Hair grows back thicker or faster if you shave it

[toadspittle]

I don't believe this is true, and I've never experienced it myself--I've been shaving my face for years and I still have a pretty shabby excuse for a beard. Likewise, after I had the cast from my broken arm removed, the hairs on the back of my hand had become much darker and more conspicuous than those on the other hand. I shaved them down a little, and the two hands have been a matched set ever since.

My question--can anyone give me a solid source so that I can throw it in people's faces when they say that shaving causes thicker hair? I checked AFU, but they just said:


Mad Medicine
F. Hair grows back thicker or faster if you shave it.


Just false. No cite. Any help out there?

[BiblioCat]

Not a solid source, but my own experience.
I have been shaving my legs since I was about 13, nearly 25 years now.
On those occasions when I let it "go", the hair that grows is not any thicker or fuller than it was when I was 13. After all that time shaving leg hair, if shaving makes it thicker and fuller, my legs would look like a gorilla's.
It just feels thicker because you are feeling the sharp stubble of the hair you just sliced off a few days ago, rather than a smooth tapered end.

[Aglarond]

Too lazy to look it up myself, but have you tried a search engine? Try looking for a site devoted to growing and grooming facial hair. I'm willing to bet you could find something there. Sorry, not much help.

[Fiver]

Just simple common sense should make it clear to anyone this is hooey.

Hair grows from follicles beneath the skin. Shaving removes the hair at the level of the skin. How could it have an effect of any kind on the hair's physical characteristics?

Use the Play-Doh analogy. Say you've got some Play-Doh in one of those machines that extrudes the Play-Doh into star, circular, crescent-moon etc. shapes. Say further that you cut off the Play-Doh right where it comes out of the machine, at regular intervals.

Can your cutting of the Play-Doh have any effect at all on what's still coming out of the machine? Can it change the rate of extrusion? Make the Play-Doh harder? Change its color? Of course not!

So too with shaving.

[Konrad]

We've discussed this question a few times already and the general consensus was that it does not grow back thicker/stronger/whatever. The only problem is that there's no proof of that either...

[C K Dexter Haven]

I am fairly certain Cecil has dealt with this, but I couldn't find it in a search of the Archive.

IIRC, there is an optical illusion that makes it LOOK like the hair is growing back thicker/faster, because it's growing against bare skin ... compared to growing against already grown hair. Think of a guy trying to grow a beard -- the first few days, it looks like rapid progress because the new hair is growing against what was nekkid skin. After the first week or so, the progress looks slower, even though the hair is growing at the same rate, because the new growth is seen against existing hair.

[etgaw1]

Just guessing here

hair grows to a certain lengh, stops, falls out, regrows. This process makes your hairs diffrent lengths. when you shave all the hairs start at the same lenght so when it grow it looks thicker because it is more uniform.

[Sofa King]

I find that smoking marijuana slows the growth of my beard dramatically. Back when it was a way of life rather than merely a hobby, I could shave on Friday night and wake up Monday morning with scarcely a stubble.

[C K Dexter Haven]

Etgaw, you might be innerested in: How does body hair know it's been cut and grow back? (http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_097b.html)l

[Morgan]

Let me first say people are very different. Some people have curly hair, some straight, some have lots of body hair, others don't.

Physically, I am very hairy. I started shaving a full beard in my early teens, as did my brother.

My entire face is hairy. I have hair from right below my eye down to my neck. Luckilly, the hair right below my eye is blond and very thin("peach fuzz"). I don't have thick black beard-hair until, well, my beard. The line between the two types of hair is precise. In fact, I have had several people comment on the clear demarcation between the two types of hair over the years. The line exists because I have, since my early teens, NEVER shaved above a certain point on my face. In my mid twenties, I decided to wear a beard and accidently shaved a little higher than I always had in the past. To this day, I regret it because I had to even out the two sides of my face and now my beard is about 1/2 inch higher than it used to be. I raised my beard line by shaving some of the peach-fuzz.

Yes, I too have read the "reports" that shaving does not change the consistency of hair. All I can say is that they obvoiusly did not test it on the right subjects. My brother, by the way, never adheared to a strict beard line and instead shaves his whole face. He now has to shave black beard-hair from right below his eye.

