You love many film stars for their hair and style. You may admire Johnny Depp for his dreads in the famous Pirates series or you may fall in love with our very own Priyanka Chopra's straight hair looks. There are some who love curls and may admire Marilyn Monroe for her lovely curly hair. People are now longing for rounder, bouncier and curly hair.

Some are naturally born with curls while there are few others who rush to the salons and spend a fortune to deliberately curl their hair.

It is difficult to find two individuals with exactly the same type of hair. But have you wondered how our hair is so different from other individuals? What makes our hair straight, curly or wavy? Let us find out...

Keratin plays a role

Our hair has natural variations and is made up of a protein called as Keratin. This protein forms a helical design which gives appearance to the hair. This protein has more sulphur atoms and hence the more sulphur linkage between the rings of hair, the more tightly coiled design is produced thereby giving a curly appearance to the hair.

Blame it on the genes!

Having a curly hair is also regarded as a genetic process. In some families, the sulphur linkage between the rings of hair is dominant and most people of the family have the same hair type.

For several years, it was believed that the shape of a person's hair was determined by the individual hair shafts, and that curly hair was curly because the cross-section of the hair shaft was flatter and had more intertwined in layers as compared to straight hair, which was round.

However, more recently, scientists have found that curly hair and straight hair are determined by the shape of the hair follicle, and that the shape of the hair shaft simply follows suit. Also, studies revealed that the amount of curl in curly hair also depends on the shape of the hair follicle and shaft. The hair follicle below the scalp has a hooked end in people with curly hair. The more hook the follicle has, the curlier the hair gets. However, in people with straight hair, the hair follicles have no hooks.

Biological structure also matters

It has been revealed that curly hair has a different biological structure than straight hair. It is extremely rare to find someone with hair that is both curly and oily. Biologically, this also makes sense, because the oils secreted into the hair shaft by the sebaceous glands in our skin tend to easily travel down the shaft of straight hair.

Anyone with curly hair generally has a dry hair which is not only hard to manage but is often frizzy. The good news is that people with curly hair tend to have fewer split ends than people with straight hair.

Caring for your curls

It is not easy to maintain curly hair. Curly hair requires different care than straight hair in order to maintain its natural health. Although, curly hair does not require a wash every day, it should be deep conditioned every time it is washed, and people with dry, curly hair should avoid styling products that contain alcohol.

Scientists are still studying the impact of drugs that can change the shape of the hair follicle. The shape of hair can be changed chemically, which offers a permanent change until new hair grows out. The shape of hair can also be changed thermally with curling or flat irons, which provides a temporary change until the hair is washed. However, using chemicals on your hair can leave it drier than the one in naturally curly hair. Proper attention to hair care will improve the overall health and manageability of curly hair.