Would you pop a pill to change your hair texture?

[meshaliuknits]

I saw this on Curly Nikki this morning, though the research seems to be from 2009. But I thought y'all might be interested. I will say, I would TOTALLY take a pill to change my texture if I could get some afro puffs. Just for a week or so. I want a TWA so I can be just like NitaX so bad!


Abstract:

Background:  In human hair, very little is
known about the substructures relating to the curl pattern. The
interpretation of the macroscopic shape of the fiber at the molecular
and cellular scales is still unclear.

Methods: 
A comparative and multiscale study was carried out on a set of human
hair samples, ranging in shape from straight to tightly curled, in order
to investigate structural elements that might be related to hair curl
pattern.

Results:  At the
macroscopic level, the frequency and amplitude of cross-sectional
rotations were found to be crucial for an accurate description of
curliness. At the cellular level, transmission electron microscopy
experiments made it possible to confirm that macrofibril organization
was strongly related to hair curliness. The curly hair follicles
exhibited retrocurvature, independent of ethnic origin. A direct
comparison of straight hair and curly hair highlighted an intrinsic
asymmetry in the proliferative compartment that clearly extended above
the Auber line on the convex side of the curvature. This phenomenon
caused delayed differentiation of both inner and outer root sheaths. The
hair cortex itself was elliptical and asymmetric, as evidenced by hHa8
keratin. In curly hair, this hair keratin accumulated on the concave
side of the curvature, whereas, in straight hair, positive cortical
cells were evenly distributed throughout the circular fiber.

Conclusion: 
The curly shape of the hair shaft seems to result from the asymmetric
differentiation of the precortex. Hair fiber can thus be considered as a
shape memory material.

Full Article: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-4632.2007.03454.x/full

[meshaliuknits]

Oh, the first thing I linked was from 2007. Here's the 2009 info:

Abstract:

Hair
morphology is highly differentiated between populations and among
people of European ancestry. Whereas hair morphology in East Asian
populations has been studied extensively, relatively little is known
about the genetics of this trait in Europeans. We performed a
genome-wide association scan for hair morphology (straight, wavy, curly)
in three Australian samples of European descent. All three samples
showed evidence of association implicating the Trichohyalin gene (TCHH), which is expressed in the developing inner root sheath of the hair follicle, and explaining ∼6% of variance (p = 1.5 × 10−31). These variants are at their highest frequency in Northern Europeans, paralleling the distribution of the straight-hair EDAR variant in Asian populations.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2775823/

[IIOY]

Does this pill cause ass leakage? My response hinges on the answer to this question.

[meshaliuknits]

May 28, 2013 12:33:09 GMT -5 IIOY said:

Does this pill cause ass leakage? My response hinges on the answer to this question.

The articles mention nothing about ass leakage, but I think that goes on the packaging, not in the paper. Let's assume no.

[Velar Fricative]

I'll take a pill to avoid straightening my hair all the damn time even if it does cause ass leakage.

ETA: When I was sporting au naturel curly hair for a while not too long ago, I love it...but only when it didn't get frizzy. And it got frizzy A LOT no matter what I tried. So I went back to straight hair.

[emisi]

Would it make my wavy hair straight? Then yes. I hate my hair. It always looks messy.

[madisen]

I'm going to leave this here as an FYI because I don't want to start a new thread for it.

www.divinecaroline.com/self/wellness/five-foods-cause-anal-leakage

To answer op's question though, I'd consider it. I don't like the texture of my hair - not straight, or curly. If I could definitively go one way or the other, I'd look into it for sure.

[mmmomof2]

I would imagine such a pill contains hormones since I know my hair has changed drastically from puberty and having kids. I don't want to take the pill or use mirena because of the hormones, so I would need more information first! But yes, if I could change my frizzy wavy hair to smooth and straight with just a pill I'd be all over it.

[msmerymac]

Hell yes! I have very fine hair. I already take a biotin supplement which is supposed to help with hair and nail breakage.

[meshaliuknits]

May 28, 2013 12:45:25 GMT -5 pennypenny said:

I would love for my hair to have the same curl pattern throughout. My hair is very curly in the back (which I think I love) and it gets straighter as it goes to the front. But I love my curly hair and the versatility I have with it.

I've got this patch in the back that is almost completely straight. I'm glad it's hidden b/c it makes me nuts. It's also the bit of hair most likely to be knotted up which is counter intuitive.

[iammalcolmx]

Heck no, because with my luck in about 5 years they would determine that pill makes you grow a third boob. Next thing you know every Law Firm who advertised on daytime television would have a "Fen-phen" like commercial about this pill.

[lyssbobiss, Command, B613]

Depends. Under Obamacare, will the cost of this pill be covered?

Seriously, yes, I would take a pill. I hate my hair. It's not curly enough to actually be curly, but too wavy to wear without straightening. It looks like scary witch hair.

[msmerymac]

May 28, 2013 13:00:50 GMT -5 @bunnybean said:

No! My hair is my favorite thing about myself. It's thick, mostly straight with some natural wave, and blondish red. What's not to love about this?!

/vain
/hairflip

Yeah, if I had your hair I wouldn't change it either!

[Jermys]

I'd pop a pill for nearly anything, so yes. I'd love to change my baby fine lankness for something coarser.

[dirtyred]

Yes.

Part of my hair is straight, part wavy, and part is just ugly kinky.  It's impossible to do anything with.

[NitaX]

meshaliuknits



Your hair is like this ...



But no, I wouldn't pop a pill. I've managed to avoid the Natural Hair Tress Envy. I'm not going to have cutesy spirals like @meshaliusknits. So, I'll just rock what I have. 

[meshaliuknits]

May 28, 2013 14:47:35 GMT -5 NitaX said:

meshaliuknits



Your hair is like this ...



But no, I wouldn't pop a pill. I've managed to avoid the Natural Hair Tress Envy. I'm not going to have cutesy spirals like meshaliuknits. So, I'll just rock what I have. 

LOVE

Y'all know I'm vain about my hair. But I've wanted afro puffs since I was 5. I'd rock the hell out of them, even if it was only for a few days. I feel the same about big boobs. I just wanna test drive 'em.

[emisi]

May 28, 2013 13:04:09 GMT -5 iammalcolmx said:

Heck no, because with my luck in about 5 years they would determine that pill makes you grow a third boob. Next thing you know every Law Firm who advertised on daytime television would have a "Fen-phen" like commercial about this pill.

I'm pretty sure that if the pill made you grow a third boob, H would be encouraging me to take it even more.

[KateAggie]

No, but that's because I have pretty fabulous hair. Now, give me a pill that changes me from glow in the dark to tan, and I'd be all over that shit. Even with anal leakage AND a third boob.

[pescalita]

I'm wary about popping a daily pill because I don't want my liver to eventually tell me I can't drink. And drinking is more important to me than most things a pill can fix.

But if I could somehow keep my magical pregnancy hormones that make my hair and skin fabulous, eliminate the need to shave my legs, and keep me from gaining weight, you know, all of that without the fatigue and insomnia and can't drinkiness, I would kill for that.

[sushi]

Today my hair is fabulously soft. And a gigantic poofball. Yep, I'd probably take a pill to corral it into socially appropriate shape. But not if it meant I couldn't drink. I care more about a lovely glass of wine than that people might judge my mess of frizz.

[bhnumbers]

my hair isn't so bad that I'd put up with anal leakage or having to quite drinking to change it BUT if the side effects were less severe, like slightly dry eyes? hell, yes, I'd take a pill to make my hair thicker and fuller. I have the hair of a toddler and my ponytail is about as thick as my pinky and it's almost too fine to even keep the ponytail holder in place.