind-Blowing Facts About Your Hair

If you have a lot of hair, you know that maintaining it can be time consuming. And the extent to which you probably think about the hair on your body is whether or not you want it there, and if you do, how will you cut, color and style it. But there’s a lot more to hair besides the latest trends and dyes. Hair is magical in a way. It is valuable in ways you’d never imagine and grows in places and ways that might make your stomach churn. In any case, there are many things about it that will surprise you. Enjoy these 10 mind-blowing facts that you never knew about human hair!

Hair is Eco-Friendly

Since hair acts like a sponge, absorbing oil from water, it is put to good use! Human hair is used to clean up oil spills. We wonder how many heads of hair are needed for one of those jobs.

How About An Ear Wax, Literally?

We all know about the unwanted places hair can grow, but many of us don’t have to worry about ear hair, especially in our younger years. However, ear hair is serious business and can grow longer than you might think! A man named Radhakant Baijpai has ear hair that reaches 9 inches!

Lay Off the Pets

Next time you blame your pet for all that hair on the couch, slow down and take a look in the mirror. Humans actually shed up to 140 strands per day!

Bring on the Romance

This one will shock you! Just the anticipation of having sex makes hair grow faster. Are you reconsidering a night on the couch with your cats again? We are.

It’s Dead

Your hair is actually dead. Makes sense, as it’s the only place a pair of scissors can touch your body without making you scream. The only hair that’s actually alive is the the part that’s inside your head.

About Those Redheads

You probably already know that redheads are the most rare of all the hair colors, making up 1% of the world’s population. But did you know that they actually make up 13% of the population of Scotland? Not so rare there.

You’re More Flexible Than You Know

Your hair stylist will scream if you try this, but your hair is likely more flexible than your body. It can stretch an additional 30% its original length when wet. Whoa!

Shaving

Women might spend close to two hours per week shampooing and blow drying their hair, but men spend an average of 5 months of their entire life just shaving. If they never were to shave, their beards would make it to 30 feet during their lifetime.

You’re Golden

No, we aren’t talking about the color of your hair. Whether you’re blond or not, your hair contains traces of gold, along with 13 other elements. Kind of impossible to have a bad hair day after that one, huh?

Hair Hair Everywhere

Your head contains approximately 100,000 strands of hair which pales in comparison to what’s capable of growing on your body. In total, your body has about 5,000,000 follicles and the only places hair can’t grow are on your mucus membranes, soles of feet, lips and the palms of your hands.