Many of the populations of northeastern Africa have looser, less tightly coiled hair than most other Africans. Andamanese peoples, the Negrito, are phenotypically African but are in fact a recent Asian branch. Their small stature, heavily pigmented skin, and tightly coiled hair represent a recent adaptation to equatorial existence. Melanesian peoples express the same traits. Late African phenotypes are thinly spread throughout the world. Indigenous Australian peoples exhibit the same phenotype and some Aboriginal infants are born with blonde hair.
Wooly hair syndrome is a condition affecting a small percentage of persons of IE and Asian heritage. It is characterized by extremely frizzy and wiry hair that looks almost wooly in appearance. Wooly hair is a rare defect in the structure of scalp hair. This hair is either present at birth or appears during the fi rst months of life. The curls, with an average diameter of 0.5 centimeter, lie closely together and usually make the hair diffi cult to comb. In addition, the hair may be more fragile than usual. The syndrome usually lessens in adulthood, when wavy hair often takes the place of wooly hair.
The difference between wooly hair in Africans and the hair found in non-Africans with the syndrome is that African hair lies typically separate and is tightly coiled or spiraled, while the curls of the latter tend to merge. This type of hair often only covers portions of the scalp.
