# How common is female nipple hair? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 28, 2013, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-female-nipple-hair/654161 "2013-03-28T06:34:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JohnClay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c37758/32.png) [@JohnClay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnClay)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-female-nipple-hair/654161/1 "2013-03-28T06:34:24Z")
Hi I was wondering how common dark sparse female nipple hair is… a woman I know thinks it is normal but I’ve never seen it in porn… do women normally remove the hair? ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-female-nipple-hair/654161/2 "2013-03-28T06:48:58Z")
> [@JohnClay](#): > > a woman I know thinks it is normal but I’ve never seen it in porn… …and how much female underarm hair do you see in porn? ---
**Author:** ![JohnClay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c37758/32.png) [@JohnClay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnClay)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-female-nipple-hair/654161/3 "2013-03-28T06:53:28Z")
I’m very aware that women wax/shave their armpits… ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-female-nipple-hair/654161/4 "2013-03-28T07:18:50Z")
> [@JohnClay](#): > > I’m very aware that women wax/shave their armpits… Then why did you bring it up that you’ve never seen it in porn? :rolleyes: Stands to reason that they’re going to take care of the nipple hair as well. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-female-nipple-hair/654161/5 "2013-03-28T07:37:04Z")
I don’t think you should be looking to porn for insights into what normal women look and act like. ---
**Author:** ![JohnClay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c37758/32.png) [@JohnClay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnClay)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-female-nipple-hair/654161/6 "2013-03-28T07:37:24Z")
> [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](#): > > Then why did you bring it up that you’ve never seen it in porn? :rolleyes: Well I’ve only seen one set of bare boobs up close that aren’t from TV/etc… > [@](#): > > Stands to reason that they’re going to take care of the nipple hair as well. Assuming nipple hair is very widespread then yes. But I want to know if nipple hair is very widespread in women… BTW on waxing/laser hair removal ads/info they talk about legs, armpits and the bikini line (and the eye brows and upper lip). By bikini line I was assuming they meant the crotch area. Can people give me straight answers about how widespread it is in women? ---
**Author:** ![JohnClay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c37758/32.png) [@JohnClay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnClay)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-female-nipple-hair/654161/7 "2013-03-28T07:39:03Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > I don’t think you should be looking to porn for insights into what normal women look and act like. Well that is why I am asking here… ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-female-nipple-hair/654161/8 "2013-03-28T07:40:05Z")
It exists, and will be more visible on brunettes. How widespread? I don’t have any hard data, sorry. I assume that, same as other varieties of body hair, its frequency will vary with ancestry - more common in Caucasian, the same group that’s most likely to have males whose cousin was a bear. ---
**Author:** ![JohnClay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c37758/32.png) [@JohnClay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnClay)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-female-nipple-hair/654161/9 "2013-03-28T07:43:42Z")
Well I found some info about it: > **[Pictures of normal nipples. The bumps on areola are Montgomery glands. Hair...](https://www.007b.com/nipple_gallery.php)** > > Pictures or photos of normal nipples. The bumps on areola are Montgomery glands. Links to resources about flat or inverted nipples. > [@](#): > > …many women have some hairs around the nipple…but if you absolutely don’t like them, trim them carefully with scissors. Don’t pluck them with force, because that can make them grow back thicker and darker… > [@](#): > > …If a woman has excessive hair growing in typical male hair pattern, the symptom is called hirsutism… So it isn’t universal and too many hairs can be abnormal. If you take their advice then the presence of hairs would still be visible (since they’re just trimmed)… in close up nude pictures it is easy to see if there are any trimmed hairs or not. edit: in the link many of the hairs are very thin… ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-female-nipple-hair/654161/10 "2013-03-28T07:44:56Z")
> [@JohnClay](#): > > Well I’ve only seen one set of bare boobs up close that aren’t from TV/etc… Then you have a sample of one, not a sample of hundreds. Read what **Richard Pearse** said. > [@](#): > > BTW on waxing/laser hair removal ads/info they talk about legs, armpits and the bikini line (and the eye brows and upper lip). By bikini line I was assuming they meant the crotch area. Because a lot of these techniques will be unsuitable for nipples. > [@](#): > > Can people give me straight answers about how widespread it is in women? Humans have hair all over their bodies. Literally everywhere except for the tongue and the palms of hands and feet. It varies from person to person how dark and thick hair is. So, just to be clear: there are no women who have no hair on around their nipples. None. There are some whose hair is light and you probably don’t see it well. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-female-nipple-hair/654161/11 "2013-03-28T07:47:52Z")
I feel somewhat juvenile saying this, but the thread title made me laugh out loud. Sorry. 😃 Anyway. How common is female nipple hair? We must find out FOR SCIENCE! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![JohnClay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c37758/32.png) [@JohnClay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnClay)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-female-nipple-hair/654161/12 "2013-03-28T07:49:58Z")
