Leg Hair - Wikipedia

Hair in the leg areas of adolescent and adult humans

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Leg hair
Hair on the human leg
Anatomical terminology[edit on Wikidata]

Leg hair is body hair that grows on the legs of humans, generally appearing after the onset of puberty. For aesthetic reasons and for some sports, people shave, wax, epilate, or use hair removal creams to remove the hair from their legs: see leg shaving.

The current Guinness World Record for world's longest leg hair belongs to Jason Allen of Tucson, Arizona at 8.84 inches (22.46 cm).[1]

Growth

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The real action of leg hair takes place below the skin or the epidermis. The cells that are in the hair follicles divide and multiply. When the space fills up in the follicle it pushes older cells out and that is what becomes the leg hair. After the older cells become hard and leave the follicle, they form a hair shaft. The hair shaft is mostly made up of dead tissue and a protein that is known as keratin.

It is said that hair growth occurs during the "growing" phase of the follicle, and then retained as dead club hair during the "resting" phase. The old club hair might be lost within the following "growing" phase.

Difference between men and women

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Men generally have more body hair than women, due to higher levels of androgens. Three different types of hair are present on the human body. Body hair, or androgenic hair, is the terminal hair that develops on the human body during and after puberty. It is differentiated from the head hair and less visible vellus hair, which is much finer and lighter in color. The growth of androgenic hair is related to the level of androgens and the density of androgen receptors in the dermal papillae. Both must reach a threshold for the proliferation of hair follicle cells.

Protein involved in hair growth

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Fibroblast growth factor 5 (FGF5) is a secreted signaling protein. The expression of this protein is detected in hair follicles from the mice that scientists have experimented on. The hair follicles are localized to the outer root sheath during one of the phases of the hair growth cycle. Such experiments conclude that the protein FGF5 functions as an inhibitor when pertaining to hair elongation.

Seasonal changes are also known to affect hair growth. For instance, one experiment had concluded that the rate of hair growth for men and their beards was lowest in January and February and increased from March to July. (Northern hemisphere?)

See also

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• Beard
• Facial hair
• Arm hair
• Pubic hair
• Hair
• Hirsutism
• Trichophilia
• Foot hair

References

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1. ^ "Longest Leg Hair". Guinness World Records. Archived from the original on 2015-11-15. Retrieved 2015-10-30.

Further reading

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• Hébert, Jean M; Rosenquist, Thomas; Götz, Jürgen; Martin, Gail R (1994). "FGF5 as a regulator of the hair growth cycle: Evidence from targeted and spontaneous mutations". Cell. 78 (6): 1017–25. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(94)90276-3. PMID 7923352. S2CID 44491318.
• Kageyama, Tatsuto; Yoshimura, Chisa; Myasnikova, Dina; Kataoka, Ken; Nittami, Tadashi; Maruo, Shoji; Fukuda, Junji (2018). "Spontaneous hair follicle germ (HFG) formation in vitro, enabling the large-scale production of HFGs for regenerative medicine". Biomaterials. 154: 291–300. doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2017.10.056. PMID 29156398.
• Chase, Herman B (1954). "Growth of the Hair". Physiological Reviews. 34 (1): 113–26. doi:10.1152/physrev.1954.34.1.113. PMID 13120379.
• Martinez, Carla. "Why Are Men Hairier than Women?" Metode, metode.org/metodes-whys-and-wherefores/why-are-men-hairier-than-women.html.
• "Beards, Baldness and Body Hair - Why Men Are Hairy." Not-For-Profit Health Insurance, www.cbhs.com.au/health-well-being-blog/blog-article/2017/05/31/why-men-are-hairy

