Black hair

This article is about hair that is black in color. For information regarding hair that is the texture of unprocessed African hair, see Afro-textured hair.

Boy with black hair

Black hair is the darkest and second most common of all human hair colors globally. It is a dominant genetic trait, and it is found in people of all backgrounds and ethnicities. It has large amounts of eumelanin and is less dense than other hair colors. Black hair is known to be the shiniest of all hair colors. Black hair can be slightly rufous, soft black, or blue-black. Sometimes black hair can appear to shine silver-blue in the sun.^[1] In English, black hair is sometimes described as "jet-black" or "raven black". The range of skin colors associated with black hair is vast, ranging from the palest of skin tones to an olive complexion to dark skin. Black-haired humans can have dark or light eyes.

Distribution

The majority of humans have black hair.^[2] This is likely the original hair color of Homo sapiens, and is found in its greatest distribution in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and the pre-Columbian Americas. Among European peoples (White people, Caucasoids), black hair may appear, although most people turn out to have dark brown hair (often mistaken for black) especially among peoples of Southern Europe. In West Asia, and North Africa, regardless of ethnolinguistic affiliation, black hair is again very common although other colors may appear. Here it is accompanied by dark brown eyes and olive skin. It is seen also in parts of Western Europe and Eastern Europe.^[3] Black hair is very scarce in the Baltic littoral, where true blondism is believed to have originated.

Varieties

Black hair comes in a variety of textures. Straight black hair is very common in Europeans, Asians and Native Americans. Curly, wavy, straight, fine, medium, and coarse hair textures are common among all racialized groups.^{[citation needed]} Within African populations, hair textures vary greatly. Many people of African descent have diverse hair textures ranging from afro-textured hair (the most common), to straight or wavy.

Gallery

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  Chinese girl with black hair

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  Indian actress (Deepika Padukone) with black hair

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  Khoisan woman with black hair

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  Chinese man with black hair

See also

• Hair color
• Hair dye
• Brown hair
• Chestnut hair

References

1. ^ Frost, Peter. "Why Do Europeans Have So Many Hair and Eye Colors?" (summarizing Frost, P. 2006. European hair and eye color - A case of frequency-dependent sexual selection? Evolution and Human Behavior 27:85-103)
2. ^ National Geographic. See also Blond for more information on the origins of blond hair.
3. ^ The Distribution of Anthropological Traits in Europe , Bertil Lundman : The Races and Peoples of Europe (New York 1977) Archived July 26, 2011 at the Wayback Machine