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submitted 1 year ago by linucs@lemmy.ml to c/askscience@lemmy.world
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[-] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 50 points 1 year ago

Hair goes through multiple phases.

It'll grow for a while, then fall out. Even beard/head hair. It just has a longer grow phase before falling out.

Which is why short hair grows an inch way faster than long hair does.

[-] Stinkywinks@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago

How does it know it's short?

[-] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 30 points 1 year ago

The follicle popping it out is basically only gonna poop out so much before it poops out.

[-] Mr_Blott@feddit.uk 17 points 1 year ago

TIL Hair = skin excrement

[-] teawrecks@sopuli.xyz 8 points 1 year ago

Have you ever seen someone's arm after they have a cast taken off? Your arm hair is short because it's being rubbed off by random interactions with things (rubbing against shirts you take off/put on, your body, general use). A person with a cast on their arm protects those hairs, and when they finally get the cast off, they look like a werewolf.

[-] angrystego@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

Short hair doesn't grow faster. It's a myth.

[-] linucs@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 year ago

So I have a follow up question, let's say someone has 20cm long hair, all of them are that long, we don't see 5/10cm hair still growing to get to 20, I'm confused, how does that work?

[-] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 16 points 1 year ago

You don't see them because the longer hair covers them up.

They're still there.

If it happened to big patches at once it would stand out, but that's not how it works.

[-] linucs@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 year ago

Yeah it makes sense

[-] elbarto777@lemmy.world 31 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

A better question would be, "when does hair know when to fall off?"

Hair never stops growing.

Edit: when I say "hair," I mean one single strand of hair. That single strand of hair will eventually fall off. The thing is that not all strands fall off at the same time. So hair, the full head of hair, seems to be of the same length (especially if we keep getting haircuts.) But it's not like all hairs grow and then all of them collectively say "ok, everyone, let's stop growing!" and stop. No, each single strand of hair falls off, but at different times.

[-] yA3xAKQMbq@lemm.ee 53 points 1 year ago

No, hair does stop growing.

Hair grows in phases and cycles. At the end of the cycle, it falls out.

The difference between body hair and the hair on your head is that the latter one has cycles measuring years, the other weeks.

[-] JoBo@feddit.uk 4 points 1 year ago

No, hair does stop growing.

Hair grows in phases and cycles. At the end of the cycle, it falls out.

This is unhelpfully pedantic given the OP's misconception.

Hair does not (appear to) stop getting longer because it stops growing. It (appears to) stop getting longer because older (longer) hairs fall out.

[-] yA3xAKQMbq@lemm.ee 14 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

What’s „unhelpfully pedantic“ about a correct answer that explains OPs misconception? 🤡

The person above said hair doesn’t stop growing. That’s wrong. It does. It grows, then it stops growing, then the dead hair falls out. Why does it know when to fall out? Because it’s dead, Jim.

OPs question was why the hair on their head grows longer. Answer: because it’s growing cycles are longer.

I’d say you’re unhelpfully pedantic telling other people giving helpful and correct explanations they’re „unhelpfully pedantic“.

[-] elbarto777@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

I don't think we're disagreeing. That's exactly what I meant. But I can see how my wording could have been misinterpreted, so I'll edit it.

[-] anon_water@lemmy.ml 7 points 1 year ago

Follicle ages and then let’s go.

[-] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

let's go

Where are we going?

[-] Noodle07@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

To the barber, try to keep up

[-] anon_water@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 year ago
this post was submitted on 17 Aug 2023
106 points (96.5% liked)

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