Black hair is the darkest and most common of all
human hair colors globally, due to larger populations with this dominant trait. It is a dominant genetic trait, and it is found in people of all backgrounds and ethnicities. Black hair contains a large amount of
eumelanin pigmentation, a type of melanin. This hair type contains a much more dense quantity of eumelanin in comparison to other hair colors, such as brown, blonde and red. In English, various types of black hair are sometimes described as soft-black, raven black, or jet-black. The range of
skin color
Human skin color ranges from the darkest brown to the lightest hues. Differences in skin color among individuals is caused by variation in pigmentation, which is the result of genetics (inherited from one's biological parents and or individu ...
s associated with black hair is vast, ranging from the palest of
light skin
Light skin is a human skin color that has a base level of eumelanin pigmentation that has adapted to environments of low UV radiation. Light skin is most commonly found amongst the native populations of Europe and East Asia as measured through ...
tones to
dark skin
Dark skin is a type of human skin color that is rich in melanin pigments. People with very dark skin are often referred to as " black people", although this usage can be ambiguous in some countries where it is also used to specifically refer to ...
. Black-haired humans can have dark or light eyes.
Distribution
Black hair is known to be the most common in the countries of
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
and
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
. Though this characteristic can also be seen in people of
Southern Europe
Southern Europe is the southern region of Europe. It is also known as Mediterranean Europe, as its geography is essentially marked by the Mediterranean Sea. Definitions of Southern Europe include some or all of these countries and regions: Alba ...
and
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, it is less common. People of
Celtic heritage in Ireland with such traits are sometimes known as the "Black Irish". Black hair can come in a variety of textures, just as any hair color. Generally, the Asian population has straight, black hair with a very thick cuticle layer while the general hair type seen in black African hair is thick, curly and dense with more hair growing from the head. The curly quality comes from the shape of the hair follicle, as straight hair grows from more circular hair follicles, and curly hair grows from more oval-like follicles.
Hair is naturally reflective, so black hair is not completely dark in bright light. However, the darkest shade will not have a warm, neutral tone but a sheen which can seem almost blue, like the
iridescence of a
raven's wing; hence, sometimes referred to as raven-black.
Genetics
Native Americans,
East Asian,
Southeast Asian,
Southwest Asian,
Middle Eastern,
Far East Russian,
South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...
n and
Himalayan black-haired people
have thicker and straighter hair due to the
derived EDAR gene allele that is linked to thicker and straighter hair and
shovel-shaped incisors Shovel-shaped incisors (or, more simply, shovel incisors) are incisors whose lingual surfaces are scooped as a consequence of lingual marginal ridges, crown curvature or basal tubercles, either alone or in combination.
Shovel-shaped incisors are ...
. The derived EDAR gene arose approximately 30,000 years ago in China. One study shows that
Paleo-Indians had both variants of the EDAR gene, the derived G-allele and the ancestral A-allele. When they tested
ancient DNA
Ancient DNA (aDNA) is DNA isolated from ancient specimens. Due to degradation processes (including cross-linking, deamination and fragmentation) ancient DNA is more degraded in comparison with contemporary genetic material. Even under the bes ...
remains found in the
Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World.
Along with th ...
of the individuals named USR1,
Anzick-1
Anzick-1 is a Paleo-Indian male infant whose remains were found in south central Montana, United States, in 1968, and date to 13,000–12,850 years BP. The child was found with more than 115 tools made of stone and antlers and dusted with red ...
and Laranjal-6700 the results showed that they carried the ancestral A-allele.
11,000-year-old remains of Cuncaicha and
Lauricocha individuals from
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...
share
allele
An allele (, ; ; modern formation from Greek ἄλλος ''állos'', "other") is a variation of the same sequence of nucleotides at the same place on a long DNA molecule, as described in leading textbooks on genetics and evolution.
::"The chro ...
s at the highest rate with present-day
Amerindians
The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples.
Many Indigenous peoples of the Am ...
, indicating that the derived G-allele increased in
frequency
Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. It is also occasionally referred to as ''temporal frequency'' for clarity, and is distinct from ''angular frequency''. Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz) which is eq ...
in parallel with the ancestral A-allele.
One of the most studied genes that produce brown hair is
MC1R, which helps the body to produce the
melanocortin
The melanocortins are a family of neuropeptide hormones which are the ligands of the melanocortin receptorsEricson, M.D., et al., ''Bench-top to clinical therapies: A review of melanocortin ligands from 1954 to 2016.'' Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Basi ...
protein. This protein in turn helps the body’s hair follicles to produce the type of melanin called
eumelanin. To have black hair, one must have genetically inherited this gene from both of their parents, and brown hair is achieved when it is inherited from one parent. This gene is demographically common, as 90% of the total world population carries this gene. Black hair, along with brown hair, comes to turn grey in old age as the hair follicles can no longer produce the pigmentation, but the cause of this inability has yet to be determined.
Gallery
File:Chinese American girl.jpg, Chinese girl with black hair.
File:Une Circassienne.jpg, A Circassian woman with black hair.
File:Indigenous Woman from Peru.png, Amerindian
The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples.
Many Indigenous peoples of the A ...
with black hair with the derived G-allele
File:Amerindian woman in her traditional clothes.png, Amerindian with black hair from North America with the ancestral A-allele
File:Amerindian woman playing an inca ocarina.png, Amerindian with black hair from South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...
with the derived G-allele
See also
*
Brown hair
Brown hair, also referred to as brunet (male) or brunette (female), is the second most common human hair color, after black hair. It varies from light brown to a medium dark hair. It is characterized by higher levels of the dark pigment eume ...
*
Hair dye
*
Human hair color
*
Human skin color
Human skin color ranges from the darkest brown to the lightest hues. Differences in skin color among individuals is caused by variation in pigmentation, which is the result of genetics (inherited from one's biological parents and or indivi ...
*
Melanin
Melanin (; from el, μέλας, melas, black, dark) is a broad term for a group of natural pigments found in most organisms. Eumelanin is produced through a multistage chemical process known as melanogenesis, where the oxidation of the amino ...
*
Moreno
Moreno may refer to:
Places Argentina
*Moreno (Buenos Aires Metro), a station on Line C of the Buenos Aires Metro
*Moreno, Buenos Aires, a city in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina
* Moreno Department, a depatnent of Santiago del Estero Province, ...
*
Mustache
A moustache (; en-US, mustache, ) is a strip of facial hair grown above the upper lip. Moustaches have been worn in various styles throughout history.
Etymology
The word "moustache" is French, and is derived from the Italian ''mustaccio'' ( ...
*
Pigment
A pigment is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water. In contrast, dyes are typically soluble, at least at some stage in their use. Generally dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic compou ...
*
Skin
Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation.
Other animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have different de ...
References
External links
Black Hair, Still Tangled in Politics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Black Hair
Hair color