Where does beard come from, you might wonder?
It comes down to genetics. Both males and females have chromosomes that carry information about who you’ll become.
Female chromosomes are XX, and male chromosomes are XY. Holandric trait genes come from the Y chromosome only, and it’s pass genetic from father to son exclusively.
Is Beard in Man a Holandric Traits?
Beard in man is not a holandric trait. The X chromosome is the carrier of this information, and it’s responsible for the ability to growing a beard, which means that both sexes carry this gene on the X chromosome. Only males (and small groups of females) can grow a beard because of the hormone testosterone levels.
Let’s take a closer look at the genetic traits linked with the ability for having a
beard and other genetic traits as well:
What are Holandric Traits?
Holandric traits are genes located on the Y chromosome, which can only be passed from father to son.
These genes cannot be passed to daughters because females have an XX chromosome pair. Initially, it was thought that these genes are insignificant.
On the Y chromosome, there are not many genes, only around 200, and because of that, diseases are infrequent.
Holandric traits are a form of sex linkage genes and play a role in the sex-determining of humans and other mammals.
These genes could be responsible for beard growth, but they are not.
Are Genes on the X Chromosome Responsible for Beard Development?
The X chromosome carries the genetic information for beard development. And why men have a beard and women don’t is because of the male-dominant hormone testosterone.
Both males and females have the same amount of hair follicles on their face, but hormones are the main factor in the ability to grow a beard or not.
Some women have a ticker hair on their faces, and that is because their hormones are imbalanced, or simply some women naturally produce more testosterone than they should be producing, and that’s why they have a little bit of hair on their face.
On the other side, we’ve seen males that struggle to grow their beard. Perhaps that’s you. And you might wonder, but my father has a healthy beard, and I don’t, why is that?
It’s because your mother passes you this gene information from her bloodline, and relatives from your mother’s side probably have a thin beard.
Let’s Take a Look at Holandric Traits Inheritance Examples
Hairy ears or Hypertrichosis, Webbed toes, and Porcupine man are the most known holandric traits examples.
Hypertrichosis of the ears is a condition where there’s visible hair growing on the ears’ edge.
Webbed toes are a condition where second and third toes are connected, with web-like skin.
And the third condition, known as Porcupine man, is where the skin starts to thicken and become darker, coarse, flaky, and with bristle-like outgrowth.
There’s more example, but these three are most known because of their appearance.
What are the Facial Hair Genetic Inheritance Genes?
Most humans who can grow a beard have a Y chromosome, which has genes that determines maleness.
However, the genes that determine what kind of beard you will have can be equally inherited from both parents.
One parent always has more dominant genes from another parent. In this way, more dominant genes will pass to children.
At least, that’s what we think is how it works. Apparently, it looks like it’s a random thing, and it’s probably not.
What Genes are Related to Beard Growth?
There’s a study published in 2016 done by Nature. They use a wide range of subjects that have European, African, and Native American origin.
This large sample of individuals gives them the ability to test and find genes responsible, in our case, for beard growth.
This study is not for finding genes responsible only for the beard. They wanted to see and other stuff too.
What they found is 18 genes responsible for all the studies they’ve done. And what’s interesting for us is that 4 of them are related to beard growth.
These genes are:
- EDAR
- LNX1
- PREP
- FOXP2
These are just naming that scientists gave them and not means a lot by itself. But what they’ve found is that these genes regulate beard thickness.
When it comes to beard color, these genes will yet to be discovered in the future.
Who do you Inherit your Beard From?
This is something that nobody knows for sure, even scientists. To this day, no one can predict it, unfortunately.
It appears like a random thing but, many factors may play a significant role in whom you’ll inherit your beard from.
Perhaps more dominant genes will pass to the child, and this is just a guess. It’s up to scientists to discover this mysterious gene combination so, we can only wait to see the outcome after all.
Is it Possible for a Woman to Inherit a Holandric Trait?
Although a small portion of women can grow a little bit of beard, there’s no way women inherit holandric traits.
If the embryo inherits the Y chromosome, then sex-determining genes will trigger, and the baby will develop to be male.
Women can’t inherit the holandric trait. The big misconception is that if some women have visible thicker hair on their face, they have holandric genes.
Some women have a beard because X chromosomes carry growing beard genes from both father and mother.
Women have thicker hair on the face because hormone testosterone is imbalanced or has more testosterone than they should be having.
This is the only reason.
Who has Stronger Genes, Mother or Father?
You’ve probably heard the statement: “You are more like one parent than other.” We cannot measure the strength of genes.
When someone says, “you are like your mother, or father,” he means either how you look or something about your character.
These two are just a small piece of the puzzle. And there’s no way to say for sure that you have more genetic material from one parent than the other.
Again, in terms of beard growing, you can inherit this gene from both parents, but your testosterone level will determine your ability to grow a beard.
What Influences Beard Growth?
Beard growth is influenced by genetics and hormonal level. What kind of beard you will have cannot be predicted.
It would help if you waited to see it for yourself. You can tell by looking at the father’s and mother’s family line after you become able to grow it.
And the most crucial part is the testosterone level in your body.
The more of this hormone your body produces, the more your beard will be prominent, fuller, and ticker.
Conclusion
We saw that ability to grow a beard has nothing to do with holandric traits genes. It appears to be like it is, but it’s not.
You can inherit this gene from both of your parents equally, but we cannot tell from whom you’ll inherit.
As science advances, we will predict anything related to genetics, but we need to wait.
In other words, do not blame anybody for their genetics. Try to think that nobody’s perfect.
