What Your Hair Says About You
(Reuters 26 May 04)

LONDON (Reuters) - Hair speaks volumes about an individual, revealing ethnic origin, environment, diet and even lifestyle, scientists said.

Although like finger and toe nails the hair itself is dead, it acts like an Arctic ice core, trapping within its physical and chemical structure an accurate record of whatever has been ingested or applied to it externally.

"Your hair tells what you eat, where you live, your lifestyle and habits," said Emma Freeman from London's Natural History Museum. "Your hair is what you do."

It can tell if you smoke, drink or take drugs and, growing at 0.3 to 0.5 millimeters a day, it keeps a record for months if not years.

Because different races have different hair structures, analysis can also tell ethnic origin.