Learning about your ancestors can be a fun way to link yourself to the bigger world and even the distant past. Although some people can trace their families through generations and far away lands, others may not know much about where or whom they came from. Either way, you probably have some physical traits that are similar to your genetic relatives (which are your ancestors...whether you know them or not!).

Do you have the “family nose”? How about your grandmother’s eyes? Your cousin's legs? And did you ever think about the family “hairy-ness”?

Yep. It’s a thing.

As your body journeys through puberty, all that new hair sprouts in new places because of some new hormones called androgens. But your ancestors also determine some of the details about how much grows and where it lands. 

For girls with Scandinavian ancestors, hair tends to be lighter in color and may not be very noticable. For girls with African, Middle Eastern, or Greek heritage, hair is typically darker and there’s more of it. For girls with East Asian ancestors, hair is often dark but there’s not as much that sprouts during puberty. For girls with ancestors from other places, things may be different. Of course, there are exceptions to all of these, but in general, you can thank your ancestors for your hairiness.  

The best news about hair is that there are lots of ways to manage it - wherever it grows! And because it's something we inherit, that means we can't help what we get. And neither can other people. 

Sometimes hair is a source of teasing. If a girl has hair on her face (which many do!), is that a reason to say something about it to her, or worse, to others? Not at all! We all have things about our body that we may not like or that may be different from our friends, but our bodies are uniquely designed by a long line of ancestors. That's something we should respect and honor, not dislike or make fun of! We should be proud of what we got from the many men and women who came before us - whether they were hairy or not!

The best news about hair is that there are lots of ways to manage it - wherever it grows! Join us for a Girlology program or check out our book, There’s Something New About You to learn all the tricks for keeping the "Hairy Fairy" under control! And meanwhile, please appreciate your ancestors!