Direction of hair whorl and handedness

Laterality. 2007 Jul;12(4):295-301. doi: 10.1080/13576500601112358.

Abstract

We recorded the direction of hair whorl rotation in samples of male right- and non-right-handers. The data corroborate those of Klar (2003) in showing equal numbers of clockwise and anti-clockwise whorls in non-right-handers but an excess of clockwise whorls in right-handers. The findings support the view that in some proportion of the population direction of coiling arises as a consequence of random events occurring during early (pre-natal) development of the nervous system, while in the remainder of the population there is a systematic bias towards a clockwise direction of rotation. The association with handedness implies that the latter is in a very large measure biologically rather than culturally determined.

MeSH terms

  • Functional Laterality*
  • Hair / growth & development*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Statistics as Topic
  • Wales