BTW, I have also read "reports" that say chocolate has nothing to do with acne. I know for a certainty that it does for me. I will put any amount of money on the fact that I will get a pimple within 2 days of having a chocolate bar. In fact, during college I purposely ate the same diet (Bran flakes in the morning, hamburger for lunch, soup and sandwich for dinner) and did not go out to the bars for two weeks just to prove that chocolate alone was the cause. My complection was clear. After about two weeks I introduced a single chocolate bar. The next morning I had my first pimple.

Moral of the story: do not believe everything you read and trust your own body.

[Tomcat]

How about this:
The hair shaft is square, not round. One reason it itches so much when it grows back is that it has edges now, whereas when it was growing naturally or left alone for awhile, the edges get knocked off and the end gets rounded and smooth. So when you shave and it all comes back at the same time, you see courser hair that feels rougher because of the 4 sharp points at the end. That makes people think "Oh, the hair must grow back thicker because it feels rougher/thicker than before." That and that the ends are now thicker than before (just barely, but still) when they were worn down a little and rounded. When I was told this the guy used the description of a bomb-pop popsicle, square, tapered at the top.
-T

[toadspittle]

Originally posted by Tomcat

The hair shaft is square, not round.


You mean those close-up animations in razor commercials aren't scientifically accurate?!!?

[Bear_Nenno]

Recently cut hair will feel thicker for a while because it is so short. But after it lengthens out, it will feel normal again.
Think about a tree. A stump does not blow in the wind the way a tall tree does. The shorter stump is sturdy because it is so short. But it is no thicker than the big tree. What kind of people really believe that it grows back thicker? Maybe this rumor was started to prevent little girls from shaving their legs too early. Or maybe people are just bone headed...

[Morgan]

Uh huh. Now, if someone would just try to tell the hair on my face that it really isn't black, thick beard-hair, but it just feels that way. I really don't want to have to spend several hours trying to find pictures of me before and after I made the aforementioned mistake.

[lissener]

Originally posted by Morgan
Uh huh. Now, if someone would just try to tell the hair on my face that it really isn't black, thick beard-hair, but it just feels that way. I really don't want to have to spend several hours trying to find pictures of me before and after I made the aforementioned mistake.

Morgan, I'm fairly certain that if you were to let the peach fuzz grow for a long time--quite a long time; through a couple of cycles of maturity and replacement, probably several months--it would eventually return to how it was before you raised your beard line.

Before you shaved it, each individual hair was of different lengths with "aged," softened ends. When you first shaved it, as has been suggested in various previous posts in this thread, sudden each hair was shorter (therefore stiffer) equal in length (presenting a united, abrasive front) and the rounded, softened end of each had been sheared off, leaving a cross section with abrupt edges. (Picture a tightly bound pony tail of long hair: soft, pliant, etc. Now cut it of with a razor blade a fraction of an inch this side of the binding: stiff, rough. Or think: how effective would a hairbrush be if its bristles were long and uneven?)

In other words, you're right: when you shaved, suddenly that area sprouted stiffer, rougher hairs. I'm just trying to explain _why_ they were stiffer and rougher.

If you were to let them grow for an entire cycle of shedding and renewing, they'd return to random length and softened edges. Take a year off and get your peach fuzz back! (Your brother's hair color may have changed with time; my facial hair has.)

As far as your chocolatey pimples, many people have acne caused by various dietary allergies. So though chocolate may not be the universal pimplifier it's sometimes made out to be, there very well may be something in chocolate that your system to reacts to by producing a bumper crop of blooming pustules.

[Morgan]

In other words, you're right: when you shaved, suddenly that area sprouted stiffer, rougher hairs. I'm just trying to explain _why_ they were stiffer and rougher.

Can you also explain why they immediately changed color from blond to black?

You obviously don't believe me. When I get home tonight I'll try to dig out some before & after photos.

[Mr. Cynical]

Originally posted by Sofa King
I find that smoking marijuana slows the growth of my beard dramatically. Back when it was a way of life rather than merely a hobby, I could shave on Friday night and wake up Monday morning with scarcely a stubble.

I found that breastfeeding slowed the growth of my beard, I NEVER had to shave when I was an infant.

[lissener]

Originally posted by Morgan

In other words, you're right: when you shaved, suddenly that area sprouted stiffer, rougher hairs. I'm just trying to explain _why_ they were stiffer and rougher.

Can you also explain why they immediately changed color from blond to black?

You obviously don't believe me. When I get home tonight I'll try to dig out some before & after photos.

