• Question: Why do we have hair and what do we need it for?

    Asked by pranay900 to Alexis, Dr D, Helen, Jasmine, Mario on 19 Jun 2013.
    • Photo: Andrew Devitt

      Andrew Devitt answered on 19 Jun 2013:


      Well I’m living proof that we don’t need it 🙂

      It is vestigial – that means it is the last remaining bit of something we used to have (way back in evolution). It doesn’t really have a function anymore but back in the day when we lived outside all the time and didn’t have warm houses, we needed hair to help keep us warm.

      Goosebumps are a part of all this. When we get cold, goosebumps pop up. Back in evolution this would have lifted our hairs up so that they could trap air. This layer of air around our body would’ve helped keep us warm.

    • Photo: Helen Tunbridge

      Helen Tunbridge answered on 25 Jun 2013:


      There’s a pretty cool theory that some of the early hairy humans spent a lot of time in lagoons and swamps, and having hair in rushing water is not useful, and might even be problematic because fur isn’t a good insulator in water, so over time we lost our fur! There are a couple of other theories about it too, such as when we lived in the desert: fur isn’t very useful in the desert because it traps heat. Lose the fur, and it’s easier to stay cool!

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