> [@gracer](#): > > Then you have a sample of one, not a sample of hundreds. Read what **Richard Pearse** said. Like I replied to him “Well that is why I am asking here…” > [@](#): > > …just to be clear: there are no women who have no hair on around their nipples… In my original post I asked how common “dark sparse” hair was. e.g. hair that is extremely noticeable from a distance. ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-female-nipple-hair/654161/13 "2013-03-28T08:23:11Z")
> [@JohnClay](#): > > In my original post I asked how common “dark sparse” hair was. e.g. hair that is extremely noticeable from a distance. The variation will work the same way it does for other parts of the body. It’s probably as common as having a snail trail, for women. I’m not sure what answer you do want: 21% have hair that you can see from 6ft away if you have 20/20 vision in a well-lit room? I don’t think that’s how it is measured. ---
**Author:** ![Ms.Pumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@Ms.Pumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms.Pumpkin)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-female-nipple-hair/654161/14 "2013-03-28T08:23:55Z")
One of my friends is like that. She also has extremely dark, coarse hair in general. I do know that at one point she asked her doctor about it, and was told it was perfectly normal and not uncommon. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-female-nipple-hair/654161/15 "2013-03-28T08:36:15Z")
Oh, **JohnClay** , you know this place. You’ve been here a long time. With a Thread topic like this _you will get teased_, but everytime someone posts to tease you they are bumping the Thread thus making it more likely to get replies from people with real info. So, just roll with it. I remember being quite surprised when first discovering a ring of hair circling the nipples of breasts that I was otherwise quite happy to disrobe. I kept my cool, though, so as not to make he self-conscious and it just took me a split nanosecond to regain typical “Yay, I got her bra off!” enthusiasm. This was highschool, a time when we are all still learning about our bodies- and learning about grooming options as well. Before she left the house, she had an idea of how we were going to spend our time together but she may not have had an older female confidant with whom she felt comfortable asking about such things (grooming questions as well as “will the guy freak out?” questions). As we get older, we learn more about grooming options and about how our bodies will respond favorably or unfavorably to different methods. There are things we will dismiss on days when we don’t expect to become unclothed in front of another person, and there are things we will dismiss once we’re regularly unclothed in front of the same person day in and day out. I imagine that most women who have hairy nipples, who are not granola types, who have found a grooming method that doesn’t cause significant damage/pain, and are dating/exploring new partners . . . I imagine that most of these women will remove nipple hair when they anticipate that they will be baring their breasts. So, simply because of social standards/expectations, the vast majority of female breasts will lack nipple hair _at the time of being made available for recreational viewing_. This may result in the misconception that nipple hair is freakishly rare. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-female-nipple-hair/654161/16 "2013-03-28T08:45:50Z")
Missed the Edit Window: In the last paragraph of my above post, I feel I should have said “many” in each of the instances where I said “most”. I think there are plently of women who reject unpleasant grooming standards without really being full on granola types. So, I think “many” women when preparing for that first “we might get naked” date with a new partner will make sure to remove nipple hair. “Most” might be accurate, but without a cite I’ll say “many”. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-female-nipple-hair/654161/17 "2013-03-28T10:07:44Z")
Yes, it’s fairly common, more common as you age until you hit perimenopause and then less common. That is, young women and old women are less likely to have nipple hair than middle aged women. It’s a hormone thing. And bear in mind, when we call it “nipple hair”, the hairs aren’t actually on the nipple. They’re not even frequently on the areolae. They’re on the border of the areolae where thin skin meets regular skin, or between the breasts, or sometimes on the breasts, in the same pattern as mens’ chest hair, but generally much less densely furred. And plucking will NOT make it grow back thicker or coarser. In fact shaving will make it appear thicker and coarser, although it won’t really be thicker or coarser; the blunt end formed when you cut a hair makes it look and feel thicker, but if you measure it, it’s unchanged. Most women who remove it pluck it or wax it. Depilatory creams (like Nair) can burn the sensitive skin of the areolae. ---
**Author:** ![listedmia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e0b2c6/32.png) [@listedmia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/listedmia)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-female-nipple-hair/654161/18 "2013-03-28T10:14:17Z")
_Raises hand_ I have approximately 4 dark, thick hairs on the areolae. I pluck em every so often, and I’ve never had anyone mention them. 23, female, caucasian here. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-female-nipple-hair/654161/19 "2013-03-28T10:16:03Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > I don’t think you should be looking to porn for insights into what normal women look and act like. ^ This. So very much this. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-female-nipple-hair/654161/20 "2013-03-28T10:21:38Z")
> [@listedmia](#): > > _Raises hand_ I have approximately 4 dark, thick hairs on the areolae. I pluck em every so often, and I’ve never had anyone mention them. 23, female, caucasian here. Yeah, I had three or four in my twenties. Six or seven in my late thirties. We’re not talking about a pelt here, but definitely a bit of an increase with age. 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-female-nipple-hair/654161.md?page=2)