# How common is chest hair in men? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 14, 2013, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-chest-hair-in-men/661016 "2013-06-14T19:35:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-chest-hair-in-men/661016/21 "2013-06-17T16:58:09Z")
> [@JBDivmstr](#): > > You _ **can’t** _ be serious. :dubious: > > I’m 52 and I don’t have _ **any** _ ‘chest hair’ (nor any hair on my back) and never have. > The hair on my thighs is extremely fine and short, what little of it there is, and very sparse hair that is visible, (unless you get really close) on the calves of my legs. 😛 > All of the women I’ve known in my life, love it. (I’ve even been accused of shaving my legs. I think they were just jealous.) 😃 > I wasn’t able to grow a mustache until I reached 35, and even now, it’s pretty thin. I have a small patch on the ‘corners’ of my chin, and that’s the extent of my facial hair. > My father and brother had very little body and facial hair, also. Yes, this may well be true. Are you male? ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-chest-hair-in-men/661016/22 "2013-06-17T17:01:31Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > [I smell a poll coming up…](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=693849) Twenty-seven responses. I think we have achieved database. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-chest-hair-in-men/661016/23 "2013-06-17T17:01:47Z")
The answer is simple. Men with chest hair either: a) Don’t go to the beach, or b) Don’t take their shirt off at the beach, or c) Shave that shit off. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-chest-hair-in-men/661016/24 "2013-06-17T17:04:59Z")
> [@Asympotically\_fat](#): > > If a bloke in his late 20s or above doesn’t have chest hair, then that means he shaves his chest. Not true. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-chest-hair-in-men/661016/25 "2013-06-17T17:15:12Z")
They could be waxing. ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-chest-hair-in-men/661016/26 "2013-06-17T17:34:02Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Yes, this may well be true. Are you male? You’ve found me out, Leo. :smack::rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-chest-hair-in-men/661016/27 "2013-06-17T17:56:22Z")
> [@TheUser](#): > > Yes, I’ve read the Wikipedia article, thanks. > > However, the reason I posted this thread was because I find implausible the claim that only 6% of adult men have no upper body hair. In other words, I find it implausible that such a large number of men shave or wax their chests. Maybe the younger generation does, but it would be unusual if the older generation does, too - and yet, they also don’t have any visible hair. Selection bias, duh. The population that goes to the beach regularly isn’t necessarily a good cross-section of the male population. That being said, I’d say that it’s extraordinarily rare for a man to have NO chest hair. The rest range from a little bit to Sasquatch, based on having been to the beach a lot and in various locker rooms and situations involving shirtless men. ---
**Author:** ![TheUser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/45deac/32.png) [@TheUser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheUser)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-chest-hair-in-men/661016/28 "2013-06-17T22:10:09Z")
I was vacationing in New Jersey (the infamous ‘Jersey Shore’). So of course, it could be argued that the culture there is very pro-fitness and young, so lots of young guys probably wax their chests to accentuate muscles. But setting that aside, I notice quite a few times on the street, in public transport, at work, etc. that there will be men wearing open polo-shirts that are unbuttoned close to the chest, and there is absolutely no visible hair growth there. It’s much harder to make the case that these “ordinary” men shave their chests. This makes me very suspicious of Wikipedia’s claim that 6% of men have no chest hair, and even more incredulous about their claim that _"The **largest** group, 37 percent displayed pattern four_ [which is the hairiest pattern of all with the full chest/abdomenal connector), _“Eight percent displayed pattern one, 12 percent pattern two and 11 percent displayed various other patterns.”_ ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-chest-hair-in-men/661016/29 "2013-06-17T22:24:43Z")
Again, I respect your incredulity of a single older study as authoritative, but the other side of the coin is that your anecdotal experience is quite swamped by the experiences of the rest of us. A majority with no chest hair? Not what most of us have ever observed or what the poll thread sems to show is common hair. (Inclusive of very sparse hair the number is still under 16%). I would put forth that an open polo is not a good measure of “none” and/or that you need to clean your glasses. 🙂 (Are you sure those were men and not flat chested women?) ---
**Author:** ![TheUser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/45deac/32.png) [@TheUser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheUser)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-chest-hair-in-men/661016/30 "2013-06-17T22:31:50Z")
Thanks. BTW thanks for that more detailed link. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-chest-hair-in-men/661016/31 "2013-06-18T00:05:57Z")
All men have hair on their chest. For that matter, so do all women. It’s just that in some men (and nearly all women) the hair is too fine to see unless you’re very close. ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-chest-hair-in-men/661016/32 "2013-06-18T02:22:50Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > All men have hair on their chest. For that matter, so do all women. It’s just that in some men (and nearly all women) the hair is too fine to see unless you’re very close. This is correct. I _ **do** _ have hair on my chest. But without a pretty good magnifying glass, it’s not plainly visible. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-chest-hair-in-men/661016/33 "2013-06-18T02:48:03Z")
Older fellas with declining testosterone levels often lose some or all of the chest hair they may have had in their 30’s and 40’s. So a very young \*or \*very old beachgoer population will have less hair than average. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-chest-hair-in-men/661016/35 "2013-07-24T14:11:20Z")
On that Wikipedia article, there is a [photo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Folsom1.jpg) illustrating Pattern #3 (my very own pattern). But check out the dude in the background. That’s a nice photobomb right there. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-chest-hair-in-men/661016/36 "2013-07-24T14:25:49Z")
The Wikipedia article doesn’t include a pattern I’ve seen very often: snail-trail to navel and a few lonely hairs around each nipple. I’m now wondering whether they would have counted those men as “hairless”. ---
**Author:** ![SpeedwayRyan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@SpeedwayRyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpeedwayRyan)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-chest-hair-in-men/661016/38 "2013-07-24T15:16:08Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > The Wikipedia article doesn’t include a pattern I’ve seen very often: **snail-trail** to navel and a few lonely hairs around each nipple. In my experience, that’s called a “happy trail.” A “snail trail” is something entirely different. I’m guessing Urban Dictionary may provide some insight. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-chest-hair-in-men/661016/39 "2013-07-24T15:29:51Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > The answer is simple. Men with chest hair either: a) Don’t go to the beach, or b) Don’t take their shirt off at the beach, or c) Shave that shit off. Huh? Why? Chest hair is manly. I go to the beach and I have chest hair. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-chest-hair-in-men/661016/40 "2013-07-24T16:32:35Z")
> [@](#): > > How common is chest hair in men? It sure as hell runs in _my_ family. We also tend to grunt and hoot a lot. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-chest-hair-in-men/661016/41 "2013-07-24T17:22:55Z")
> [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](#): > > Congratulations! You get an F in **General Questions**! See you in summer school!..“Why didn’t it seem that way to me this one time I looked?” Jeez, give the guy a break. He said that his observations didn’t remotely match what his look at Wiki told him and basically asked if the discrepancy was with the survey or if styles and trends have changed that much. Maybe he didn’t phrase it as well as you’d have liked, but it was pretty clear what he was asking. And, incidentally, one survey of 1100 people, while potentially statistically sound, is not necessarily a “fact” reflecting the billions of people on the planet. Jeez. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-chest-hair-in-men/661016/42 "2013-07-25T06:51:15Z")
I recall an episode of the view where they showed before and after pics of a (male) staff member losing weight and getting fit. Much hilarity and joking as Joy Behar noted how getting fit also enabled him to lose his chest hair. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-chest-hair-in-men/661016.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-chest-hair-in-men/661016.md?page=3)