Hair: A Human History

by Kurt Stenn

Overview

A microhistory in the vein of Salt and Cod exploring the biological, evolutionary, and cultural history of one of the world's most fascinating fibers.

Most people don't give a second thought to the stuff on their head, but hair has played a crucial role in in fashion, the arts, sports, commerce, forensics, and industry. In Hair, Kurt Stenn — one of the world's foremost hair follicle experts — takes readers on global journey through history, from fur merchant associations and sheep farms to medical clinics and patient support groups, to show the remarkable impact hair has had on human life.

From a completely bald beauty queen with alopecia to the famed hair-hang circus act, Stenn weaves the history of hair through a variety of captivating examples, with sources varying from renaissance merchants’ diaries to interviews with wig makers, modern barbers, and more. In addition to expelling the biological basis and the evolutionary history of hair, the fiber is put into context: hair in history (as tied to textile mills and merchant associations), hair as a construct for cultural and self-identity, hair in the arts (as the material for artist's brushes and musical instruments), hair as commodity (used for everything from the inner lining of tennis balls to an absorbent to clean up oil spills), and hair as evidence in criminology.

Perfect for fans of Mark Kurlansky, Hair is a compelling read based solidly in historical and scientific research that will delight any reader who wants to know more about the world around them.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781605989556
Publisher:	Pegasus Books
Publication date:	02/15/2016
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	933,214
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 6.30(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Kurt Stenn has over 30 years of expertise studying hair. He had a distinguished twenty-year academic career as a Professor of Pathology and Dermatology at the Yale University School of Medicine and was for ten years Director of Skin Biology at Johnson & Johnson. Most recently, he helped found and served as Chief Scientific Officer for a biotech startup focusing on hair follicle regeneration. He has lectured extensively on the biology of the hair follicle, written over 200 peer review scientific publications and served on the Adjunct Faculties of the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, Drexel University, and Georgia Institute of Technology. He lives in Princeton, NJ.

Table of Contents

Foreword: Telling the Story of Hair xi

Part 1 Sharing the Shaft 1

1 The First Fibers 3

2 The Way They Grow 15

3 A Mysterious Cycle and a Unique Cell 26

4 Influential Neighbors 39

Part 2 The Ultimate Communicator 49

5 Enkidu Cuts His Hair 51

6 Barbers and Beauticians 71

7 The Hair-Hang Act 80

8 Comb, Scissors, Curler, Dye 89

9 The Ultimate Artifice 98

10 Queen Victoria's Memento 111

Part 3 In Human Service 119

11 Quest for Beaver Maps a Continent 121

12 Wool Bankrolls an Empire 131

13 Beyond Clothes 147

Epilogue: A Glimpse of the Future 161

Acknowledgments 171

Glossary 173

Selected Bibliography 185

Notes 199

Index 219

Editorial Reviews

12/21/2015
Stenn, former director of skin biology at Johnson & Johnson, explores the intricacies of hair from biological, anthropological, and cultural perspectives, developing a well-rounded overview of a seemingly obtuse subject. On hair science, he delves into evolutionary theory, the hair growth cycle, and the chemical processes of conditioners, relaxers, and dyes. The director of a barber trade school outlines the rigorous course of study required for the occupation, and a famed wig maker explains his complex work process. Somewhat on the outer reaches are individuals paying thousands of dollars for strands of famous hair at auction, hair as a visual art medium, and hair shirts for religious atonement. Finally, Stenn makes some projections about the future of hair, including robot barbers and the status of hair-follicle forming chemicals to remedy baldness. While there are likely more complete and academic takes on this subject, this is an excellent layperson’s introduction to the vast and compelling story of hair. Agent: Regina Ryan, Regina Ryan Publishing Enterprises. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

"Stenn jams an encyclopedia’s worth of material into a mere 256 pages. Stenn manages to convey a sense of wonder for a seemingly mundane material so tough, so strong and so versatile that it can be used for virtually anything."

Science News

"Ask a woman about her hair, and she just might tell you the story of her life. Ask Kurt Stenn, author of this lively history, and he'll explain the origins and science of hair in terrifically readable stories. The more I learn about hair, the more I'm convinced that studying it is a doorway into learning about everything that matters—where we come from, where we might be going, and why we're so unbelievably obsessed with our hair."

Elizabeth Benedict

"A fascinating work packed with scholarly research [and] full of weird facts."

The Wall Street Journal

"Hair comes from an expert on hair who provides a fun global romp through history discussing various aspects of hair. Highly recommended for any interested in the evolution and culture of hair."

Midwest Book Review

"In Hair, Kurt Stenn establishes himself as the poet laureate of hair. He weaves brightly colored illuminating and enticing yarns that encompass the universe of hair—from barbering and wig-making to the use of the fiber in paint brushes and musical instruments to the detailed and fascinating biology of hair formation and hair disease. The warp and weft of his interests sparkles and delights."

