Brown hair

Brown hair is the second most common human hair color, after black hair. It varies from light brown to almost black hair. It is characterized by higher levels of the dark pigment eumelanin and lower levels of the pale pigment pheomelanin. Its strands are thicker than those of fair hair but not as much as those of red hair. People with brown or black hair are often referred to as brunette, which in French is the feminine form of brunet, which is the diminutive of brun (brown, brown-haired or dark-haired).

Brown hair is common among populations in Western world, especially among those from Central Europe, Southern Europe, Southern Cone, United States and also some populations in Greater Middle East where it transitions smoothly into black hair. Brown hair is common among Australian Aborigines and Melanesians.

Etymology and grammar

Brunette literally means "little brown-haired girl" or "young brown-haired woman", but, in modern English usage, it has lost the diminutive meaning and usually refers to any brown or black-haired girl or woman, or the associated hair color. Merriam-Webster defines "brunet" as "a person having brown or black hair"—with which they may have "a relatively dark complexion—spelled brunet when used of a boy or man and usually brunette when used of a girl or woman". Although brunet is the masculine version of the popular diminutive form used to describe a little boy or young man with brown hair, the use of brunet is uncommon in English. One is more likely to say of a man or boy, "He has brown hair" or "He is brown-haired", than to say, "He is a brunette" (or brunet). The term brunette is the feminine form of the French word brunet which is a diminutive form of brun meaning "brown/brown-haired", the feminine of which is brune. All of these terms ultimately derive from the Proto-Indo-European root *bhrūn- "brown, grey". The form "brun" (pronounced /ˈbruːn/) is still commonly used in Scotland, particularly in rural areas.

Hair

Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis, or skin. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and fine vellus hair. Most common interest in hair is focused on hair growth, hair types and hair care, but hair is also an important biomaterial primarily composed of protein, notably keratin. Attitudes towards hair, such as hairstyles and hair removal, vary widely across different cultures and historical periods, but it is often used to indicate a person's personal beliefs or social position, such as their age, gender, or religion.

Overview

The word "hair" usually refers to two distinct structures:

Brown

Brown is the color of dark wood or rich soil. Brown is a composite color; in printing or painting, brown is made by combining red, black and yellow, or red, yellow and blue. In the RGB color model used to make colors on television screens and computer monitors, brown is made by combining red and green, in specific proportions. The brown color is seen widely in nature, in wood, soil, and human hair color, eye color and skin pigmentation. In Europe and the United States, brown is the color most often associated with plainness, humility, the rustic, and poverty. Brown is also, according to public opinion surveys in Europe and the United States, the least favorite color of the public.

In nature and culture

The Sahara Desert around Kufra Oasis, Libya, seen from space

The Sahara Desert around Kufra Oasis, Libya, seen from space

Chocolate. A sachertorte in a Vienna cafe.

Chocolate. A sachertorte in a Vienna cafe.

Espresso-roasted coffee beans.

Espresso-roasted coffee beans.

Dark Brown (film)

Dark Brown is an early Australian television film, broadcast during 1957 on ABC. It was broadcast live in Melbourne. Although it was kinescoped (and was repeated several months after the original telecast), it is not known if it was shown in Sydney (these were the only two cities in Australia with television at the time). It aired in a 45-minute time-slot, but the exact running time is not known. Cast included Walter Brown, Agnes Dobson and British actress Laura James.

Original telecast was on 24 June 1957, repeat telecast via kinescope recording on 30 September 1957.

Plot

A woman believes she is going to be murdered by her husband.

References

External links

Human hair color

Hair color is the pigmentation of hair follicles due to two types of melanin: eumelanin and pheomelanin. Generally, if more eumelanin is present, the colour of the hair is darker; if less eumelanin is present, the hair is lighter. Levels of melanin can vary over time causing a person's hair colour to change, and it is possible to have hair follicles of more than one color on the same person.

Particular hair colours are associated with ethnic groups. The shades of human hair color are assessed using the Fischer–Saller scale. The Fischer–Saller scale, named after Eugen Fischer and Karl Saller, is used in physical anthropology and medicine to determine the shades of hair colour. The scale uses the following designations: A (very light blond), B to E (light blond), F to L (blond), M to O (dark blond), P to T (light brown to brown), U to Y (dark brown/black) and Roman numerals I to IV (red) and V to VI (red blond).

Its older version was Fischer scale.

See also the Martin–Schultz scale or Martin scale for eye color.