# Gone today, hair tomorrow - follicle myths **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 30, 2001, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gone-today-hair-tomorrow-follicle-myths/90495 "2001-10-30T11:08:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2001, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gone-today-hair-tomorrow-follicle-myths/90495/1 "2001-10-30T11:08:52Z")
All my life, people have been telling me that cutting hair makes it grow back faster. Is this just a myth? And if not, by what mechanism does your body accelerate hair growth in the wake of a trim? And, while you’re at it, why? AMR ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2001, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gone-today-hair-tomorrow-follicle-myths/90495/2 "2001-10-30T11:39:19Z")
It’s a myth. Hair is dead, pinning for the fjords. ---
**Author:** ![mischievous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mischievous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mischievous)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2001, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gone-today-hair-tomorrow-follicle-myths/90495/3 "2001-10-30T18:35:59Z")
Myth, but there is a seed of truth… Trimming longish hair is useful, because it removes split ends. A split end can continue to split further up the hair strand, weakening it and making it more likely to break off short. If the split ends are removed, the cleanly cut ends do not weaken the remaining hair strand, so it can grow. The exception is my hair, which I treat horribly, never trim, and it never splits. It’s past my knees now, thank you very much! mischievous