Hair growth on the hands can be embarrassing to some people and is usually unwanted.
It appears most often on your fourth finger and doesn’t appear on thumbs.
It grows in both males' and females' hands and palmistry used hair on hands to confirm observations found in other parts of the body.
Wondering why does hair grows on your hands? The hair that grows on the hands might be due to hormonal reasons like puberty, pregnancy, polycystic ovarian syndrome, or just genetics. John Hawks, a biological anthropologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, best said that generally, we don't know about the origin of knuckle hair which seems useless.
You will find that men are the least bothered by having hair grow on the hands. On the other hand, women won’t take it lightly and tend to be self-conscience about it.
There are several reasons why hair grows on the hands. Here are some common and uncommon reasons why this occurs
- Genetics
Anthropologists have studied what’s known as mid-phalangeal hair to date with no clear reason for its existence has been found. Hair follicles are found at knuckles and hands. It appears most often on your fourth finger and doesn’t appear on thumbs. It’s most common among Caucasian people (source: healthline.com).
John Hawks, a biological anthropologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison said that "Generally speaking, we don't know" when it comes to knuckle hair which appears useless.
One explanation, Hawks said, is that it's hair leftover from evolution: Our ancestor apes were covered with hair, and we are left with the small patches that seem to have persisted through the weeding out of natural selection. (livescience.com)
For mid-digital hair when a person has on the middle segments of the fingers, the trait is inherited from your parents and is encoded by a dominant gene, which means that you have a 50-percent chance of getting it if your mom or dad sports hair on his or her fingers
Your genes have a lot to do with how much and where hair follicle grows on your human body. If you have hair growing on your arms it can be a result of specific genes that run in your family.
- Puberty
During puberty, hair begins to grow on various parts of the body including facial hair and scalp hair. This happens at around the age of 13. In addition to parts of the body such as underarms that are known to have hair, it may also start to grow on the hands.
This is because at puberty the brain starts to release hormones. These hormones prompt the pituitary gland to release puberty hormones. The hormone that is responsible for the growth of hair on the body is the follicle-stimulating hormone. In this case, you can rest assured that having hair on your hands is totally normal. It is simply part of growing up and one of the things that come with puberty.
- Pregnancy
You may find that hair suddenly appears on your arms during that time that you are pregnant. What happens is there are a lot of hormonal changes that occur during pregnancy.
All this can result in the growth of hair on the hands. There is no need to panic as this is a normal occurrence. The hair might actually go away on its own once you give birth. However, if you have any concerns it’s always a good idea to consult with your doctor.
- Gender
The fact that you are either a man or woman can greatly affect the growth of hair on your body. Typically, hair growing on the arms tends to be more intense in men than it is in women. In other words, it may be more conspicuous in males than when compared to females. However, this does not mean that women do not have hair on their hands. There are those that have a lot of hair on their arms.
- Hirsutism
Hirsutism is a health condition that causes excess hair growth. We all have body hair, and it can either be noticeable or not. However, if you have hair growing on your hands and in excess amounts then there might be a problem.
According to the available information, this condition affects about 5-15% of all women. In this case, you have to visit a doctor so that the underlying cause can be determined. In most cases, Hirsutism is due to an underlying health condition. For instance, it can occur due to polycystic ovarian syndrome.
- PolyCystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
PolyCystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a disorder that causes hormonal imbalance. It results in high levels of androgens in the body which are the male hormones. When these hormones are at high levels, they can triggers symptoms like excess growth of hair on the hands.
According to statistics, this condition affects about 5-10% of women of reproductive age. If you notice that you have too much hair growing in your arms it is best if you go to a doctor. Treatment involves reducing the male hormones being produced in the body.
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