I used to manage a fish room in a large pet store. I had an employee who once put corydoras catfish in a tank with yellow gravel. The fish died. Thereafter, whenever a customer wanted to buy corydoras, he asked what color gravel they had, so he could warn them, if they had yellow gravel, that the fish would die. Nothing I could say would convince him to reconsider his logic.

Actually I do believe you, Morgan; I have no doubt the sequence of events you describe actually happened to you. However, you are making assumptions as to the causality of those events that do not _necessarily_ follow.

I have no doubt that your gravel is yellow, and I have no doubt that your fish are dead. I'm simply suggesting another cause for the effect.

[Morgan]

Than offer another explaination. Remember: my beard-line is precise. If you put the edge of a ruler up to it, one side will be peach fuzz, the other will be black hair. That, in itself, happens to be remarkable. Once you explain that, explain the photographic evidence that I possess that shows this very precise beard line changing dramatically.

Note: I don't want to waste my time digging through old photos. If you refuse to accept that the photographic evidence proves what I think it does, it is not worth my time to find them.

[lissener]

Originally posted by Morgan
Than offer another explaination.

from Cecil Adams his own self, addressing exactly this question:
Hair doesn't know it's been cut, and being dead tissue, doesn't much care.

You're the one claiming that your assumptions have more validity than scientific fact, Morgan, so I'd say the burden of proof is on you, not me.

I attempted an explanation, which you've ignored. (The only thing I didn't cover is the darkening of your beard, which you hadn't previously mentioned. This could be due to changes in hair color over time--as I said in regard to your brother's beard, my beard has certainly darkened over time. I'm also fairly certain that hair which is blond when it lays flat would appear dark in cross-section, withdrawn into the skin, as when it's shaved.)

Your conclusions as to the causality of these differences are based on assumptions and backward logic. That's not a platform from which I'm interested in debating this "issue"; you don't get to redefine the rules ("Let's give anecdotal assumptions the same weight as scientific fact!") just because you can't offer any proof. In any case, I think the OP's question has been answered, and I don't think a random crank piping up to say "I refuse to believe the explanation" is adequate justification to prolong the thread.

[Morgan]

Go fletch a dead goat.

Once upon a time, random cranks believed the earth revolved around the sun. Once upon a time, random cranks believed the earth was round.


You're the one claiming that your assumptions have more validity than scientific fact, Morgan, so I'd say the burden of proof is on you, not me.

A scientist does not discard physical evidence because it disproves his thesis. A scientist strives to explain facts that (apparently) contradict previously observed principles. A scientist does not put his fingers in his ears and run around his computer yelling "nah nah nah" while hoping the physical phenomena will go away.*


Your conclusions as to the causality of these differences are based on assumptions and backward logic.

So it is "backwards logic" to observe phenomena? I get it; true science is done without reference to the physical world.
I have made no attempt to draw conclusions from what I have observed. I am not concerned with why it happens. I am merely conveying my observations.


The only thing I didn't cover is the darkening of your beard, which you hadn't previously mentioned.

Does "black beard-hair" sound familiar? It was said twice in my first post and once in my second post.


This could be due to changes in hair color over time--as I said in regard to your brother's beard, my beard has certainly darkened over time.

Once again, you have demonstrated your poor reading comprehension. Would you like to re-read my original post? Do you understand? Do you need to read it again? Go ahead, we’ll wait. Still don’t get it? Obviously, if I “had to even out the two sides of my face” we are not talking about “changes in hair color over time” (unless you mean overnight).


… just because you can't offer any proof.

I have described a physical phenomenon. If you want proof of the phenomena that I described, I can offer it to you. However, it appears that the veracity of the description is not at issue. If you agree that a before and after picture of me having a very distinct beard line at approximately the same age would prove that your “scientific fact” is incapable of explaining observed physical phenomena, I will post them in a heartbeat.



*(I would like to give Jahn all due respect for this comment)

[popokis5]

A friend of my shaved her little girl's head at 2 years old for the reason it would grow back thicker. It does LOOK thicker, but I think that's just because she was older by the time it grew back. I argued with her not to do it for the above reasons, but she did it anyway. Poor kid. At least she was only two and didn't mind wearing that hat 24/7.

[Telemark]

First, calm down. This isn't the pit.


