Hair can change texture, sometimes becoming curlier, around puberty due to hormonal changes that impact gene activity. Specifically, the reference states that hormonal changes that occur around puberty can affect the function of genes. This means that someone with wavy hair who carries a gene for curly hair can experience an increase in the activity of that curly hair gene.
How Hormonal Changes Affect Hair Texture
Here's a breakdown of how this process unfolds:
- Hormonal Shifts: Puberty involves significant hormonal fluctuations, including increases in sex hormones like estrogen and testosterone.
- Gene Activation: These hormones can influence the way our genes are expressed, meaning how they are activated or deactivated.
- Curly Hair Gene: In individuals with wavy hair, there's often an underlying gene for curly hair. During puberty, the hormonal changes can cause that gene to become more active.
- Change in Texture: Increased activity of the curly hair gene can alter the shape of the hair follicle, leading to a change in hair texture from wavy to curly.
Example
To illustrate, imagine someone with slightly wavy hair during childhood. As they enter puberty, their body starts producing more hormones. These hormones act as signals that can "turn up" the activity of the gene related to curly hair they already possess. As a result, their hair might start to curl more noticeably.
Summary
In conclusion, hair turning curly at puberty is a result of hormonal changes that trigger the activation of genes associated with curly hair. This activation affects the hair follicles, leading to a change in hair texture.
