Where do the hairiest men live, and why do Asians, on the other hand, have almost no hair (12 photos)

You probably paid attention to the fact that some men have practically no hair on their faces and bodies, but the hair of others can easily be the envy of any four-legged forest dweller. Or, as the heroes of the famous Soviet cartoon said: “Increased shaggyness. Now he can sleep in the snow in winter.”





Jokes aside, the well-known hormone testosterone is responsible for the abundance (or lack) of hair on a man’s face and body: the higher its level in the body, the thicker and denser the hair.



And, by the way, a high level of testosterone is also indicated by a large Adam’s apple, a rough, low voice, broad shoulders, prominent brow ridges, and a massive jaw. Also, you might be surprised to know that men with high testosterone levels have shorter index fingers than their ring fingers. But this is true, by the way...





However, in addition to internal factors, the level of the hormone testosterone in the male body, and therefore the degree of hairiness, is most directly influenced by... geography. Thus, one American medical journal published research data in which scientists measured testosterone levels in five thousand men of different nationalities. The lowest rates were found in 6% of white men living in the United States, but among Asians from Hong Kong and Japan, only 3% had a low rate.



And this is surprising, because previously it was believed that Asians are distinguished by modest hairiness, and therefore low levels of testosterone. But no. Research results have confirmed that Mongoloids living in the United States have the same level of the hormone as other residents of the country. This means that the peculiarity of their hair depends on other factors: say, on the quality of food, water and air, genetics, in the end...



I will return to the topic of Asians and their facial hair, but a little later, but for now I will give you data from another study. According to them, the hairiest men live in the southern regions - Caucasians, Greeks, Italians, Spaniards and peoples of Latin America, Arabs, Portuguese, Jews, Australian aborigines and Japanese Ainu, of whom there are only 23,782 in the world.



Well, if you go deeper and turn to mother history, then the founders of great empires: the Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Mongols, British and Americans are considered to be peoples with increased hairiness, and therefore a corresponding level of testosterone.



But let's get back to the Asians. If you mentally imagine a Japanese, Chinese or Korean, then, most likely, in your imagination, facial hair will be absent as a given. Although, perhaps, there is a place for a thin beard or a sparse mustache. And this is a fact: most Asians cannot boast of a high level of hairiness either on their face or body. The fact is that modest vegetation is genetically inherent in Asians.



For example, the Chinese belong to the Mongoloid race, which is characterized by extremely weak hair growth not only on the face, but throughout the body. Only now the Australoids, who, on the contrary, have very developed hair growth, have also “interfered” with the genetics of the Chinese. It follows from this that a certain amount of facial and body hairiness is still observed among the Chinese, but it is extremely scanty, and it appears much later than, for example, among Europeans.



“What about the experienced elders and masters of martial arts?” - you will reasonably note. And it’s true, in films with similar themes, hundred-year-old sages almost always appear before the audience with a long, albeit not too thick, beard. What can I say...



For Asians, a beard is a symbol of masculinity, and this, oddly enough, is connected with Chinese medicine. A beard, especially if it is thick and long, according to Chinese traditions, is considered an indicator of good functioning of the gallbladder, which, in turn, is denoted by the hieroglyph “courage.” It follows that any Asian man with a beard is a priori masculine. Therefore, warriors were almost always depicted as bearded.



But modern Asian men don’t really like beards and mustaches. And the reason is simple: not everyone likes rather thin facial hair. And for Asians, sympathy, and therefore respect, from others is an extremely important aspect in life.