Hair on the genitals, of course. Armpit hair, why not. Eyebrows, at least. But hair on fingers and toes, what is this crazy thing?
You will have understood, in this week’s explanation, we are going to talk to you about hair. At least, of this hairiness whose vital interest we find difficult to grasp, which means that, generation after generation, we find ourselves, at different intensities, with small hairy tufts on the phalanges of the fingers and the big toes. Why has such a physical characteristic survived the ages until today?
Hair and musk ox
First of all, you should know that we used to be much (much) hairier. Our ancestors could easily be confused with a slightly deformed musk ox. And for good reason: in prehistoric times, due to a lack of clothing, dense hair provided protection from the cold. No wool sweaters or Nike hoodies, just a thick layer of fur that we could wrap ourselves up in. Just Hair It.
With time and changes in lifestyle, body hair has become largely obsolete. The sweat glands, responsible for perspiration, have even taken over to regulate body temperature. However, it will not have escaped your notice: human beings still have some vestiges of their hairy ancestors. In total, there are approximately… 5 million hair follicles on our body! Including almost 1 million on the head (maybe a little more if you go through the Türkiye box).
More discreet, scattered, almost anonymous… the hairs that remain on our modern body are no less essential. They protect (a little) against UV rays, reduce friction, still keep you a little warm and play a real role in the sensation of touch, a bit like tactile receptors.
In the armpits and pubis, they protect against irritation while participating in the diffusion of pheromones; while those of the nose and ears are the guardians of your sensitive orifices, filtering dust and signaling any untimely intrusion. BUT WHY THE HELL ON FINGERS AND TOES?
Great-great-great… great-grandfather
Sorry, we got a little carried away. But as I type on my keyboard, I see my finger hairs sweeping in the wind and taunting me. They have good use, because they simply have… no use. They’re right there. That’s all.
The hairs on our fingers and toes are in fact vestiges of our past hairiness. Without aim, without harming anyone, they wander on our extremities with more or less intensity. Because their presence, or absence, is above all a matter of genetics! Over time, they may even disappear.
A few centimeters from them, another area is completely devoid of it: the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet. This time, there is no room for chance, their absence follows an evolutionary logic. Imagine for a second having a tuft of hair in your hand and trying to grab small objects? It would be the cross and the banner!
The same goes for the soles of the feet: hairs would greatly reduce our grip and we would slip with each step. Instead, evolution gave us thicker, hairless skin in these areas to withstand daily friction. A development that has obviously forgotten to clean up the fingers and toes.
