Why Do Some People Have Curly Hair and Others Have Straight?

Hair curls because of how the proteins inside it are shaped. Imagine your hair is like a spring, if the spring is tight, your hair is curly; if it's loose, your hair is straight. This shape comes from genes passed down from parents to kids.

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Examples

A curly-haired child might look like one parent
Someone with straight hair can have a sibling with tight curls
Hair becomes curlier when wet, showing how shape affects curling

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Categories: Biology · hair· genetics· biology· proteins· curl pattern