Lowell A. Goldsmith

"If you think you know everything about hair, you are in for a surprise. Stenn uses this seemingly mundane subject to weave a splendid tapestry, shimmering with fascinating stories from all aspects of life. After reading this book, you'll admire the wonder of your hair even on a bad hair day."

Vladimir Dinets

"A well-researched, clearly-told, and entertaining account of the biological, evolutionary, historical, sociological, and aesthetic aspects of hair."

Rush D. Holt

"Kurt Stenn, a scientist who has studied hair for the past three decades, proves in this lively new book that even the lowliest whisker merits attention. He’s a clear and enthusiastic explainer of follicles and shafts, the genes and growth patterns behind our fur, and all the strange things that can go wrong."

Boston Globe

"As a biologist, I enjoy books like Hair that shine a light into the murky corners of the human experience. Professor Stenn, a world authority on hair, is also a great storyteller. Hair is a treasure trove of information, some of which will set your hair on end. A good book that is clear, concise, and well-thought-out."

John Gaudet

"I absolutely reveled in Kurt Stenn’s magnificent book. It's the best-researched, best-written and most entertaining compendium I’ve read on the subject. In clear, crisp prose, Dr. Stenn tells the story of hair through a wonderfully calibrated prism of history, art, culture, society, industry and science. I recommend it for anyone who has—or remembers having—hair."

Armen Markarian

"Thoroughly researched and thoroughly enjoyable, encompassing not only human hair of the head but of the chin and body too (not to mention sheep's wool, beaver fur, wig-making and wearing, perming, dyeing and curling). Everything we have ever done to, or with, our hair is here."

Jacky Colliss Harvey

"Kurt Stenn unravels the physical and social marvels of hair, demonstrating the myriad ways in which hair of all sorts is essential to our health and happiness. The story of hair reveals more about our past, present and future as human beings than we commonly realize, and Stenn’s fast-paced and clear-sighted tour of science, history, and present-day society will give the reader a fresh appreciation for something so common and yet so wonderful."

Christopher Oldstone-Moore

01/01/2016
Stenn (coauthor, The Molecular and Structural Biology of Hair), a former professor of pathology and dermatology at Yale University School of Medicine, sets out to unravel the history of hair from a scientific, historical, and sociocultural perspective. His history begins with the origins of the stuff covering our heads and bodies, how it came to be, and how it's changed from basic covering to ornamentation. Divided into three parts, the book starts with the science of hair, moving onto the social history of human hair, and ending with the use of hair and fur for the purposes of clothing, wealth, and much more. This is a compact text, with a heavy dose of science from the start, which can pull the reader out of the narrative. The historical aspect of hair is referenced throughout the book, though Stenn concentrates the majority of this discussion in the latter part of the book. VERDICT This short but dense work will be a good read for those who enjoy a little history with their science, or some science with their history. This is not a comprehensive text, but a good introduction.—Gricel Dominguez, Florida International Univ. Lib.

Library Journal

2015-11-24
A hair-follicle scientist offers an edifying look at the biology, physiology, and history of hair. A former professor of pathology and dermatology at Yale University School of Medicine and former director of skin biology for Johnson & Johnson, Stenn brings considerable expertise and lively curiosity to this wide-ranging inquiry into what hair is, how it evolved, and what it has meant culturally, personally, and economically. Hair, notes the author, is present on all skin surfaces, although on humans, much of it is hardly noticeable. Even an individual who appears to be bald has "frightfully small, only microscopically visible" hair follicles and hair shafts. Scientists disagree regarding why humans lost the dense hair cover that characterized earlier hominids; the author believes less density evolved "to protect their uniquely temperature-sensitive brain" and dissipate heat through sweat glands. Besides human hair, Stenn considers the significance of fur, which functioned as protective covering for early humans living in cold climates. Indigenous North Americans understood that late autumn was the best time to collect beaver skins because the animal's fur was thickest in anticipation of winter. In 16th-century Europe, beaver hats were so coveted that trappers exhausted the beaver populations of Northern European forests, turning energetically to the New World, where fur trading became economically beneficial to native peoples. In the 14th century, England was renowned for wool production, which continued as the nation's most profitable export for many centuries. Stenn investigates some arcane practices involving hair, notably the hair-hang act, where a female acrobat is suspended from rafters by a shank of hair, a feat made possible because of hair's amazing tensile strength. Other uses for hair include artists' brushes; violinists' bows, which use about 130 to 150 straight shafts, constructed in a painstaking process; and as forensic evidence for solving crimes. A spirited, informative history of a fascinating fiber.

Kirkus Reviews