The term chest hair is generally used to describe hair that grows on the chest of human males, in the region between the neck and the abdomen. Chest hair, which is a secondary sex characteristic, develops during and after puberty. It is therefore part of the androgenic hair. For the film, see Hair (film). ... Male Chest The chest is a part of the anatomy of humans and various other animals. ... A human neck. ... The human abdomen (from the Latin word meaning belly) is the part of the body between the pelvis and the thorax. ... A peacock displays his long, colored feathers, an example of his secondary sexual characteristics. ... Puberty refers to the process of physical changes by which a childs body becomes an adult body capable of reproduction. ... Distribution of androgenic hair on female and male body Androgenic hair is caused by the rising level of male hormones (androgens) due to puberty that causes a transformation process of vellus hair into terminal hair on several parts of the human body. ...

Development and growth

Growth and Patterns of Chest Hair

Although vellus hair is already present in the area in childhood, the term chest hair is generally restricted to the terminal hair that develops as an effect of rising levels of androgens (primarily testosterone and its derivatives) due to puberty. Different from the head hair it is therefore a secondary sexual characteristic. In contrast to women the body of men tends to be covered far more with terminal hair, particularly on the chest, the abdomen and the face. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (852x822, 100 KB) Beschreibung Licensing Template:DERMATOLOGY File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Chest hair ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (852x822, 100 KB) Beschreibung Licensing Template:DERMATOLOGY File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Chest hair ... Vellus hair is short, fine, peach fuzz body hair. ... Developed hair, which is generally longer, coarser, thicker, and darker than vellus hair. ... Hormone is also the NATO reporting name for the Soviet/Russian Kamov Ka-25 military helicopter. ... Testosterone is a steroid hormone from the androgen group. ... Puberty refers to the process of physical changes by which a childs body becomes an adult body capable of reproduction. ... smellls This article should belong in one or more categories, in addition to being in a stub category. ... The term abdominal hair refers to the hair that grows on the abdomen (belly) of humans and non-human mammals, in the region between the pubic area and the thorax (chest). ... One kind of modern beard. ...

The development of chest hair begins normally during late puberty. It can also start later, between the age of 20 and 30, so that many men in their twenties have not yet reached their full chest hair development. The growth continues subsequently. In older adult years androgens cause thickening of the hair.

Patterns and characteristics

The individual occurrence and characteristics of chest hair depend on the genetic disposition, the hormonal status and the age of the person. The genes primarily determine the amount, patterns and thickness of chest hair. Some men are very hairy, while others have no chest hair at all. Each pattern of hair growth is normal. The areas where terminal hair may grow are the periareolar areas (nipples), the centre and sides of the chest and the clavicle (collarbone). For a non-technical introduction to the topic, see Introduction to Genetics. ... Hormone is also the NATO reporting name for the Soviet/Russian Kamov Ka-25 military helicopter. ... For a non-technical introduction to the topic, see Introduction to Genetics. ... Typical human female nipple and areola. ... Collarbone and collar bone redirect here. ...

The direction of growth of hair can make for interesting patterns, akin to depictions of mathematical vector fields. Typical males will exhibit a node on the upper sternum, the hair above which points up and the hair below which points down. Some individuals (of say the pattern in diagram 3) have spirals on their upper pectoral regions (several inches from the nipple towards the neck) which run clockwise on the left breast and counter-clockwise on the right.

Considering an individual occurrence of chest hair as abnormal does not implicitly depend on medical indications but primarily on cultural and social attitudes. An excessive growth of terminal hair on the body of men and women is called hypertrichosis. This medical term has to be distinguished from hirsutism that just affects women. These women can develop terminal hair on the chest following the male pattern as a symptom of an endocrine disease. Hypertrichosis is a medical term, also known as Wolfitis, referring to a condition of excessive body hair. ... Hirsutism (from Latin hirsutus = shaggy, hairy) is defined as excessive and increased hair growth in women in locations where the occurrence of terminal hair normally is minimal or absent. ...

