How much does long hair weigh? Information for curious

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Good-looking hair is the beauty of every person, especially when it comes to women. Standing in front of the mirror and styling your hair, at least once in your life asked yourself the question: “How much does long hair weigh?”. If you are still wondering, read the article to discover the response.

How much does the average person’s hair weigh?

If you’ve ever had your hair cut, you likely felt a sense of relief, the impression that some weight had been lifted off your head.

So, maybe you think that hair weighs a lot.

Hair is lighter than you think and the hair weight is very small compared to the entire body weight.

Hair weighs differently but the otherness is small. Hair density and hardness are not changeable genetic factors that influence weight.

How much does long hair weigh: information in figures

Average hair weight differs from 2 to 5 ounces. If your hair is pretty long, then it weighs more. Just like thick hair has extra weight. The weight of short hair is almost imperceptible.

To be honest, the real weight of the hair is very difficult to define.

Ordinary scales won’t help you with this. Unless you cut your hair and put it on super-sensitive scales.

You can only have a rough idea of ​​how much does hair weigh.

Hair anatomy

Body hair anatomy isn’t as plain as you think. Hair is not a mass of lifeless strands all over your head that gives only beauty to your appearance but it plays a great role in transferring information, controlling the body temperature, and protecting it from the sun and cold.

Hair grows continuously and is made up of a fibrillar protein consisting of dead cells which is the main structural material of the stratum corneum of the skin, hair, and nails. This important protein in your body called keratin.

Sections of hair

1. The follicle ensures the attachment of hair strands to the skin. It is the place from which the hair starts growing. The endpoint of the hair follicle is a hair bulb. It is inside the skin.

• The hair bulb is a formation of living cells that grow, divide, and get feeding from capillaries which carry hormones with blood and are liable for the hair growth rate and the building of the hair strands.
• The hair bulb has particular cells which yield the pigment due to which each strand of hair has its own unique color. These living cells build the hair shaft when dividing and developing.

2. The hair shaft is a noticeable section of the hair over the skin or, in other words, hair length.

Layers of the shaft:

• the medulla – the internal layer of the shaft which is the deepest and it is visible only in thick hairs;
• the cortex – the middle and the thickest layer of the hair shaft which is liable for the texture, strength, quantity, and color of hair fiber;
• the cuticle – the external layer that serves as insurance for the cortex. It is thin and without any color.

Main phases of hair development

Growth phase. 85% of strands of your hair are always at this phase. Because of their continuously growing, they reach a one-inch length every three months.

This phase of development and growth lasts from 2 to 6 years.

Transitional phase. It is characterized by a decrease in hair follicles, slowed hair development, and a decline of strands at the final stage.

Not more than 3% of the hair on your head is always in this stage.

Resting phase. At this growth phase, your hair development stops. It is the end of active hair growth. Each strand is cut off from the blood circulation and the cells responsible for producing new hair.

Falling phase. It is the conclusive stage of the 2-6-year cycle. The shaft separates off the hair follicle and falls. This act induces hair loss.

The average person gets rid of up to 100 hairs a day during this process. It’s not more than 8% weight loss of your hair.

How much does 1 feet of hair weigh?

To define the actual weight of your hair, you’d multiply the average hair strand weighs (0.00015 ounces) by the number of hairs.

How much hair is on the human head? The ordinary average person has from 90,000 to 155,000 hairs, but it’s a changeable number. These changes are due to hair color.

People with red hair have the lowest quantity – about 90,000 strands. So, red hair is the lightest of all (0.6 and 1.2 ounces).

People with blonde hair have higher hair quantity – about 140,000 hairs (1 or 2 ounces).

Brunettes have the thickest hair of all – 155,000 hairs (1.1 to 2.2 ounces).

These are just nearly numbers as thicker hair is a bit heavier than thinner hair.

Like the situation with long hair which influences the weight too. The longer hair you managed to grow, the heavier it is. But this is a minor and almost not noticeable difference, only a couple of ounces of the estimated total weight of the hair.

So, each foot of hair is about 1lb-1.3 lbs depending on the thickness.

Does wet hair weigh more?

Wet hair weighs a few ounces more compared to dry hair. Hair absorbs water and becomes heavier by about 15%.

The water catches between the hairs that make your hair longer and heavier. Despite this, it will still be only a few ounces more.

How much does hair weigh when it is wet?

Your hair retains water. The quantity it keeps differs due to the hair thickness and length.

Long hair, which also has significant thickness weighs more when getting wet as it keeps more water than medium hair, not to mention shorter hair. But, it’s still hard to exactly define how much weight your hair has.

If you have very thick hair with essentially long strands, it will increase maximum by a pound of your estimated weight of the hair. Short wet hair won’t have any essential difference, maybe only a few ounces.

What is the weight of wigs?

The weight of the wig depends on several factors:

• the material from which the wig is made;
• the length of the product.

So, to resolve this question, look through the types of wigs.

Synthetic hair wigs

New synthetic wigs are so perfect, and synthetic materials are of so high quality that you hardly ever notice the difference with natural hair. Their fibers are lighter in weight than any natural hair as they don’t contain keratin.

But if you like weaving in synthetic hair with your natural strands, then you’ll get extra-weight hair on your head.

Thus, you’ll have heavy hair because of these synthetic strands.

The length and density of a synthetic hair wig influence its weight which is between 1 to 5 ounces on average.

Human hair wigs

A human hair wig is a bit heavier compared to a synthetic wig. It weighs between 3 to 6 ounces. The variations are connected with producing proceedings and styles. Human hair wigs are valuable but they are characterized by a more natural and beautiful look.

9 facts about hair that you don’t know

• Hair growth is faster between ages 15 and 30, but hair growth declines and becomes slower between ages 50 and 60.
• Black is the most widespread hair color in the world.
• Each hair strand contains 14 different chemical elements including gold.
• The world record relates to a Chinese woman – Xie Qiuping for the longest hair which she had grown for more than 30 years and its length was 18 feet.
• The developing embryo has all hair follicles formed by 20-22 weeks.
• Human organism doesn’t induce new hair follicles in the cycle of all adult life.
• The entire human body is covered with hairs of different lengths, and only three areas are completely devoid of hairs: palms, lips, and the soles of feet.
• There is no difference in male and female hair.
• A strand of hair is strong enough to hold 3.5 ounces of weight.

Conclusion

So, now you have more understanding of the question of how much hair weighs. But remember that hair weighs are approximate. The real weight of all the hair is difficult to exactly identify.

Besides, everyday hair loss causes changes in hair weight and hair volume as even a healthy person loses at least 100 hair strands a day. Tight hairstyles fasten the process of hair loss.

At last, the weight of the hair is so miserable compared to the weight of the whole body that most people don’t feel this weight.