Vellus hair is one of two types of body hair. They are defined as fine, short, soft and usually have no color (non-pigmented) or are only lightly pigmented. Vellus hairs cover the majority of the body. Androgens (“male” sex hormones) can turn vellus hairs turn into the thicker, darker and more rigid terminal hairs.
Sources:
- Yildiz B.O. et al. Visually scoring hirsutism. Hum Reprod Update. 2010 Jan-Feb; 16(1): 51–64. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2792145/
- Medscape. How are vellus hair and terminal hair differentiated in the evaluation of hirsutism? https://www.medscape.com/answers/121038-114774/how-are-vellus-hair-and-terminal-hair-differentiated-in-the-evaluation-of-hirsutism (accessed 7. August 2020)
