Our hair defines us. Hair might not be the first of the characteristics we think of when picturing friends, family, or others, but it does play a large part in making us who we are.

Are you interested in learning more about Asian hair vs. Caucasian hair? Let’s dig dive. The story of two hair types and two ethnic populations is just the beginning. Our hair tells an exhilarating tale about our backgrounds, our present, and where we’ll go in the future.

Let’s take a closer look at the differences between Asian hair and Caucasian hair. Perhaps you’ll discover something new about yourself. Or maybe we’ll learn how much we share in common between ethnic groups!

Hair 101: Looking Closer At Hair And Ethnicity

As much as we dye, cut, curl, or shave our hair, there’s no escaping the hair we were born with. It’s a central element of the inheritance we received from our families and ethnic groups thousands of years ago.

Under the microscope, human hair has 8-10 distinct properties. Scientists and ethnographers can isolate these properties and use them to put hair types into categories. Putting people and their hair types in categories is not a harmless thing, though. Categories can lead to stereotypes even discrimination.

Read more on the recent controversy about hair discrimination for more info.

What are the elements of our hair that these scientists study? The main ones are:

• Cuticle layers
• Cross-sectional area (width of each hair strand)
• Hair curvature
• Hair straightness
• Pigmentation (nature color)
• Hair growth rate
• Hydration content

So, we’ll have to zoom in on each of these categories to get more insight into the differences between Asian hair and caucasian hair. For now, it’s enough to say that the two hair types present some striking differences in their properties.

Characteristics Of Asian Hair

Some Asian hair might look similar to caucasian hair. Generally, Asian hair is darkly pigmented or black and straight with a shiny surface. The two hair types share a long history, as Asian and caucasian populations have lived near each other for centuries.