Back hair in men
The back-hair belongs to the normal part of the Behaarung with the man. In the course of puberty, but also later, a large part of the body hair develops in the face, armpits, chest, abdomen, genitals and also back. During puberty, the vellus hair (down hair), which is not yet very strongly pigmented (relatively light) and is still softer, is transformed into terminal hair (more strongly pigmented and thicker).
This means that the parts of the body that were previously only lightly hairy are now denser and more overgrown. Basically, the strength of the hair depends on the hormonal condition of the man or woman. If there is a higher concentration of male androgens (sex hormones), a more pronounced hairiness will be present.
The concentration of the male sex hormones varies from person to person – therefore, the development of the androgens in puberty takes place at different times, depending on when the male sex hormones are released. Also the development of the hair on the different regions can take place intraindividually (in a person) at different times; for example, while beard growth begins between the ages of 14 and 18, this often happens with back hair between the ages of 20 and 30. Not every man develops hair on every part of the body; for example, not all men have back or chest hair and beard growth can also be differentiated.
However, this is not exclusively an indication of the amount of sex hormones that are released. Another important factor is the genetic make-up of the person in question. Also a more pronounced back hair in men is from the medical point of view, no disease.
As mentioned above, the amount of hair can be influenced by the level of sex hormones or by other genetic factors. For many centuries, a strong hairiness (also on the back) was considered a sign of masculinity. In recent decades, however, the concept of hairlessness has also become popular among men.
In addition to hairlessness in the armpit, chest and genital area, the back also represents a zone in which hair is considered unaesthetic in more and more social areas. This is conveyed by films, advertising and other media, which are increasingly used by the younger generations. Also therefore the reputation that back hair is unaesthetic is a phenomenon of younger adults.
There is an ever more largely becoming section, which sat down the men as target group for hair distance. Besides various products for home use (razors, epilators, creams and waxes), there are also professional methods of hair removal, such as permanent hair removal by laser. The back hair in women, in contrast to men, is not a normal condition, although here too there are differences between individual groups of people.
In some regions, it is quite common that women also have light to more pronounced hair. However, if there is a generally increased hairiness in a woman, one can speak of hirsutism. Here a distribution pattern of increased hair is present, which corresponds to the distribution in a man.
The strength of the expression can be represented by the Ferriman-Gallwey index. The hair is described in eight body parts and depending on the strength of the hair one to four points are given. If at least 6-8 points are reached, then it is called hirsutism in the corresponding person. If the hair growth on the back reaches a level that is proven to cause psychological suffering to the affected woman (medically diagnosed hypertrichosis or hirsitimus), then treatment to remove the hair may be covered by the insurance company. Especially because in our circles, (the western world) social and cultural pressure on women to be hairless in regions apart from the head can lead to enormous psychological problems – especially if in addition to the normal hair growth there is hair in other areas, such as the back.
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