Why does the hair on your arm not grow long?

(Published on 9 May 2006 in 'Women at Work' - W @ W - a supplement of the Daily Mirror, Colombo, Sri Lanka)

IQ, my dear admirers is Intelligence Quotient and it indicates a person's mental abilities relative to others of approximately the same age. But IQ levels of a Miss Know-All are way above the world and his wives – age no bar! Everyone has hundreds of specific mental abilities—but we my sweeties have it in thousands.

A Miss Know-All - knows all. Period. There is no debating that one. Whether it’s something in, or something out, something hip or something hot…. we are the one-stop-shop powerhouse of information. From laddered hoses to restructured noses, we have an answer for everything.

And before you pull out your hair with frustration at the thought of not being able to keep up with my level of competency – here’s a question. Why does the hair on your arms stay short, while the hair on your head grows long? You can scratch your head. They say it helps.

Each hair on your body grows from its own individual hair follicle. Pull out one hair from your head and check out the far end. You can actually see the hair follicle at the root of the hair shaft. That’s of course if you have good eyesight like I do my dearies. Inside the follicle, new hair cells form. These new cells push older cells out of the follicle. As they are pushed out, the cells die and become the hair we see.

A follicle will produce new cells for a certain period of time. This time period called the growth phase varies depending on where the hair is located on your body. This process will stop for a period of time, and then restart after a rest phase. When the hair follicle enters the rest phase the hair shaft breaks. The existing hair falls out and a new hair takes its place. Therefore, the length of time that the hair is able to spend growing during the growth phase controls the maximum length of the hair.

The hair follicles on your head, let hair grow for years at a time, so the hair can grow very long. While, the cells that make the hairs on your arms and legs stop growing every few months. On entering the rest phase they fall off. So the hair on your arms and legs stay short. (Thank God for little mercies.)

Take care lovelies – stop staring at your hairy arms and legs in wonder and here’s some friendly advice - keep them clear off hirsute.

Miss Know-All
wow@dailymirror.wnl.lk