There have been occasional studies documenting patterns of chest hair in men and occurrence of these patterns. A study of 1100 men aged 17 to 71 defined and documented ten patterns of chest hair in Caucasoid men. In this study 6 percent of the men were found to have no chest hair. The largest group, 56 percent, displayed pattern four as shown in the accompanying figure. The remaining 38 percent of the men displayed a lesser quantity of chest hair. Seven percent displayed pattern one, 13 percent displayed pattern two and 18 percent displayed various other patterns.

The same study documented the chest hair patterns of 60 African-American men aged 20-40. For these men 22 percent were found to have no chest hair. The largest group, 37 percent displayed pattern four and the remaining 41 percent had a lesser quantity of chest hair. Eight percent displayed pattern one, 12 percent pattern two and 11 percent displayed various other patterns.^{[1] [2]}

Cultural and social attitudes

The attitudes towards chest hair vary between different cultures and times. In some cultures, it is a symbol for virility and masculinity; other societies display a hairless body as a sign of youthfulness. Some people find men with a lot of chest hair, pattern four, very sexually arousing. In ancient Greece and ancient Rome male statues did not show any chest hair. Even on paintings and sculptures from Middle Ages to modern times men were often portrayed without any hair on their anterior torso. Virility is part of the traditional idealized male gender role. ... Look up masculine in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Ageing or aging is the process of getting older. ... The Temple to Athena, the Parthenon Ancient Greece is a period in Greek history that lasted for around three thousand years. ... Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... The human torso Torso is an anatomical term for the greater part of the human body without the head and limbs. ...

While in the early and middle twentieth century the attitude towards hair on the chest was largely indifferent, there was a late twentieth century trend within Western societies to remove chest hair. Some young men in their teens and twenties, especially in the United States and those involved in beach culture, remove their chest hair. It is quite common for actors, who will appear shirtless in a movie or television show, to shave their chests. The removal of body hair (depilation and epilation) by men was labelled by the personal hygiene industry as manscaping. This public trend, distributed by the media, began in the United States and spread to other Western societies. Many companies catered to men looking for ways to remove their chest hair, such as Nair for Men and Nads for Men. While most men depicted in fashion advertising still have no chest hair, a few exceptions can now be seen. Supporters of body hair include adherents of naturism and the bear community, a gay subculture that exhibits a hypermasculine image. Removing or maintaining chest hair ultimately depends on one's individual preference, which can be influenced by what is considered most attractive. Depilation is a generic term for hair removal which affects the part of the hair above the surface of the skin. ... Depilation is a generic term for hair removal which affects the part of the hair above the surface of the skin. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The meanings of naturism and nudism are very similar, and refer to a cultural and political movement practising, advocating and defending social nudity in private and public spaces. ... This article or section cites very few or no references or sources. ...

See also

• Hair
• Pubic hair
• Abdominal hair

For the film, see Hair (film). ... Pubic hair is hair in the frontal genital area, the crotch, and sometimes at the top of the inside of the legs; these areas form the pubic region. ... The term abdominal hair refers to the hair that grows on the abdomen (belly) of humans and non-human mammals, in the region between the pubic area and the thorax (chest). ...

References

1. ^ Setty, Laurel Raymond, "The Distribution of Chest Hair in Caucasoid Males" American Journal of Physical Anthropol. 1961 Sep;19:285-7.
2. ^ Setty, Laurel Raymond "The Sterno-Infraclavicular Chest Hair Pattern" Journal of the National Medical Association. 1962 July;54:486-7.

Further reading

The following journal articles include sketches of different chest hair patterns and observed percentages of men exhibiting each pattern.

• Variations of the hair patterns of the chest of white males. Journal of the National Medical Association. 1965 May;57(3):211-4
• The circumareolo-pectoral series of chest hair patterns. Journal of the National Medical Association. 1963 May;55:233-4
• The sterno-infraclavicular chest hair pattern. Journal of the National Medical Association. 1962 Jul;54:486-7
• Bare areas in regions of pilosity of the chest and abdomen. Journal of the National Medical Association. 1961 Jul;53:394-5

External links

• Chest hair in Chinese and Caucasian men