Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 272, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 December 1917 — Straight and Curly Hair. [ARTICLE]

Straight and Curly Hair.

The question of the manner of the production of the straight and curly varieties of the hair has long been a matter of conjecture, and hitherto no satisfactory explanation has been forthcoming. It is only known that straight hair is always circular in section and is usually thicker than curly hair, which is ribbonlike and fine. Each hair is provided with a sebaceous gland opening into it, together with a muscle connected with it. The size of the gland varies considerably in different individuals and appears larger and better developed in the negro races. The muscle connected with each gland has long been recognized as having an influence on the position of the hair, causing its erection by pulling forward the root of the hair. Such.action of these little muscles Is displayed when a cat in rage erects the hair of its tail or a straighthaired dog causes the hair of its back to rise in a median crest. Their influence in man is commonly observed in the condition known as “goose skin.”