Facts About Your Hair毛发趣闻

Did you know that a person has around 5 million hair follicles1 all over thebody？ We all have hair. It’s a natural part of the human body. Do you eversometimes wonder2 why we have it？ Here are some facts about it.

你知道一个人全身大约有500 万个毛囊吗？我们都有毛发，这是人体的自然组成部分。你何曾想过为什么我们会有它呢？以下是一些和毛发相关的趣闻。

1 We have 100，000 hairs.

我们有10 万根头发遥

Did you know that a person can have around 100，000 hairs？ Not only this butwe also have up to 150，000 hair follicles just on our head and around 5 million allover our body. You are born with some number of follicles on your body and youdon’t grow more as you get older.

你知道一个人可以有大约10 万根头发吗？不仅如此，我们头上还有多达15万个毛囊，全身大约有500 万个。你出生时身体上就有一些毛囊，随着年龄的增长，你不会再长出更多毛囊。

The number of follicles you have is hereditary3 and can change depending4 onyour hair color. People with naturally blonde hair have more follicles which are about150，000 hairs on their head， while people born with naturally red hair have onlyaround 90，000 follicles.

你的毛囊数量是遗传的，会根据发色而改变。天生金发的人有更多的毛囊，大约有150，000 个，而天生红发的人只有大约90，000 个毛囊。

2 Information5 can be stored6 in our hair！

信息可以储存在我们的头发里

As our hair grows it carries our bodies’information with it. We cannot see theinformation just by eyes， but there are ways of testing that help us to see the changesmade to a piece of hair when it grows. For example， we can see from one’s hair ifthere was a lack of vitamins and nutrients at a point of time in the diet.

随着头发的生长，它携带着我们身体的信息。我们不能只靠眼睛看来获取信息，而是有一些测试方法可以帮助我们看到一根头发在生长过程中的变化。例如，我们可以从一个人的头发看出在某个时间点的饮食中是否缺乏维生素和营养。

3 Human hair is both stretchy7 and strong.

人类的毛发很强韧

Human hair is so strong that it could hold more weight8 than a piece of copperwire9. It is said that a whole head of hair could carry the weight of around 5，600 to8，400 kilograms， or the weight of two elephants.

人类的头发非常结实，与一根铜丝相比它能承受更多的重量。据说一个人全部的头发可以承载大约5600 到8400 公斤的重量，这相当于两头大象的重量。

Human hair is also very stretchy. If you have curly hair， you can stretch10 it outuntil it becomes straight， but everyone’s hair stretches at some point. Dry hair canstretch to be around 1.2-1.3 times as long as before and it can return back. Whenour hair is wet， it can stretch even more， sometimes up to 1.5 times.

人类的头发也很有韧性。如果你有一头卷发，你可以把它拉长，直到它变直，但是每个人的头发在某种情况下都可以拉长。干燥的头发可以拉伸到原来的1.2到1.3 倍，并且可以恢复到原来的长度。当我们的头发打湿之后，它可以拉得更长，有时可以达到1.5 倍。

4 What is the growth11 cycle12 of a follicle？

毛囊的生长周期是怎样的

The first step is the growth of a hair. Once the hair is fully grown， it hasstopped growing but stays in the follicle until it is ready to fall out. A hair can livefor around 5 years before it falls out.

第一步是长出头发。一旦头发完全长出来了，它就会停止生长，但会留在毛囊中直到它快要脱落。一根毛发可以存活5 年左右才脱落。

Although the number of follicles stays the same all your life， as you get olderyour hair can naturally fall out. This means you will have less hair on your head orbody but the follicles are still there. Then the follicle willlose the hair. A person loses between 50-100 piecesof hair a day.

虽然人一生中毛囊的数量保持不变，但随着年龄的增长，头发会自然脱落。这意味着你头上或身体上的毛发会变少，但是毛囊还在。之后毛囊就会掉毛。一个人每天会掉50 到100 根头发。

5 Temperature13 can work on hair growth.

温度会影响头发的生长

Does temperature work on hair growth？ It is said that warmer climates14 makeyour hair grow faster. In some studies this could be true， but it is not enough tomake it a fact. We do know that colder climates can work on your hair. Cold aircan make your hair dry because there is a lack of humidity15 in the air. This cancause split16 ends as the hair becomes brittle17.

温度对头发生长有影响吗？据说温暖的气候会让你的头发长得更快。在一些研究中，这可能是真的，但这不足以使其成为事实。我们知道寒冷的气候会对你的头发产生影响。冷空气会使你的头发干燥，因为空气中湿度不足。随着头发变得脆弱起来，发梢就会分叉。

Hair is an important part of human body. We canuse it to do some tests about our bodies; it keeps us warmin cold climates and is part of our identity18.

头发是人体的重要组成部分。我们可以用它来做一些关于我们身体的测试；它让我们在寒冷的气候中保持温暖，也与我们自身特性相关。

▏Notes

1. follicle （皮肤上的）毛囊

2. wonder 想知道，好奇

3. hereditary （特点或疾病）遗传的

4. depend 取决于

5. information 信息，资料；知识

6. store 贮存，储藏

7. stretchy 有弹性的；能伸展的

8. weight 重量

9. copper wire 铜线

10. stretch （使）变大，拉长

11. growth 成长，生长

12. cycle 周期

13. temperature 温度，气温

14. climate 气候

15. humidity 潮湿，湿气；湿度

16. split 分裂，使分裂

17. brittle 易碎的，脆的

18. identity 身份，特性