How does stormlight effect hair growth?

[Trentolio he/him]

I was struck during a reread of oathbringer by a burning question. During the infiltration of corrupt Kholinar, sgallans takes a crossbow bolt to the head. This eventually heals from stormlight, but I found myself wondering:

Didnt this completely ruin shallans hair? 

The text implies that it didn't (she never mentions covering it with illusion, adolin mentions her hair a few times).

 

If not, did the stormlight heal her damaged hair? How did it know when to stop hair growth to match the rest of her haircut?

 

 

I've been up countless nights with this burning question. What about kaladin? He has surely healed his fair share of head injuries. Is his hair a wreck? 

Edited July 24, 2020 by Trentolio

[Karger he/him]

19 minutes ago, Trentolio said:

If not, did the stormlight heal her damaged hair? How did it know when to stop hair growth to match the rest of her haircut?

Stormlight heals back to the spiritual idea.  It is what her hair feels it should look like.

[Rorzikel]

It’s why for instance Kaladin’s brands refuse to heal and why Rysn remains wheelchair bound despite Renarin using Progression on her, yet Lopen regains his hand and Renarin doesn’t need glasses anymore. How one thinks of themselves subconsciously has a huge effect on how magical regeneration affects them.

Edited August 8, 2020 by MyrmidonOfAchilles

[Trentolio he/him]

@Karger is that canon?

[Honorless he/him]

39 minutes ago, Trentolio said:

@Karger is that canon?

It is. Healing in the Cosmere works by applying how Spiritual self filtered through the Cognitive, aka how you think you should look like, over your body.

Check out all the Arcanum entries regarding healing in the Cosmere.

[Trentolio he/him]

Thanks guys

[Honorless he/him]

54 minutes ago, Trentolio said:

Thanks guys

No problemo, cabrón 

[+robardin he/him]

On 7/24/2020 at 5:01 PM, Karger said:

Stormlight heals back to the spiritual idea.  It is what her hair feels it should look like.

(Checks forum; spoilering for Warbreaker anyway) It's also WoB'bed to be very similar to what drives the "Royal Locks" ability/behavior of the Idris ruling line in Warbreaker,

Spoiler

who are descended from a Returned and as such have some innate Investiture beyond most people. At one point Siri not only changes her hair color, but grows it out at length after a haircut. It's posited by Vasher that all Returned could do the same, as an aspect of how he himself can control his appearance and even his physical stature.

So it'd be interesting if a Truthwatcher, in particular, who has command of both the Surges of Regrowth and Illumination, could not just make an illusion that modified their appearance (size, age, hair color, scarring, etc.) but actually modify their physical body (with Regrowth to remap the physical form to a cognitive template) in such a way that it didn't need the constant supply of Stormlight to feed it (as an illusion would). Pretty ironic then for a "Truthwatcher" to perhaps actually be better at going undercover than a Lightweaver like Shallan, eh? (Except for the whole "adopting another persona and acting it out" bit, I suppose)

[Karger he/him]

2 hours ago, robardin said:

body (with Regrowth to remap the physical form to a cognitive template) in such a way that it didn't need the constant supply of Stormlight to feed it (as an illusion would).

Not really possible.  You would have to alter your soul first.

[+robardin he/him]

22 minutes ago, Karger said:

Not really possible.  You would have to alter your soul first.

Why so? I'm not talking about a radical alteration, like becoming a koloss, but the kind of physical transformation we already see effectuated by Zahel and Azure on Roshar (versus from what we've seen of them in Warbreaker). Eye color, hair color, growing out hair length or facial hair, scars, height/physical size, that kind of thing.

Hair growth at least is a one-shot, even if the other things are in fact requiring constant Investiture but it's the "stickiness" of Breath vs. Stormlight that is powering those facets.

[Karger he/him]

40 minutes ago, robardin said:

Eye color, hair color, growing out hair length or facial hair, scars, height/physical size, that kind of thing.

Evan that has limits and it is not really what progression does.

Quote

Krios (paraphrased)

If you have a form of manipulating your Identity and a form of healing, are you able to shapeshift or even evolve your body like growing wings?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

You'd have to do some real work on your Spiritweb to make that work. It'd take more work than you're implying, but the [singers] for instance are doing this. It'll take a little more work, it's not just blanking your Identity. Hemalurgy would make it very easy, but also very evil. But what you want to achieve is possible.

Stuttgart signing (May 17, 2019)