Vellus Hair Vs. Terminal hair: what are the differences?
End hair and vellus hair are two separate types of hair found in the human body, each with unique characteristics and functions. But what are the differences between terminal hair and vellus hair?
Terminal hair is known for its coarser texture, pigmentation and longer length, while vellus hair is known for its finer, softer texture and lighter pigmentation. The differences between these two types of hair play a crucial role in heat regulation, protection and the overall appearance of the body.
Let’s get into the differences between these two types of hair that everyone has on their body.
What is Vellus Hair?
At the most basic level, Hair and loss is the hair we have on our body that we sometimes refer to asPeach plumearound our main hairline.
Vellus hair is fine, soft and lightly pigmented. It covers most of the body, except for the palms, soles, lips and genital areas.
Females usually have more vellus hair than males. Babies and children also have a lot of hair and loss. When people reach puberty, many pubic hairs change to terminal hairs.
Hair and hair play vital roles. For example, it helps with thermoregulation, provides insulation to maintain body heat, and also wicks sweat to cool the body.
Hair vellus also protects the skin. It contributes to the sense of touch. It helps us grasp light objects that touch our skin. For example, parchment hair allows us to feel goosebumps.
Vellus hair can vary in length, thickness and color between people. Abnormal growth may signal specific health conditions. If you want you can remove hair and lice. You will find a lot Permanent removal methods of vellus.
What is a hair terminal?
Terminal hair is the hair that grows from your scalp, with the exception of peach fuzz. This also includes armpit hair and pubic hair Once puberty arrives and is complete.
Terminal hair can also grow on the face. A a man’s beard or stray hairs on the upper lip or chin in women are forms of terminal hair.
Eyebrows and eyelashes are also considered terminal hair. And chest hair is terminal hair, as is the hairline that many people have from their belly button to their pubic area.
What do vellus hair and terminal hair look like?
Vellus hair is generally lower in pigment than terminal hair. It is shorter, not growing more than 5 to maybe 10 mm in length. Caucasian people usually have Light Brown Or blonde vellus hair.
People with more pigmented skin can have vellus hair that ranges in color from light brown to dark brown. In women or people without facial hair growth, vellus hair is still present on the sides of the face, although it is colorless.
Basically every hair on the adult human body is vellus hair except for the hair found on the scalp, armpits, pubic area, navel up to the pubic line, eyebrows, eyelashes and facial hair such as beard and mustache.
Terminal hair goes much deeper into the skin; You may have noticed that plucking your eyebrows or pulling hair from your scalp is much more painful than losing a few hairs from your arms or legs. This is because terminal hair is rooted much deeper into your skin, which we will discuss later.
While the vulva hair is usually much less pigmented, and in some people, it is not noticeable, terminal hair is dark in color, especially for those with more melanin in their skin. people with very light blond hair Can have blond scalp hair, eyebrows and eyelashes, but are a minority across most of the world.
Most of the time, terminal hair is much more pigmented than vellus hair, and it appears on parts of our body that we would refer to as “hairy,” such as our beard, armpits, pubic area, and of course, our scalp.
Now, these generalizations don’t work universally-balding affects approx 1 in every 1000 people worldwideAnd these people usually lose their terminal hair and most of their cuticle hair.
Main differences between terminal hair and vellus hair
The main difference we have already discussed is color. Terminal hair, even in blonde people, is more pigmented than vellus hair. God texture of hair and smooth and soft hair. Whereas terminal hair is thicker, leading to it being coarser and much more prominent than vellus hair.
Even if you could collect enough parchment hair to make it into a ponytail, the hair is so thin that it wouldn’t be able to stay in place.
The final hair is denser, which means more follicles produce hairs in a defined area than hair and gloss. It is also thicker (usually much) darker. Terminal hair starts as a “peach rash” on your scalp before it matures into terminal hair.
Only in a state of male pattern baldness does it then return to the hair of the vulva. In all other circumstances, terminal hair remains terminal hair. A terminal hair has follicles that reach twice as deep under the skin as the vulus hairs.
Vellus Hair Vs. Terminal hair comparison chart
difference | terminal hair | Vellus hair |
---|---|---|
Length | Long hairs (1.0 meters or more) | short hairs (1 mm) |
thickness | thick hairs (30 to 120 microns) | Fine hairs (4 microns or less) |
Hairs for a philosophical unit | Usually one hair per philosophic unit | More than one hypothesis per philosophical unit |
pigmentation | usually pigmented | No pigmentation |
Circle of Life | Longer life cycle (6 to 8 years in Anagen) | Shorter life cycle (telephone, 90% of the time) |
texture | Coarser, thicker, can range from soft to rough | Smooth, soft, no blunt edges |
Place | Facial hair (beards, mustaches), armpits, pubic area, eyebrows, eyelashes, scalp | Face, ends of scalp (baby hair/peach poise), arms, legs, stomach, toes and fingers |
Color | All possible hair colors are found around the world, but much more pigmented than Velos | Ranging from colorless to blond, brown and sometimes black |
density | Three to four hairs per follicle: average; Five to six hairs per follicle: high | variable |
diameter | More than 0.03 mm, usually more than 0.06 mm | less than 0.03 mm |
follicle depth | Sebaceous gland (2-5 mm from the skin surface) | Retinal dermis (0.6 mm from the skin surface) |
In short, your scalp, eyebrows and eyelashes are terminal hair at birth. Everything else is hair and loss until puberty.
After that, vellus hair in your pubic, armpit and facial area (in some cases) becomes terminal hair and stays that way unless baldness develops. Most of the hair on your body is cuticle hair, but the hair you groom and style is usually terminal hair.