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VARIATIONS ACCORDING TO SEX, RACE AND AGE

Variations According To Sex

Women’s hair is thicker on the scalp and the implantation or growth hair line is more anterior. Women have the same amount of hair follicles and hairs as men in the face and body areas.
The growth rate is also different as beards usually only grows in males and can measure up to 30 cm. Pubic hair is curved and twisted upon its own axis. It also grows differently in men and women. While in the female hair grows in an inverted triangle shape, in males it is diamond-shaped.

Racial Variations

Black and oriental races have less hair than Caucasians. Moreover, beards grow much faster in Caucasians than in Asiatics.
There are also differences regarding the direction in which the hair grows: a) mongoloid hair is straight because the follicles are oriented vertically towards the skin surface, b) black hair grows in a spiral because the follicles are curved and practically flat, c) Caucasian hair can vary in shape but most frequently it is straight.
Both Caucasian men and women have a tendency to grow body hair, one of the most significant racial differences, given that Caucasian women may present hirsutism whereas women of other races usually do not.

Chronological Variations

Hair growth first appears in the pubic area, being completed at 16 years of age. Pubic hair is followed by armpit hair, which is completed at 18 years. Next, the hair starts to grow in the anterior surface of the legs, thighs, in the forehead, abdomen, buttocks, cheeks, lumbar region and arms.
Hair growth is fastest between the ages of 16 and 46, decreasing markedly at 50. In women, menopause causes decreased female hormone levels, which results in the acquisition of certain male characteristics or “masculinization” (alopecia in the scalp, hair growth on the face, areolas and abdomen) and thinning of armpit and pubic hair, which also becomes less dense.