I don't have thick black beard-hair until, well, my beard. The line between the two types of hair is precise. In fact, I have had several people comment on the clear demarcation between the two types of hair over the years. The line exists because I have, since my early teens, NEVER shaved above a certain point on my face. In my mid twenties, I decided to wear a beard and accidently shaved a little higher than I always had in the past. To this day, I regret it because I had to even out the two sides of my face and now my beard is about 1/2 inch higher than it used to be. I raised my beard line by shaving some of the peach-fuzz.


OK, here are some observations. The first thing to note is that you have made the assumption that the demarcation line is because you stopped shaving there. This may be true, it may not. It would be necessary to do some more tests to determine if that is true. After all, I have a clear demarcation line between peach fuzz and my full beard, but I have shaved my entire face, had a full beard, and had a Van Dyke, so there is evidence showing that shaving isn't necessary for that to exist.

But you offer something more. When you shaved a bit more accidently on one side, your demarcation line changed. And you had to do the same on other side to even them out. This is testable. Would you be willing to sacrifice another .25 inch of peach fuzz to test this hypothesis? I ask because I know that when I kept my Van Dyke it was impossible to keep the lines exact, it shifted many times. Is it possible that you have done the same and didn't notice? Or that your demarcation line changed over time gradually and you didn't notice?

The problem is that given the choice between alternative explainations (not that you are lying, I certainly don't believe that is the case) and believing in a cause and affect relationship (shaving and hair change) that has no scientific explaination, it is very tempting to discount the observation. Reproducing that observation in a controlled environment would go a long way towards supporting your cause. But every effort to do that has shown the opposite.

So we are left with the problem, do we accept one (or multiple) accounts of anecdotal observations which have plausable alternative explainations, or rely on the reproducable documented observations. Until I see some more data, I have to believe that you are mistaken.

This isn't a matter of thinking that you are lying. I most certainly do not think that. It's just that memories and undocumented observations are often wrong.

[manhattan]

Go fletch a dead goat.

Exqueeze me? Not in my forum, pardner. Knock it off or take it to the Pit.

[Morgan]

Manhattan, Don't you dare chastise me for responding to an insult in kind. You owe me an apology for singling me out. Unless, of course, you believe that being called a "random crank" is not an insult. If this is your belief, then I hereby bestow that title upon you.

Telemark
Of course what you propose is reasonable. Unfortunately, living with what I believe will be the consequences for the rest of my life is not worth convincing a couple of people on this message board. (Of course, if enough people were willing to make it worth $ my while, I might consider it <grin>) That is why I proposed doing the next best thing--producing photographs of me pre- and post- mistake. Unfortunately, when I got home, I found that my photographic life did not begin until my marriage. I will, however, ask my parents if they have any pre-marriage, post college photos of me which show my beard line. (My beard line, btw, is very visible in pictures. I get a 5:00 shadow by noon.) My efforts, however, may be in vain because even if I produce evidence showing my beard line dramatically changing over a relatively short period of time, nobody has yet said that such evidence would be convincing (even though no other plausible alternative has been proposed).

[jb_farley]

okay okay, so i don't know if i've ever told this anecdote before. in eighth grade, i shaved half of my face, but not the other half. upon letting everything grow out and equalize, the hair growth was exactly the same. how's that for a scientific test?

my take on this stupid old wives tale has to do with pubery. each time hair is shaved, it does indeed grow in heavier. at least while you are still pubescent. but if you didn't shave at all, the hair would soon start to grow in thicker and darker.

uh, i was supposed to go to sleep hours ago. i hate you straight dope message board! and you too, insomnia.

manny, you know i love you

[Oblong]

I only have to shave every 2 or 3 days. I had a goatee for about a year. When I finally shaved it, I let my whole "beard" grow for 4 days and the goatee area was definately thinner. The hairs weren't nearly as long as around my neck and cheeks. I'm talking half a millimeter here, but my wife noticed it.

I'm just offering evidence and my experience. I'm not a scientist and always figured that this was an old father's tale to discourage boys from shaving too early.

[manhattan]

Originally posted by Morgan
Manhattan, Don't you dare chastise me for responding to an insult in kind. You owe me an apology for singling me out. Unless, of course, you believe that being called a "random crank" is not an insult. If this is your belief, then I hereby bestow that title upon you.



I'm going to assume you're kidding, because no one in the whole wide world could possibly be stupid enough to equate "random crank" with "go felch a dead goat." If, by some weird chance, I am incorrect in that assumption, perhaps you should consider the possibility that you have too much ignorance to be eradicated by this website.

[Morgan]

I stand corrected.