10 Fun Facts About Hair

We spend so much time with our hair every day – washing it, styling it – but we never really think too much about it! Do you ever wonder what hair is made out of? Or how many strands of hair the average person has? Well, we were curious, so we did some digging. (You’re welcome.) After hours of exhaustive research, here are all about hair!10 fun facts 

1. Hair is made up of mostly keratin. 

What is hair made out of? Turns out, the outermost layer of our hair is made of a protein called keratin. Sound familiar? It should because it’s the same compound found on the outer layer of our skin and nails. A lot of hair products on the market use keratin to make hair stronger and shinier, and most salons offer keratin treatments that smooth and straighten hair. And did you know this protein is also found in animals’ hooves, claws, feathers, and manes? Pretty wild if you ask us!

2. Black is the most common hair color in the world.

Dark hair colors are the most common globally, with black topping the list. Red is the rarest hair color – only 1% of the world’s population rock this shade naturally. Kind of surprisingly, only 2% of the population has blonde hair, landing it in the number two spot on this list. We know how unique each person’s hair color can be – that’s why our hair extensions have 42 different shades available. (Our color match quiz will help you find your perfect shade!)

3. Hair is constantly growing.

Weird to think about: There’s a very good chance your hair is growing right this second! At any given moment, 90% of our hair grows while the other 10% takes a break. A single strand has an average lifespan of around five years. If you live in a warmer climate, hair grows slightly faster – that’s because heat stimulates circulation in the scalp and promotes hair growth. (Looks like the Florida heat does have some benefits after all!)

4. Cutting your hair doesn’t affect its growth.

You’ve heard this myth before, right? The truth is cutting your hair doesn’t make a difference in how fast it grows. (Cue shock!) It does remove split ends, though, which can work their way up the hair shaft and make individual shafts thinner. If that happens, your hair might look like it isn’t growing, so it’s always a good idea to get a trim when you spot those split ends. 

5. Hair is the second-fastest-growing tissue in the body.

Hair is one of the fastest-growing tissues in the human body – second only to bone marrow. On average, hair grows about .5 inches per month and 6 inches per year. Even though it grows relatively quickly, you’ll still have to wait three years for it to grow to your shoulders and seven years for it to hit your waist! (Hair extensions will save you A LOT of time if you’re after lengthy locks.)

6. A cuticle is the protective layer surrounding your hair.

The outermost layer of your strands is called the cuticle, and these overlapping scale-like cells protect the inner layers of your hair. Wicked Roots' proprietary sourcing method is all about hair cuticles staying intact. That’s why we use 100% Remy human hair: All the hair strands still have their cuticles flowing in the same direction. Cuticle-on hair gives you higher-quality and longer-lasting hair extensions.

7. Hair sheds 50 to 150 strands a day. 

Anyone else get a little anxious seeing all that hair in their brush or clogging up the drain?! Luckily, it’s totally normal to lose anywhere from 50 to 150 strands per day. As soon as a hair gets plucked from its follicle, a new hair starts to grow. It can pull this off up to 20 times! Balding doesn’t become visible until someone has lost over 50% of the hairs from their scalp.

8. The average person has 100,000 to 150,000 strands of hair.

That’s a lot more than we thought! (No need to worry about the 50 to 150 strands you lost yesterday!) Interestingly, the average number of hair strands varies by natural color. Blondes have the most with an average of 150,000 hairs black or brown hair averages 110,000 to 100,000 strands, and redheads only have about 90,000. 

9. Hair has more elasticity when wet. 

Hair is more elastic than you think! Have you ever noticed that, when you get your hair cut at the salon, it seems longer when it’s wet before your stylist blow dries it? It’s not just you! That’s because water stretches hair so it will be longer than it is naturally. When hair is wet, it can expand by up to 30% of its original length! 

10. Haircare takes up a lot of our time (like months of your life!).  

Listen. We get it – beauty takes time. The average amount of time a woman takes to wash, dry, and style her hair is approximately 2 hours a week. (Is that all? Are the rest of us just over-achievers?!) By the time a woman is 65, she’ll have spent 7 MONTHS of her life doing her hair. That doesn’t count salon trips! Yikes, don’t remind us how much time we spend there! (Try our DIY Clip It or Band It for time-saving hair extensions applied in minutes!)

Wicked Fun Hair 

We hope you enjoyed these 10 fun facts all about hair! Did any of these hair facts surprise you?  Let us know in the comments and share any other insights about hair we might have missed!