The Unexpected Reason Your Body Hair Looks Like A Corkscrew – Health Digest

Along with gum bleeding and the presence of small, red-purple spots at the base of the hair follicle (known as perifollicular hemorrhages), corkscrew hairs are one of the main signs of vitamin C deficiency (via StatPearls). In a 2015 case report published in the Postgraduate Medical Journal, a white man in his late 30s with existing physical and mental health conditions sought emergency care for symptoms of rash, weakness, and fatigue. For half a year, the patient had eaten only rice, beans, carrots, and corn. Diagnosed with scurvy, the man was found to have strands of corkscrew and swan neck body hair, among other symptoms.

Collagen is a protein that supports the health of our hair, but corkscrew hairs occur when collagen synthesis is defective, and are a tell-tale sign of vitamin C deficiency. With treatment, however, corkscrew hairs often resume their original state within a month.