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two hair whorls significance

by Vernice Walker Published 3 years ago Updated 3 years ago

Your hair that grows from this point in your scalp is arranged in a circular formation that's called a “whorl.” When you have two “whorls” at the crown of your head, it's called a “double crown.” Having a double crown has been associated with everything from certain health conditions to being especially intelligent.Mar 1, 2021

What is a double hair whorl called?

Mar 01, 2021 · Your hair that grows from this point in your scalp is arranged in a circular formation that’s called a “whorl.” When you have two “whorls” at the crown of your head, it’s called a “double crown.”...

How many people have two whorls on their hair?

The clinical significance of multiple hair whorls and their association with unusual dermatoglyphics and dysmorphic features in mentally retarded Israeli children. The prevalence of multiple hair whorls in a group of mentally retarded patients was 8% as opposed to 3.6% in a group of healthy children. A statistically significant relationship was demonstrated between …

What is a hair whorl of the brain?

Jun 15, 2021 · Sometimes, children with two hair whorls were called “little monsters.” Although the phrase’s precise meaning is unknown, the fact that this folklore has survived in different cultures for centuries suggests that the double whorl trait may have some predictive value.

Is a hair whorl the same as a crown?

What causes double hair whorls?

The hair whorl denotes the spiral disposition of hairs around an axis, which is determined by the follicle growing direction. Atypical variants of scalp hair patterns, identified by abnormally placed or multiple whorls, have been associated with early brain developmental disorders and several dysmorphic syndromes.

What does a double crown signify?

Ancient Egyptian pharaohs are usually depicted wearing a crown or a head-cloth. The most important of these was the double crown, which symbolizes the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt and was worn by pharaohs starting with the First Dynasty around the year 3000 BCE. Its ancient Egyptian name is the pschent.

How rare is a double crown hair?

5%Most people have one clockwise hair crown at a single point on the scalp. However, most does not represent all. A study from NHGRI found that 5% of the world's population has double crown hair.

What is the chance of getting a double crown?

Five percent of the population has two whorls. A double hair whorl is sometimes referred to as a double crown. In 10%, whorl direction is counter-clockwise.

Folklore in Asia

For thousands of years, Chinese folklore used facial features and hair whorls on a child’s scalp to predict things like personality, career path, and fate.

Folklore in Ancient Arabia

Around the first century A.D., Beduin Tribesmen were using hair patterns and whorls on the head and body of horses to predict temperament and other traits supposedly associated with metabolic and physiological processes.

Modern Europe

In the ’60s and ’70s, Linda Tellington-Jones put forward a theory linking hair whorls on the face in horses and personality traits. She published results from a survey of 1500 horse owners and suggested certain personality traits related to different hair whorl patterns. However, the author offered no statistical evidence.

Pediatric Studies in the U.S

At the same time that Linda Tellington-Jones was studying hair whorls in Germany, pediatricians in the U.S. were studying the developmental biology of hair whorls in children Smith 1973. Using an electron microscope, researchers found that hair whorls form on the scalp simultaneously with brain development.

My Interest in Hair Whorls

As a farrier and horse trainer in the early ’80’s, I heard the folklore about hair whorls “cowlicks” and started looking for myself. At first, I was skeptical, but after working with 100’s of horses every year, I couldn’t help but noticed differences in behavior related to the hair whorls.

Hair Whorls and Temperament in Beef Cattle

The study with dairy cows persuaded Dr. Grandin to pursue another line of evidence involving temperament traits and hair whorl height on the face of beef cattle. In a double-blind study, we noted cattle behavior during restraint in a squeeze chute for routine husbandry and the hair whorl position.

Mothering Ability Cows

Florecke, 2012, looked at hair whorl patterns and maternal calf-defense behavior in 341 Red Angus, Angus, and Hereford cows 24 hours after calving. Investigators classified hair whorl patterns into the following groups: high, middle, low, abnormal, multiple hair whorls, or no hair whorl.

Abstract

The prevalence of multiple hair whorls in a group of mentally retarded patients was 8% as opposed to 3.6% in a group of healthy children. A statistically significant relationship was demonstrated between mental retardation, multiple hair whorls, more than two dysmorphic features, and unusual dermatoglyphics.

Author information

Hannah Khoushy Child Development Center, Haifa Medical Center (Rothschild), Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, P.O. Box 4940, 31048, Haifa, Israel

About this article

Tirosh, E., Jaffe, M. & Dar, H. The clinical significance of multiple hair whorls and their association with unusual dermatoglyphics and dysmorphic features in mentally retarded Israeli children. Eur J Pediatr 146, 568–570 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02467355

Hair whorl as a character

In people with short, straight hair, a single whorl is usually fairly obvious.

Family studies

Bernstein (1925) compared parents and offspring, with the following results (omitting double whorls):

Twin studies

Rife (1933) looked at 13 pairs of monozygotic twins. Seven of the pairs had opposite whorls: clockwise in one twin, counterclockwise in the other. Sharma (1985) looked at the hair whorls of 27 pairs of identical twins and found one pair with opposite whorls.

Hair whorl and handedness

Klar (2003) surreptitiously observed people in Maryland shopping malls, most of whom would be right-handed; of the 500 people with clearly visible, single whorls, 8.4% had counterclockwise whorls. He also surveyed 49 non-righthanded people (this includes left-handed and ambidextrous individuals) and found that 44.9% had counterclockwise whorls.

Hair whorl and male sexuality

Klar (2004) surreptitiously recorded the direction of hair whorl at a beach near Rehoboth Beach, Delaware that is popular among gay men. Out of 272 men with single whorls, 29.8 percent had counterclockwise whorls.

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