Does hair really grow back faster and/or thicker once you start shaving it? Being dead tissue and all I see no real reason why it would, and from my own experience I’d think that it doesn’t.
Pretty sure it’s an old wive’s tale. No cite, sorry.
Well, if it did, most men would have tree trunk sized hair growing out of their faces.
Just went looking for cites, nothing obvious except several laser hair treatment places saying that shaving has no effect on regrowth, it’s safe to do while getting laser treatments.
This topic was one of the first I posted about, lo these many years ago, and that thread did have many cites of the studies that showed clearly that there was no effect. Several folks posted anecdotal evidence to the contrary but it was hard to demonstrate to any degree.
As Urban as it get’s.
Here’s Snope’s page where it’s debunked.
I used have a link to the Gillette site wher(e they said exactly the same thing but it’s lost to time now it seems…
I couldn’t find that Gillette link but tons of others all saying that it’s just a myth.
This is a fact that I have often tried to explain to women of all ages only to be told that I’m “wrong”, “ignorant of female ways” and an “asshole” (though the asshole may have been for something else!).
Girls are told not to shave as if they do the hairs on their legs grow back longer and thicker and countless numbers of them have tried to convince me. Long nights of rubbing my hands up and down the legs of 2-day stubbled women still hasn’t convinced me but my door is always open !
There is no reason why shaving the end of a hair off would cause new hairs to grow nearby or cause the shaved hair to change its nature.
I think the root of this myth is that shaving begins at a time of growth and physical maturity in which hair naturally begins to achieve its adult texture and density.
IIRC, the only piece of data that might support the idea is that if you stimulate the skin and increase blood flow to the area, hair will grow faster. But there’s no evidence that shaving stimulates the skin in any manner, let alone increases blood flow to the area.
Blood flow would increase if you cut yourself doing it though 
Anyway, thanks everyone for that… of course my stubborn friend will probably just slap me, but at least I have the satisfaction :D.