v t e Skin and related structures
Skin	Epidermis Stratum corneum Stratum lucidum Stratum granulosum Stratum spinosum Malpighian layer Stratum basale Basement membrane Basal keratinocyte Lamina lucida Lamina densa Dermis Papillary Dermal papillae Reticular
Subcutaneous tissue	Panniculus/Pannus (Panniculus adiposus Panniculus carnosus) Membranous layer Loose connective tissue Superficial fascia
Adnexa	Skin glands Sweat glands: Apocrine sweat gland Eccrine sweat gland Sebaceous Hair Root sheath Outer root sheath Inner root sheath Henle's layer Huxley's layer Hair shaft Cuticle Cortex Medulla Bulb with matrix cells Hair follicle Muscle Arrector pili muscle Pilosebaceous unit Hair sebaceous gland Nail Nail matrix Nail plate Lunula Eponychium Paronychium Hyponychium

v t e Human regional anatomy
Body	Skin
Head	Hair Face Forehead Cheek Chin Eyebrow Eye Eyelid Nose Mouth Lip Tongue Tooth Ear Jaw Mandible Occiput Scalp Temple
Neck	Adam's apple Throat Nape
Torso (Trunk)	Abdomen Waist Midriff Navel Vertebral column Back Thorax Breast Nipple Pelvis Genitalia Penis Scrotum Vulva Buttocks Anus
Limbs	Arm Shoulder Axilla Elbow Forearm Wrist Hand Finger Fingernail Thumb Index Middle Ring Little Leg Hip Thigh Knee Calf Foot Ankle Heel Toe Toenail Sole

v t e Human hair
Classification	by type Lanugo Body Terminal Vellus by location Body Ear Nose Eyebrow unibrow Eyelash Underarm Chest Abdominal Pubic Leg
Head hairstyles(list of hairstyles)	Afro Afro puffs Asymmetric cut Bald Bangs Beehive Big hair Blowout Bob cut Bouffant Bowl cut Braid Broccoli haircut Brush, butch, burr cut Bun (odango) Bunches Businessman cut Butterfly haircut Buzz cut Caesar cut Chignon Chonmage Comb over Conk Cornrows Crew cut Crochet braids Croydon facelift Curly hair Curtained hair Czupryna Devilock Dido flip Digital perm Dreadlocks Ducktail Edgar cut Eton crop Extensions Fauxhawk Feathered hair Finger wave Flattop Fontange French braid French twist Fringe Frosted tips Hair crimping Hair twists High and tight Hime cut Historical Christian hairstyles Hi-top fade Induction cut Ivy League, Harvard, Princeton cut Japanese women Jewfro Jesus look Jheri curl Kinky hair Kiss curl Laid edges Layered hair Liberty spikes Long hair Lob cut Lovelock Marcelling Mod cut Mohawk Mullet 1950s 1980s Pageboy Part Payot Pigtail Pixie cut Pompadour Ponytail Punch perm Professional cut Queue Quiff Rachel Rattail Razor cut Regular haircut Ringlets Shag Shape-up Shikha Shimada Short back and sides Short brush cut Short hair Spiky hair Straight hair Standard haircut Step cut Surfer hair Taper cut Temple fade Titus cut Tonsure Updo Undercut Victory rolls Waves Widow's peak Wigs Wings
Facial hair(list)	Beard Chinstrap Goatee Ned Kelly Shenandoah Soul patch Van Dyke Moustache Fu Manchu handlebar horseshoe pencil toothbrush walrus Designer stubble Sideburns
Hair subtraction	cosmetic Removal waxing threading plucking chemical electric laser IPL Shaving head leg cream brush soap Razor electric safety straight disorders Alopecia areata frictional universalis totalis Pattern hair loss Hypertrichosis Management Trichophilia Trichotillomania Pogonophobia
Haircare products	Brush Clay Clipper Comb Conditioner Dryer Gel Hairstyling products Hot comb Iron Mousse Pomade Relaxer Rollers Shampoo Spray Volumizer Wax Hair texture powder
Haircare techniques	Backcombing Hair coloring Crimping Curly Girl Method Hair cutting Perm Shampoo and set Straightening
Health and medical	Greying of hair Hair follicle Hair growth Trichology
Related	Andre Walker Hair Typing System Beard and haircut laws by country Bearded lady Barber (pole) Eponymous hairstyle Frizz Good hair Tonsure Sheitel Hairdresser list Hair fetishism Wig